Cascade Barrel House’s Kriek Was Once Named the Best in the World

939 SE Belmont St., 503-265-8603, cascadebrewingbarrelhouse.com. Noon-10 pm Sunday-Monday, noon-11 pm Tuesday-Thursday, noon-midnight Friday-Saturday.

Established: 1998

When Cascade started making sours, it pretty much had the game to itself—locally, at least. Fifteen years ago, the brewery started stuffing some fruit and bacteria into the wooden barrels left over from an oddball project in which it re-created a transcontinental journey of traditional English IPAs. That experiment resulted in the birth of a kriek that was named the best in the world by The New York Times, bringing in an endless stream of tourists to Cascade's Belmont taproom. Fruit sours are now popping up everywhere, and much to the credit of the team assembled by owner Art Larrance, Cascade is evolving. Newish cellarmaster Kevin Martin is aggressively experimenting with botanicals to build beers with new layers of nuance and subtlety, including Midnight Bramble, which combines raspberries with thyme and ginger to outstanding effect. Cascade's beers take time to make, and it'll be exciting to watch how Martin's program progresses.