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Barrel House at 939 SE Belmont St., 503-265-8603, cascadebrewingbarrelhouse.com. Noon-10 pm Sunday-Monday, noon-11 pm Tuesday-Thursday, noon-midnight Friday-Saturday. The Den (in the Lodge) at 7424 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, 503-296-0110, lodgeatcascade.com. 4 pm-11 pm Monday-Friday, Saturday 11 am-10 pm, 11 am-9 pm Sunday.
When Cascade started making sours, they pretty much had the game to themselves—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 they recreated the journey of 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 their Southeast Belmont taproom and a trickle to their family-friendly two-floor chalet on the Beaverton border. Fruit sours are now popping up everywhere and, much to the credit of the team assembled by owner Art Larrance, Cascade is evolving. In October, newish cellarmaster and lead blender Kevin Martin gave me a tour of the massive Beaverton production facility, which is stacked high with barrels from various vintages. The classic fruit sours remain excellent, if a little same-y. Martin is, however, aggressively experimenting with botanicals to build 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.
Nearby: If you're at the Barrel House, you're right by one of our sneakily favorite beer bars in the city, Growler Guys (816 SE 8th Ave., Suite 109, 971-255-0715, thegrowlerguys.com), which has really grown in the past year. You're also near Sassy's (927 SE Morrison St., 503-231-1606, sassysbar.com), which has the best taplist of any strip club in town.
