World Class. That’s how BeerAdvocate describes Cascade Brewing. The Portland, Oregon barrel aging extraordinaires founded their brewery in 1998, and by the mid-2000s they were playing a significant role in bringing Sour Ales to the forefront of American craft beer. The brewery purposely avoids trying to recreate Belgian-Style Sour Ales and focuses on beers so vibrant and tart, they make your face pucker like you’re sucking on a lemon. Sour Ale fans use Cascade as a benchmark for comparing beer sourness, like “How tart is your beer on a scale of one to Cascade?” Some of their most noteworthy barrel aged beers include Blackcap Raspberry Sour, Noyaux Sour, Strawberry Sour, and Manhattan NW Sour. Hype: Placed in Draft Magazine’s Top 25 Beers of the Year, twice! Once for Vlad the Imp Aler, and again for Sang Noir.