Arcadia Big Dicks Olde Ale

Brewed by Arcadia Brewing Company
Style: Old Ale
Battle Creek, Michigan USA

22oz bottle. sour lambic aroma. sweet cherry scent. OLDE on the palate. lots going on.... complex! carmael, chocolate, toffee, and dark fruit. very nice hop.

Very nice pour to one of my St. Bernardus goblets - frost-hazed caramel/orange body holding sparse yet determined channels of effervescence under a full, almost-tan head which all but crackles away to a wispy island. While the nose found incredible amounts of bubblegum from the neck of the bottle, pouring transmogrified it to a tart and tannic fruity-maltiness with splashes of cherries and banana laffy taffy.... rather how I’d imagine a Flemish Sour as served by a circus clown. The aromas come together fairly accurately in the flavor, with a focus on malts and fruit, a middle-ground of chocolaty cereal and a backdrop of earth, clove and yeasts. Mouthfeel is thick yet vibrant, substantial yet sharp. A hint of alcohol reveals, and that only late in the game (more so in effect rather than flavor). Lingers long and flavorful with low sweetness and a dry fruitiness. I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this after first viewing how it fared on RateBeer.

<font size=-4>Bomber from <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/michigan/marsha Party Store, Marshall, MI 49068</font>

Bottle purchased @ Surdyk’s in Minneapolis. This beer is MUCH better than its 51% ranking. Very smooth and nutty. Change of recipe? Only drawback is a mild bitter finish that doesn’t meld w/ the nuttty maltiness.

500ml bomber bottle. Attractive thick brown-amber color. Its hard for me to imagine what the definitive Old Ale is so I always find the style to perplex. This one doesn’t scream Old Ale to me, mainly due to the hefty hoppage. Nitpicking aside, this is a great beer. Full malty body with a creamy almost bock-like quality to it. The hops really help to balance it out while retaining some of those deep malt characteristics. Memorable.

Draft @ Hop Devil. Color is burnt brown with some mahogany filtering the light through. Old Ale is one of my favorite styles and this is a good one. Taste starts with some cherry and toast and once it warms you get some oatmeal, browned Cheerois and Sucrets. Dry and subtle the alcohol warms the soul as it raises in temp.

Pours a two finger cream head that fades quickly to a thin layer leaving some lace. Almost clear amber color. Good carbonation and medium-heavy bodied. Raisin nose. Flavor is sweet, fruity and a little medicinal, the bitterness balances. $6.99 for a 22oz bottle from Yankee Spirits South Attleboro, Ma.

Toffee/chocalate scent, hazy orange brown apparance, palate offer high carbonation, Tastes offers malty raisin notes with high alcohol at the end with oitrus

I happened to enjoy this one. The aroma is beautifully fruity, strawberryish. Hints of squash or fresh pumpkin and overwhelming banana notes. The flavor has an underlying malt tone, touch of caramel. Fruity sweetness, almost viscous; with notes of bitter strawberry, cranberry, a huge banana sweet hint and a roasty dry finish. A well made old ale.