Arcadia Cereal Killer Barleywine

tasting sample on 11/5/09... 2006 bottle. pours a dark red... a sweet malt driven aroma with some fruit notes... sweet apple / raisin mouthfeel... big strong finish. any hops have faded... pretty much all malt driven at this point. enjoyable, but nothing special.

Dark reddish brown color with a small head. Aroma has faint pine hops, caramel sweetness and dark fruit. Flavor has more alcohol, not well hidden, dark fruit, caramel and some hops.

Draft at Cicero’s in the U-City Loop. Pours a cloudy dark brown with a half-inch tan head that dissipates quickly. Aroma of raisins, caramel malt, brown sugar, toffee, and alcohol. The flavor follows suit, with emphasis on the raisin and caramel malt flavors, along with some cereal and chocolate notes. Rich and strong, with a medium body. Solid barleywine- I really enjoyed this one.

Has been unintentionally aging in my friend’s fridge since March 2009. Strong aroma of chocolate, caramel malt and brown sugar. Appearance is dark brown with tan creamy head. Flavor of dark chocolate, caramel, roasted toffee, brown sugar and licorice. Palate is smooth at first and becomes more lively, alcohol finish. An underrated barleywine.

Earthy, grainy malt aroma. Hint of red wine, black licorice. Heavy alcohol. The appearance is dark, dark brick red-brown. Head doesn’t last long, but reappears with agitation. Murky and rich. The flavor is rich, pungent, grainy alcohol. Hints of red wine tannins. Lots of power. Pleasant but not that diverse. A little chocolate sweetness at the end. The palate is gritty and milky. Very hefty. Not a bad beer, but not all that exciting a barleywine.

22 ounce bottle. Vintage 2008. Pours a redish/brown color. Big frothy long lasting off white head. Nice lacing. Very thick & rich malty texture. Caramel aroma. Tastes of sweet caramel and alcohol. Really loved the appearance of this beer. The flavor was mild, but pleasant. Overal an excellent beer.

22 oz. 2006 bottle, bought at Arcadia’s 10th Anniversary party. YIKES!! GUSHER as I open the bottle. That has to count a point or two off the presentation. After that, a definite smell of sherry, rum and then Flemish sourness, which could indicate a bacterium behind the gusher, but I think otherwise. Murky brown color, a this but determined and lacy head. Taste has some more of that sourness, but a big nose of alcohol and some hop roughage. Not like most previous barley wines, I was going to say, but then I realized this is the first barley wine I’ve had since last December. Anyway, alcoholic, as I said, with notes of plum and raisin. The malt bill on this description indicates they went for basic beer flavor with only the Crystal to make it the expected color. No matter that I’ll be yelled at because the computer station smells like beer. And it’s my 65th beer rated this month, expanding on it as my Best Beer Month Ever!™

22oz bottled 2007, two years old. Pours a murky brown with a wispy head of off white swirls. Aroma is very rich with some really interesting elements of candy cane mixed with werthers original hard candies. Very cool. Tastes of sugary caramel with some nice lighter notes that I described as candy cane. Surprisingly good stuff. I’m also fairly certain this wouldn’t be good young.