Arcadia Cereal Killer Barleywine

Brewed by Arcadia Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Battle Creek, Michigan USA

Bomber pours clear amber with inch and a half tan head. It has a citrus hard candy aroma, cherry candies and raisins. The taste has that same fruity hard candy noted in the nose with sweet citrus, cherry and grapes. Then an undercurrent of mild caramel sweetness runs right up to the finish and into the aftertaste.

Bomber. Pours a dark hazy copper with a small lasting head and a fair amount of carbonation. Aroma is on the mild side for a barley wine. Light sweet malts, ripened fruits, plum. Flavor is caramel malts, fermented fruits, maybe a touch of licorice. Body seemed a tad thin but overall it was pretty decent.

Bottle. Cloudy brown pour with a small head. Aroma is very sweet and raisonish with some dates too. Taste is very sweet with a raison background. Very brinkable. Pretty good.

Opaque reddish brown with a medium sized brownish head. Aroma is sweet and figgy with a bit of tart cherry. Taste is all raisins with light hop presence. $8/22oz

Vintage 2006 Pours chestnut mahogany with crimson tinging, murky and opaque. A thick, sticky head of beige froth worked up to a half-finger, and floated happily for several minutes. After retention subsided the glass had some streaks of lace, and the brew was left with a ring of foam on the edge and a few whisps on the surface. Aromatics are decidely english, with plenty of toffee, brown sugar, dark fruit, and gypsum. Rich caramel and ripe figs with traces of wet leather and nougat. Mouthfeel is chewy and dextrinous. Extremely creamy and soft, with a sticky cling. The pallet is laden with rich malt, dark caramel, cookie dough, and brown sugar. Ripe fruit adds a nice complexity and the alcohol is warming, but very well hidden. Bitterness is minimal, and balancing at best. Finishes with lingering caramelized sugars and sweet malt. Pretty tasty, but too sweet.

Reddish Brown, unfiltered body with very little head. Aromas of raisins and cherries. Very boozy raisin flavor and a chewy mouthfeel.

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 3     Golden(1)->Dark brown(5) : 4     Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 3
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 2   White(1)->Tan(5) : 2   Lasting: 2   Lacing : 1
Aroma:
Intensity : 3  
Yeast : 2   Bread : XX   Tropical Fruits : 2   Soap : XX   Diacetyl : 2 Sulfur : XX   Fusel : XX  
Malt : 4   Biscuity : 2   Hay : XX   Toasty : 3   Caramel : 4   Fruity : XX   Nutty : XX   Honey : XX   Maple : 2   Molasses : XX   Cereals : 4   Grainy : XX
Hops : 2   Noble(1)->American(5) : 3   Leafy : XX   Spicy : XX   Floral : 2   Lemon/Lime : XX   Grapefruit : XX Orange : 2   Herbal : XX   Grassy : XX   Pine/Spruce/Resin : XX  
Notes :   Peach/Apricot : XX   Earth : XX   Mint : 2   Butterscotch : XX   Smoke : 1   Dates : XX   Bourbon : XX   Bubblegum : XX
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 4   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3   Sourness : XX   Bitterness : 2   Complex : 2   Length : XX
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 4   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 2   Clean : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : 3   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : 3   Mineral : XX   Oxidation : XX   Metallic : XX

Comments: Very caramel oriented. A big brew with soft hop integration and a surprisingly fresh palate. Smooth, as seems to be the tradition with Arcadia, but perhaps not very distinguished.

Starts with a caramel aroma that quickly fades into the standard dark fruits with a hint of alcohol. Pours a beautiful dark reddish-brown with a large light tan head that leaves sheets of lacing on the glass. Fairly sweet, with alcohol warming in the back of the throat. Nice syrupy mouthfeel. Overall, it’s not bad, but it’s far from the best barleywine I’ve ever had.