Arcadia Cereal Killer Barleywine

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

Bomber: has a dark ruby pour with a off-white head, scents of malt and some dark malt, faint chocolate, caramel-molasses and faint sweet cola fragrances, faint hop fragrance, syrupy full mouth feel, taste of sweet and lots of malt, brown sugar and bread, alcohol warming with each sip, mild + hop bite, this Barleywine was more on the malt side of the menu, the hops second, this falls into the English style Barleywine catagory.

22oz. Bottle: Aroma is lightly sweet. Vinous, malty scent has hints of caramel, chocolate, bourbon, oak, and dark fruits. Poured a ruby/copper color with a medium tan head that diminished. Cloudy. Many particles. Flavor is medium bitter but not sweet or tart. Starts out with dark fruits; in the middle it tastes of chocolate, herbs, wood, and bourbon; in the end it is salty with alcoholic flavor. Medium body. Slick texture. Average carbonation. Long salty finish. Overall, a disappointing barley wine.

Brown color with hints of umber when held to the light. Light tan head that settles to a thin lid with a heavier ring about the edge that leaves a few bubbles of lace. After the BW last night, I am a bit scared, but once again, I’ll try anything (once). LIght caramel and malt, with doses of dark currants, dates, figs and plums. A full hops aroma as well; with fragrant herbs and dried flowers. Sweet from the start, with berries, raw sugar and sorghum. Dries out in the middle as some more herbal hops (rosemary) kick in. Finish is quite simple and the linger has a alcohol harshness that is not very inviting. The start of this one is very promising, but it seems to fall apart in the end. Perhaps some time will help, but that’s something I will likely not find out.

From now on, I will only be buying beers with "Killer" in their titles. To wit, the last three beers I bought were: Pink Killer, Boulder Beer Killer Penguin Barleywine, and this, Arcadia’s Cereal Killer Barleywine. Well, here I am tonight, getting dru- I mean, winding down after the long day, and I realize I hadn’t been reviewing barleywines as much as I used to. So I dug out my notes taken recently at a local gathering. Appearance: Pours a medium amber, mahogany-esque body with a foamy, khaki-colored head. Smell: Alright, right away, you’ll notice just how boozey the aroma is. Those disdainful of a strong, alcoholic scent might have difficulty progressing much further, but beyond that you’ll find plenty of caramel, with minor notes of chocolate, raisins, and even cherries. Taste: From the start, there’s a strong, consuming sweetness with flavors of toffee, fresh-baked bread, burnt sugar. There’s some hints of vanilla, cherries, and dark fruits mingling around in there as well. While there is a hop presence to this beer, its just enough to add a bit of bitterness to an ultimately sweet finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body, with the creamy nature of the brew in addition to the overall soft carbonation helping to elevate it from being merely ’medium’. Drinkability: While never overly complex, I found it to be quite nice, quite drinkable, and it really delivered when I was looking for a beer with a lil’ "kick" to it.

amber color. smells sweet. tastes like yeast & raisins. I’m kinda digging it

Pours a vibrant cherrywood color with a moderately sized tan head. Brown sugar, raisins, and alcohol. Not a lot of hops in the nose. Flavor of sweet dark fruits, molasses, caramel. Low hops profile in the flavor as well. Very sweet.

An amber apperance. Quite a bit of alcohol showing through in the nose. An orange, caramel, and alcohol flavor to the beer. The finish is somewhat sweet. A pretty good one.

Bottle: Dark caramel, reddish hues, large foamy light beige head, fairly spotty lacing.   Mealy nose, malty, slight, and I mean very slight, dark pitted fruit.   Malty start, some dark pitted fruit, very minor and soft, but mainly a strong breadiness to this one.   The hop profile is minor, graininess creeps up at the finish.   Slight greenish hops emerges as it warms.   Body and mouthfeel are fairly moderate.   Astringent green malty finish.   A little unrefined, rough, young, and green.   Doesn’t seem big enough to carry it for a few years.   Seems like a very simple immature Barley Wine.   Tiz okay, but nothing I would wait to drink.   Thanks Steve for the bottle!