Arcadia Cereal Killer Barleywine

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

Pours a two finger yellow/brown head that leaves a little lace. Cloudy amber color. Malty/alcohol nose. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Flavor is caramel and some alcohol. Late bakers chocolate after taste. Warming. Cheaper and better than Shipyard’s barleywine, $9.20 for a 22 oz bottle from Tully’s Beer & Wine Wells, Me.

0.65 l bottle at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Slightly hazy dark mahagony color. Thick sweet vinous, nutth, toffeish, berryish and caramelly aroma. with american hops, mango and rye bread. Very sweet vinous, grainy, berryish, toffeish and honeyish flavor with treacle and dark rye bread. Bittersweet finish. Complex. Thick, a bit too sweet and worty.

22oz, 2007 vintage, from Warehouse Beverage, Cleveland. Slightly murky dark orange pour, minimal carbonation. The nose is thickly sweet, with a noticeable tart funk to it. Hmmm. Medium bodied, with a faint addendum of hops. It needs more body, and certainly the sweetness could stand to be balanced - the vegetal funk lingers but it’s not too bad, I suppose. With all the great barleywines out there, however, I can’t see being inspired to return to this one.

22oz bottle. Pours a deep reddish mahogany with an opaque body. Finger-width burnt yellow head that dissipates slowly and remains pretty lacy. Aroma is not as sugary sweet as a lot of barley wines, but still very caramelly sweet. Lots of brown sugar and cherries along with the big caramel nose. Some woody hops and a boozy backing as well. I like this aroma because its not so candyish. However, the flavor is more tart and candyish than I was expecting, but still pretty nice. Lots of tart cherries and blackberries. A mix between red and black fruits. Very sweet and much more sugary than the aroma. Not a lot of hoppiness coming through, but there is a little bit of flowery notes finishing this one out. The finish is very fruity and sweet with a lingering sweet berry and slightly boozy taste. Palate is medium bodied and smooth with a light carbonation. Overall, much more sweet and berry like in the flavor than the aroma. Maybe a little too sweet. Very enjoyable, but could use a little more bitterness to balance this sugar bomb out.

Bomber, 2007 vintage if I recall. Pours a dark and hazy plum color with a foamy, khaki colored head. Jagged flares and spots of lacing mark the glass. The aroma shows notes of burnt caramel and candied malts, with raisins, dates, and a healthy dose of citrus and floral hops. Orange blossoms come to mind on a deep inhalation. Sweet raisin really comes forward in the flavor profile, scorched candy sugar and caramel imparting some bittersweet roastiness. The citrus hops are quite peppery on the back end, with bready yeast lending a slightly Belgian feel to this one. Big bodied and lightly syrupy, the finish is prickly and slightly cloying, but not too hot. This one is a nice hybrid of American and English barleywine styles, with a bit of a dark Belgian strong ale thrown in for kicks.

22oz 2008 Vintage - Cloudy red under thin tan head. Very little carbonation, waxy and sweet profile on nose. Lots of hops on first contact yielding to a burnt malt and bitter furniture polish hit. Overwhelming finish and lingering after taste, like I should shave my tongue. I am not a barley wine person.

Pours a cloudy brown with a thin, white film head. Aroma is very sweet of apples, caramel and some brown sugar notes. The flavor is overly sweet of a prune/raisin, brown sugar and caramel malt. Middle of the beer has a pronounced chocolate bitterness while the beer finishes up with a bitter earthy hop ending. Mouth feel ranks a a medium density with moderate carbonation. Overall the beer is good but not a top barley wine in my opinion.

22 oz. bottle. The strong aroma is hoppy and yeasty from a distance, but it is sour and fruity when smelled up close. Scents of apple and grape juice with hints of chocolate and plum. Smells “sticky,” if that makes any sense. Pours a cloudy brown to burgundy color with a large amount of yellowish beige head. Excessively sweet, slightly sour taste. Malts, rather than hops, dominate. Bread pudding flavor with some charcoal. Easy to drink. Medium body. Oily and reasonably lively in the palate. The bottle was overcarbonated and overflowed. It was probably infected, but not nearly enough so to be a drain pour. I was disappointed, as I am a big fan of Arcadia’s IPA and double IPA, and I was hoping for a hoppy barley wine that similarly impressed me.