Arcadia Cereal Killer Barleywine

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

aroma is sweet, some grape, some porter notes like astringent chocolate. appearance is very nice, nearly black at center and a very dark ruby at the edges. flavor is of fusely raspberries and rancid instant iced tea with artificial lemon. ultra sweet malt character and little legitimate hops. palate is not very syrupy at all, not thin but on the cusp of a decent viscosity.

Amber pour with small tan head. Caramel, roast and alcohol nose. Flavor is big with sugar sweetness. Did I say sweet, syrup mouthfeel, with big alcohol warmth.

Amber in color with a medium sized beige head. Aromas are of caramel, malt an raisins. Tast is of toffee, fig, herbs and raisins.

Had a bottle of this back in early 2008 and recently retried it again on draught (at Sunset Grill) January 2009. The bottle I remember being punishingly caramelly-sweet with the typical fruitiness, bordering on tartness at points, of the house character imparted by the breweries yeast and/or bottling line? Anyways, it was strong, alcoholic and sweet, nearly cloying, with all of the bad traits of crystal and munich malt (meatiness, iced tea-like flavors, sharp, punchy cereal-like qualities and a strong overdrying on the finish). The hops were toned down and this wasn’t a mess of alpha acids, at least. Recently on draught, I found the beer a little more balanced, with a decidedly strong chocolate and pale and or pils malt combination to produce a chocolate caramel sweetness with a soft, inviting mouthfeel. Seems like the malt bill has been changed somewhat? Not much complexity and still a touch too much alcohol, but the same discretion with the hops at least. Some light plum-cherry fruitiness and bits of toffee-caramel on the finish.

Bomber that is dark red and doesnt let any light through. Small head that faded quickly. Strong aroma of brown sugar, some malts and hops. Taste is sugary sweet. A little too sweet, but there are some malts and hops to try to balance the sweetness. Texture is thick. Overall just a decent barleywine.

On cask at Novare Res. This was a nice mahogany brown color. Sweet dried dark candied fruits in the nose. Taste is thick SWEET and malty. This is a serious barley wine!

Pleasant sweet nose. Classic barleywine appearance, reddish brown with slight head. Nice level of sweetness. There are many better barleywines but this one is quite drinkable.

Thick mahogany pour. Aroma is sweet and heavily laden with alcohol. Taste is too sweet. Full of dark fruits and caramel.