Arcadia Nut Brown Ale

Brewed by Arcadia Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Battle Creek, Michigan USA

Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a medium brown color with a large tan head. The aroma is moderate roasty malts. The flavor is moderate roasty malts and a hint of caramel. A fairly basic brown ale.

Slight gusher, with a big bubbly light tan head emerging from the bottle and filling the glass. Lightly hazed chestnut color. Mild sweet grain dominates the aroma, with hint of pine trees. Sweet caramel and mild molasses dominate. Very light and airy. Nearly too strong and attention grabbing. A decent brown ale as brown ales go.

Blue Max Liquors, Burnsville, Mn. - 12 oz bottle. Dark copper pour, long lasting off-white head. Hints of caramel in the aroma. lavor is somewhat sweet, notes of nuts, caramel, hint of hoppy citrus in the back end. Metallicizes just near the finish. Overall decent, needs some work.

Different from the standard nut brown in the sweet flavor and the very heavy palate. This is a very thick beer for the style or in any style. Flavor is lightly hopped, and a little sweet. This is usually a session style but the heavy body makes it hard to drink a lot.

Solid brown appearance, truth in advertising is upheld once more. Cocoa-tan head sits a spell and spindles down to size. Nutty to beat the band in the aroma, with some maple, brown sugar, and light caramel undertones. Purty good. Tastin’ it...fills the mouth with confidence and dispenses a well-rounded, full-bodied sensation. Bitter hops at the front, fading back into a maltier feel. Fine balance here, an expert tango, and tasty, too. Nowhere as sweet as some versions, toasty and dry at the end. Very approachable and companionable, this, a mellow and well-crafted brown ale that anyone can be comfortable with. A solid effort from Arcadia.

Bottle. Red-brown in color with a thin off-white head. Aroma is fairly weak, just subtle hints of chocolate malts. Flavor too is pretty weak...some nice chocolate maltiness starts to come forward, but never quite makes it to center stage. The body is much lighter than I expected. Starts crisp, then finishes slightly watered down. It’s a nice, refreshing beer with decent flavor...but I was expecting something with a lot more personality. Not bad, but disappointing.

Clear reddish amber body with 2 inch white head. Nutty toasty malt aroma. Light bodied. Thirst quenching and highly quaffable, but slightly watered down. Somewhat uninteresting. Not Arcadia’s best beer. Their London Porter is much better.

28-Feb-06 (12 oz bottle: Obtained 21-Feb-06 in trade with Silphium, thanks Brad!) Can’t say I’m not giving Arcadia every possible chance to redeem themselves in my eye, as I’ve stubbornly requested yet another bottle. But just popping the cap on the bottle and I know my efforts, at least with the Nut Brown have paid off; just hearing the standard amount of CO2 release induces instant joy. Ruddy, medium brown in color, fairly hazy and translucent, topped by a meek, light tan head, a sight I’ve rarely seen while pouring the often-supercharged Arcadia brews. My joy is short-lived, however, as I’m still getting quite a bit of apple skins in the nose, but it’s not nearly as acute as it was in my first experience with this beer. Beyond the apple fruitiness of the nose, the vague, nutty maltiness is relegated to the background. Again, more sweet fruity apple skins in the flavor, with mild roast and nutty maltiness battling through and eventually achieving supremacy in the finish. Medium bodied and moderately carbonated on the palate. Still flawed by the apple skins, but at least I can tell it’s a nut brown this time around!

11-Dec-05 (12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with Sully, thanks Mike) Okay, time to have a little fun. I’ve avoided sampling this bottle all night, instead, drinking all the other brown ales in my fridge, but I can’t avoid this Arcadia beer any longer. Why avoid? Because nearly every Arcadia beer I’ve ever had has been massively overcarbonated and suffered from something nasty like infections, diacetyl, soapiness, or acetaldehyde. I predict this bottle will follow in the footsteps of those that came before, and the odds greatly favor my ability to foresee the future in this case. Okay, I’m ready with the bottle opener, here we go. PSSSSSSSTTTT!!!! Oh yeah, there we go, there’s that familiar sound. Pouring maybe an ounce of beer, I get at least two inches of light tan foam. And oh, there goes the foam leaping out of the bottle, making a mess on my desk. Yup, smells like apple skins. Yup, tastes like apple skins. Wow, I’m so shocked! Plain and simple, Arcadia has the worst quality control of any brewery I know. Message to the brewer at Arcadia: please go out of business so that I stop wasting my money on your crappy beers! (3, 2, 3, 2, 5 = 1.5)