Arcadia Sky High Rye

Brewed by Arcadia Brewing Company
Style: Specialty Grain
Battle Creek, Michigan USA

By appearance this beer could pass for any of many premium lagers but is a bit cloudy with almost no carbonation. By aroma it could pass for many IPAs with grapefruit notes. Flavor, however, is a bit more distinct. It has grapefruit beginning along with pine and caramel. It offers more grain than IPAs but could pass for one. The middle highlights more pine oil but the finish is, again, tart citrus. Alcohol is not huge but is definitely well over 5% ABV. Well, an IPA by any other name is still a quite tasty beer. The grain does add some complexity and some attitude as well.

A so so specialty grain. Aroma was decent. Very thick with mostly citrus hops with a hint of graininess. Pour was a thick cloudy dirty orange with little bubbles and a thin off white film for a head. Taste was very hoppy with mostly bitter hops and a thick but dry mouthfeel. Very little carbonation. Couldn’t pick up any rye in this and if I was rating this blind I would’ve called this an IPA.

Bottle. Aroma of citrus oil hops along with some floral and herbal hops, some rye crust, hay, doughy malt. Flavor again heavy on the citrus oil hops with bready malt in the background. Nice bitterness and grainy malt in the finish. Nice stuff.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy orange with a small white head. Aroma of sweet oranges, tropical fruits, and citrus hops. Flavor of nice hop oils, a touch of grainy notes (probably only because I’m concentrating on finding them!) with a light bitterness in the finish. Very nice beer and yeah, it’s definitely more of an IPA than a specialty grain, but in any case, definitely a hidden gem. 8/4/8/4/15 (3.9/5)

22 ounce bottle in pint glass. Golden with lasting head and lace. Fresh hoppy sweet citrus aroma. Mildly sweet spicy with nicely understated pear melon fruit. Spicy rye hoppy finish. NIcely complex. Delicious. OKay, so why is this a "specialty grain" beer, but Hop Rod Rye is a DIPA? Anyhow this beer is a delicious IPA with an added rye spicy complexity. Excellent.

Bomber: Aroma is hop forward, citrus, sugary, bubblegum, and pine needles. Appearance is a cloudy orangish/amber pour with a thick white head that lingers. Taste is hops, rye, grapefruit, and a bit of the pine needle that was in the aroma. Palate is very mouth coating, medium to low carbonation on the tongue, and a lingering resiny hop characteristic in the aftertaste. Overall, Decent stuff not as good a Red’s Rye or Black Rye, but a nice substitute. Cheers!

Tap at Prohibition taproom. Pours a trans golden amber with med creamy off white head. Aroma of a nice mix of hops, spicy rye notes and caramel malt. Flavor the same. Really well done.

On draft at Hop Cat. Slight aroma with typical APA/IPA values. Taste starts out with deeper citrus and resin but aftertaste is strong hops, pine, alcohol. It is very dry finish and does not hide alcohol as well as most IPA’s or even Double IPA’s. I didn’t get much for hints of the rye character.