Arcadia Sky High Rye

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

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.

12 oz bottle. Cloudy orange body, thick, puffy buff head. Spicy nose with bitter pine and citrus brightness. Citrus and pine taste, backed by toasty malts. Dense flavor profile and crisp, biting mouthfeel. Average aftertaste for an IPA with a slight metallic finish.

Bomber - Had this at the 2009 Michigan Winter Beer Festival, then shared a bomber with a friend. Pours hazy orange with a nice frothy head. There’s hops on the nose, but not much else. Taste matches the smell--lots of biting hops with a dry finish that overpowers the grain taste in the background. Pretty light-bodied an oily. This is alright, but nothing special.

Tap at the Sunswick. Poured a clear amber with a foamy white head. Very big hop and rye nose. The flavor was not as hoppy as the nose revealed. Not a super bright hop flavor, a bit more subdued, but the malt rye base is quite good, and brings you back for another sip. Sweet than bitter finish.

Bottle: Golden pour with good clarity and a dense off white head with good retention. Lots of hop character in the aroma. Spicy, zesty centennial notes, with a touch of vegetal with only a touch of sweet grains- remains hops forward. Nice creamy palate- soft carbonation. Lots of zesty American hop in the flavor- evident centennial character- lightly resiny with a light herbal middle. Later on the palate some malt character is displayed- some hearty grain notes- not much rye is evident, if any (wouldn’t identify it in a blind taste) Finishes with a clean centennial zesty bitterness. I’d call this an IPA, and a mediocre one at that.

Bomber - I normally stay far away from Arcadia brews, but I am breaking my own rule (for the second time in a week, no less) - I just can’t pass up a rye beer - unfortunately, this is really an IPA - a decent one though, I suppose - lightly hazy gold beer with a small ring of foam - there is faint rye in the aroma, but it is mostly dry, herbal/grassy hops and a bit of bready malt - medium carbonation in the mouth - fresh hoppiness up front, followed by lightly sweet, buttery flavors through the middle, and a rather thin finish - some spicy hops return, and there is a little heat on the back end, which is surprising, since this is supposedly only 6% abv - a decent IPA, but nothing memorable/stand out.

22 oz bottle - pours out a light clear gold color, paler than i expected, although i’m not quite sure what color i expected it to be. average amount of white head with frothy bubbles bigger than average. strong dry-hopped aroma of green american northwest hops and spicy rye, and little to no alcohol heat apparent. bready sourdough in the aroma as well. flavor is a little less bitter than the aroma suggests, but rounds out nicely with a mildly sweet malt backbone and well-balanced bittering hops. medium clean finish and a respectable rye APA.

Bottle. Average creamy froth white hear with fair lacing. Heavy hop aroma of spruce, citrus, grapefruit and orange. Initial flavor is very smooth and earthy hops. Middle flavor is orange smooth mild malt. Finishes slightly bitter but very mild. Long aftertaste. Bitterness increases over time. Overall good smooth IPA.