Beer Review - Arcadia Ales Mango Suprise IPA

Arcadia Ales - Mango Suprise IPA

Beer Type: American IPA - 7.00% ABV

Appearance: Classic Arcadia (new) art on the bottle with a tasty looking mango on it. Beer pours a light golden/straw color with a white lacy head.

Smell: Soapy mango chutney? Does not smell like an IPA.

First Drink: Initial taste is more like an IPA with hops but it is quickly followed by tropical flavors of mango, pineapple, and citrus.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and a bit sticky. Good carbonation.

Last Drink: More sweet tropical flavors and a very bitter finish.

Drinkability: I think these tropical flavored beers are the current trend. Kind of like sodas from the late 80's/early 90's. It's okay but gets old.

Notes: Not a bad beer though I am not sure why they spell suprise without the additional "r"

Verdict: 3.5 out of 5. Good for one or two but outlasts its welcome beyond that.   

Beer Review - Arcadia Brewing Company Jaw-Jacker.

Arcadia Brewing Company - Jaw-Jacker

Beer Type: Herbed/Spiced Ale - 6.00% ABV

Appearance: 12oz brown bottle with the spooky man eating pumpkin in a field with a scarecrow and bats! Very Halloween. Beer pours a pumpkiny-orange color with a thin beige head.  

Smell: Spices! Something sour! No "pumpkin" exactly but lots of assertive spice and malt aromas.        

First Drink: Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and a bunch of spices with some bitter hops and malt coming through.   

Mouthfeel: Kinda thin but also sharply carbonated? If that makes sense?        

Last Drink: The spices are still dominating but I get the hints of pumpkin pie too.           

Drinkability: I don't love this beer by itself but I do like it mixed with other dark beers. 

Notes: Not a bad pumpkin/fall brew and it's great mixed with Loch Down (Loch-Jacker) from Arcadia or Old Chub from Oskar Blues (Chub-Jacker).             

Verdict: 3 out of 5. Good enough to get you in the mood. 

Beer Review - Arcadia Cereal Killer Barleywine.

Did you miss my drunken ramblings?

Arcadia Brewing Company - Cereal Killer Barleywine

Beer Type: English Barley Wine - 10.00% ABV

Appearance: 22oz brown bottle with a kinda strange serial killer label thing going on. Neat. Beer poured a hazy reddish/brown. No head to speak of.      

Smell: Sweetness, a lot of sticky sweet aromas of dried fruits, molasses and dark sugars, and just a hint of something else? Can't quite make it out.   

First Drink: A little bit of grain but mostly just sticky sweet raisins and cherries. Not much in the hops department.    

Mouthfeel: Very sticky with what I would call a medium body.    

Last Drink: A little bitterness coming though now and something like tart apples or pineapple? Maybe that's not a good thing...           

Drinkability: Wow this is one heck of a beer. Not for slamming that's for sure. I've had other barley wine I liked better but this one is pretty damn complex.            

Notes: This beer is from 2007. Been sitting on it for a bit. Not sure how that may have changed the brew?           

Verdict: 4 out of 5. Local beer, aged a while, now given light and air. Tastes pretty good but I'd like a current bottle to compare.