Maker: Arcadia, Battle Creek, Michigan, USA
Style: Sour Brown Ale with cherries, finished in a bourbon barrel
ABV: ??
Appearance: Murky auburn with a moderate head.
Nose: Charred oak, hops, roasted malt, hint of cherry.
Palate: Medium bodied and delicately sweet. Cheery, oak, bourbon, brown ale.
Finish: Fruity and slightly sour. Carries on in a low key fashion for quite a while.
Parting words: I normally don’t review beer one-offs like this, especially not years after they were released, but I have an enormous backlog of beers to review and not a lot of space to store them in so I have decided to review what I have instead of buying new stuff.
This beer was one of two special releases Arcadia put out in honor of their 15th anniversary in December of 2011. The other one was XV ale. It was finished in white wine barrels while this one got the bourbon barrel treatment. This one was said to be a sour brown ale brewed with cherries but I don’t get much sour out of this at all. Either the sourness has mellowed during the time in the bottle or the cherry sweetness has done the mellowing.
I bought it in 2013 or 2012 when visiting Arcadia with Friend-of-the-Blog Oscar. I don’t remember how much I paid for it, but I am sure it was between $10 and $24. I don’t mind paying that much for a one-off of this quality in a 22 oz. bottle like this. If you can find it, Arcardia’s 15 Ale is recommended.
Sipology 