Arcadia B-Craft Black Double IPA

Brewed by Arcadia Brewing Company
Style: Black IPA
Battle Creek, Michigan USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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UPDATED: MAY 23, 2012 12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled 4/24/2012. Pours almost pitch black dark brown color with a nice 2 finger tan head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Some nice soapy lacing on the glass. Aromas of big pine, grapefruit, orange rind, toast, roasted malt, herbal, earth, and light chocolate. Great aromas with big fresh hoppiness; and nice balance. Taste of big grapefruit, orange rind, pine, chocolate, roasted malt, caramel, toast, herbal, and earthy hops. Moderate citrus rind bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of grapefruit, orange rind, pine, chocolate, roasted malt, and herbal on the finish for a while. Fantastic balance of hop flavors with the roasted malt. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a fairly creamy and slightly slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming after the finish noticed. Overall this is a fantastic black IPA! Great hop and roasted malt flavor balance, and very smooth for 8.5%. Amazing stuff!

12oz Bottle. Thanks Sean! Passionfruit and lemongrass hop resin aroma, strong and perfumed. Flavors quickly develop robust dark malt layered with more tropical and coniferous pine flavors. This is really smooth, integrated and rich. I hate to say, but with Arcadia, I expected the possibility of something akimbo, but this has a piquant flavor profile, a smooth clean body, and does a nice job amping up the Black IPA characters without getting out of balance. Love the hopwork.

Strong citrus peel flavor, followed by heavy citrus hops, and a unique twist of cocoa and coffee. Hints of toasted grains and toffee. Great feel and surprisingly easy to drink.

Bottle to snifter. Looks fine; black with lacing. Smells Solid; hoppy and malty. Tastes good; balanced with a nice mouthfeel. I wouldn’t call it a DIPA, but it’s good either way.

12 oz. bottle poured to a Czech-pils glass at Lunar Brewing Co., displaying a darkest brown/mahogany hue, with tan, bubbles & cream head foam that morphed into a moussy layer, and left some clingy, wavey spray on the glass. The aroma was very unusual, and seemed to present a different note each time I elevated the glass to my nose. In no specific order, there was some roastiness, molasses, dark caramel, melon, prune, licorice, resin, and a slight chemical hint much like asphaltum. The flavor presented some tartness, vinous and tannin notes, and an earthy, very lingering, almost out of control hop bitterness that was somewhat harsh on the palate. The carbonation was soft, the body was better than medium, and the finish was decidedly bitter and dry. I had to sit with this one for awhile to contemplate the complexity, and although it started to grow on me, I wasn’t totally sold on the outcome.

Black pour with a small amount of head. Nice aroma of roasted malt and floral hops. Taste is slightly sweet at first mixed with roasted malt and then the floral hops take over. Slightly dry finish with a hoppy aftertaste. A great example of a black ipa. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Liked it so much on tap at the pub I got a growler to go. Pours a dark black but you can somehow tell it is not real thick as the look would imply. A very different mix of flavors from figs to burnt malt. In between the two extremes I got coffee, chocolate, and some type of resin like pine tar. Like I know what pine tar tastes like? The alcohol is all but hidden. The hops are strop but someone remain in the background.

Nice piney and resinous nose. Pours an opaque black with a dusting of light tan head clinging to the side of the glass. This is black IPA that is ruled by the hops, strong pine and bitter notes, with just a hint of roast and chocolate in the finish. The bitter finish stays around for a long time, lingering. This is a solid IPA, it doesn’t have as much in the roasted notes that I look for in a black IPA.

On tap at Arcadia. Black appearance with slight brown hue and thin white head. Citrus-y flavor with full-bodied finish. Though last years batch was better, this is my favorite black IPA by a long shot.

Bottle. Gorgeous black with a tinge of ruby when held to the light. Dank grapefruit nose. Getting some tobacco notes. Unlike everything I’ve ever smelled. So intense for a Black IPA. Taste is so unique. Hop citrus assault up front then you’re slapped on the back end like a stout almost (coffee, chocolate, and the tobacco). Really nice texture and smooth finish. You don’t know the alcohol until you feel it at the end of your glass. Home run from Arcadia. This should give them some recognition then deserve.