Arcadia Hop Rocket 11th Anniversary Ale

Brewed by Arcadia Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Battle Creek, Michigan USA

Thanks to Derek for this one. Hazy brown body. Caramel and spice aroma. Strong bitterness upfront followed quickly by a coating sweet malt. Nice full body.

On-tap, served in a imperial pint glass. L: Cloudy bright orangey copper with a bubbly topped, fluffy ecru head, good head retention, a great deal of curtain-like lace follows the body down the glass as I consumed it. A steady flow of micro bubbles going from the bottom of glass to top. This is one impressive looking DIPA. S: A nicely hop dominate nose, tropical fruits, cantaloupe, grapefruit peels, touches of pine oil and woody, stemmy herbs. Caramel malts softly waft in the background. I like the aroma of Hop Rocket, a taste inducing smell. F&T: The active carbonation gives the moderate body a softly firm, creamily crisp feel in the mouth, making this quite easy to consume, I am having to fight the impulse to gulp this down. The hops are oily slick and have a resiny stickiness, my tongue is coated with a mild hop induced numbness. Flavors of pine resins and herbal oils, rinds of grapefruits and oranges, sweet apricots and a splash of lemon juice. Sweetness is added by tastes of honey caramel malts. Finishes semi-dry with a lingering citric hop spiciness in the back of the palate. Well, color me impressed. I believe this is best beer I tried from Arcadia, one of my favorite Michigan breweries. I had passed on the 4 pack bottle version of this a couple of times because of the price, but not anymore. This will be my next beer purchase.

This was a hop delight and a malt delight with a huge frothy head and a enjoyable smooth finish to it with hints of grapefruit/citrus and a nice flowing flavor.CHEERS!

Clear amber with a frothy off white head. Great piney hop aroma is medium strong. Medium/full body and very smooth. Good hop driven flavors are floral, peachy, grapefruit on a nice pale malt base. Nice balance of hop juice and malt flavors. Not too shabby.

Bottle courtesy of Jay23: Poured a slightly hazy copper color ale with a big foamy head with good retention and no lacing. Aroma consists of nice semi-sweet caramel malt with some dry and bitter hops. Taste is also comprised of semi-sweet caramel malt with some bitter and dry hops with a light floral finish. Full body with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Well done but missing some floral notes to be unforgettable.

Bottle: Pungent grapefruit hop aroma, lively orange body, and smells of earthy garden. A little more bitter than I expected, pine throughout, was expecting a little more grapefruit taste. A little malty for such an intense hop aroma.

Copper with huge head, great lacing. Aroma is dominated by caramel and residuel sugar, only hints of citrus. Flavor is overly cloying and 1 dimensional. Huge malt and nothing else. Thick luscious body and mouthfeel. Just can’t dig all the malt right now.

Bottle courtesy Degarth. Pours a clear copper with a one finger lasting off-white head that leaves good lacing. Aroma of citrus, floral hops, and sweet malt. Taste is the same as aroma. Medium mouthfeel with a moderate amount of bitterness and well hidden alcohol. Very good.