Arcadia Cereal Killer Barleywine
Brewed in tradition of Englishstyle barley wines, Cereal Killer offers an explosion of full-bodied, liquid goodness. Robust malty flavors converge with caramel, toffee, molasses and dark fruit notes to produce a remarkably complex yet palate-pleasing beer. Its intense malt character is complemented by a subtle citrus finish from the hops. With cellar-aging Cereal Killer’s flavor evolves further, developing a sherry-like aroma and flavor similar to a cask-aged port. Winner of the Gold Medal for Wood and Barrel-Aged Strong Beers at 2009 GABF.
3.5
455 reviews
, United States
Community reviews
The aroma is malty, caramel and a little molasses. Pours a cloudy dark brown/copper with an off white head mostly diminishing and excellent lacing. The taste is sweet and then a little bitter. The body is medium, the texture creamy, the carbonation lively and the finish long. Overall not bad, I’ve been frowning on barleywines of late, so this would probably be rated higher if I was more into barleywines.
12oz bottle that’s been rotting in my fridge for a few years! Bottled on date is 12/06/??. Of course the year is smudged! Pours a clear caramel Amber brown color with a super small beige head of foam. Aroma of mainly booze, sweet caramel, and toffee. Taste is much the same. Boozy, sweet caramel, grassy bitterness, metal, toffee, and sweet fruit.
Bottle from Hopology, Nottingham. Rhayader ruby red colour. No head. Aroma berry fruit, spicy dark stewed fruit and vanilla. Taste is fruity sweet, and a touch of alcohol. Medium body.
very good as barlwywines go. aroma of grapes and fruit. flavor is sweet, fruity and nicely balanced. had on draft. decent barleywine.
Refrigerated 12 oz. brown bottle, 2013, poured into a snifter. Clear dark Amber with no head. Aroma is caramel malt, medium body, low carbonation, and little lacing. Taste is caramel malt and some alcohol.
Sample 7/19/14 (Naperville Ale Fest)-Pours a darker brown with almost no head. Aroma of toffee, caramel, dark fruits, and roasted malt. Taste of the same with a bit of vanilla coming in. This medium bodied brew was not bad maybe a bit thin but still somewhat tasty.
2014 bottle served in a tulip. Appearance is a murky brown with a little beige head with decent lacing. Aroma is brown sugar, spices, and stone fruits. Kind of like the way a fresh holiday cake smells around Xmas time. There’s also a sweet, slightly citric smell as well. Taste is plum, date, molasses, toffee, sweet holiday spice, and hints of dry citrus. Mouthfeel is medium and finishes slightly dry with alcohol well hidden. Nice beer.
2009 bottle from a trade I guess. Pours a deep, thick brown with a smaller head. No lacing. The aroma is big caramel, toffee, sweet roll, and brown sugar. The taste is toffee, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, sweet rolls, and a slight bitter finish. Big body, thick and chewy. Oily finish. Big flavors, aged well. Some carb left and no oxidation noticed. Very well done.
On tap at The Laundry. Pours Dark brown with a tiny beige head and a baked bread aroma. There is a dry slightly sour dark malt flavor with a bitter finish that sticks to the palate.
Sample at Hopfest 2015. Comes a cloudy reddish brown with a small beige head. Aroma of malt, fruit, and caramel. Taste is malt, dark fruit, caramel, vanilla, and some barrel. Pretty good.
Sample, brown bottle, 22 ounces, tasting at Stephen Morris’ place, savoured on December 12 2014; eye: dirty brown, hazy, tiny ring of beige head, light lacing; nose: caramel, resinous hops, light nutty, light iodine, light alcohol, light butter; mouth: caramel, resinous hops, light nutty, light iodine, light alcohol, light butter, semi-dry finale in acridness with presence of alcohol, medium-full body, average carbonation, mildly bitter, lightly sweet, lightly harsh texture; overall: correct FRANÇAIS Échantillon, bouteille brune, 22 onces, dégustation chez Stephen Morris, savourée le 12 décembre 2014; œil : brun sale, trouble, petit anneau de mousse beige, légère dentelle; nez : caramel, houblon résineux, léger noix, léger iode, léger alcool, léger beurre; bouche : caramel, houblon résineux, léger noix, léger iode, léger alcool, léger beurre, finale semi-sèche âcre avec présence d’alcool, corps moyen-corsé, carbonatation moyenne, moyennement amère, légèrement sucrée, texture légèrement râpeuse; en résumé : correct
Earlier Rating: 8/13/2012 Total Score: 3.5
Sample, from a bottle, Mondial de la bière, savoured on June 8 2012; eye: dark caramel, clear, no effervescence, tiny ring of beige head, light lacing; nose: alcohol, malt, resinous hops, caramel; mouth: alcohol, malt, resinous hops, caramel, pepper, finale in alcohol with good presence of resinous hops, full body, not much carbonation, quite bitter, lightly sweet, harsh and alcoholic texture; overall: correct
FRANÇAIS
Échantillon, d’une bouteille, Mondial de la Bière, savourée le 8 juin 2012; œil : caramel foncé, limpide, pas d’effervescence, petit anneau de mousse beige, légère dentelle; nez : alcool, malt, houblon résineux, caramel; bouche : alcool, malt, houblon résineux, caramel, poivre, finale en alcool avec bonne présence de houblon résineux, corsé, peu carbonatée, pas mal amère, légèrement sucrée, texture rugueuse et alcoolique; en résumé : correct
12oz bottle. Inky, lightly soy nose with hoochy booze, deep chocolate and coffee, appreciable hop character at this point, and molasses and toffee notes over faint fruit. Sugary and crystalline, but airy. Pours tawny-ruby with a fizzy tan head. Soft medium body, lightly buttery with lots of elegant alcohol, strong warmth from the throat down into the pit of the chest, smooth blackstrap and tar under surprisingly developed maltiness, very light tongue numbing on the sides. Lightly citric hops but after a while they seem earthier, and there’s some mildly jammy red berry and cherry behind the toffee. Bitterness is only mild and the sweetness ends up accumulating pretty quickly, to the point one might consider this a targeted blend of alcohol and fruit rather than malt and hops. Bold enough to stand up to this Maytag and better than a lot of liqueurs - even has some faint plum and sherry seeping in by the end, and there’s a high general level of complexity. Yes, it’s a little too brash and obvious, but I’d love to have another.
Bottle...Pour is caramel with white head...Nose is oxidation, caramel, spice, wet paper..Taste is caramel, spice, oxidation, bready..
Aroma is malts, caramel, bread and a hint of vanilla. The flavor is malts, caramel and a borderline off-putting cloying finish.
Thanks to matt for this. Pours dirty brown with a small brown head. Aroma is big caramel sweetness with floral hops. Taste is raisin, caramel malts with light floral hops and slightly resinous.
Bottle: Poured a deep brown color ale with a nice foamy head. Aroma of caramelized cereal notes with some toffee. Taste is also dominated by some caramelized sugar notes with some toffee and light butter notes. Finish is dryer then I would have expected. Body is full enough for style with good amount of carbonation. Nice beer but I thought it fell a bit short on the drinkability and smoothness.
Pours clear brown (light), limited lacing limited head. Nose is syrup. Flavours of syrup, brown bread, cheerios, some earthy bitterness. Taste is light/medium bitter, light/ medium sweet. Mouth was a bit light with light carbonation.
A murky brown amber ale with a thin light mocha head. In mouth, sweet fruity caramel malt with light iodine notes, floral hops, grapefruit pulp, OK. In mouth, a sweet fruity caramel malt with light butterscotch, treacle, light vinous character, dry and lightly oxidized, OK. Bottle at 2014 Ottawa Xmas gathering.
2006 on tap at Capone’s. Pours a hazy muddy reddish brown with out any head. Notes of vanilla, caramel, dried dark fruits. Taste is sweet and has a big raisin flavor. Not bad for an 8 yr old beer. Pretty flat and thinner mouthfeel.
Pour out of 12 oz bottle, Thanksgiving beer #1. Very murky dark purpleish brown pour with off white head, aroma brought notes of big caramel, toffee, some slight dark fruits, hints of bready notes with a touch of spice. Taste is a mix of caramel, toffee, dark fruit, hints of earth, spice, finishing sweet, slightly watery. Not very complex or full bodied, though it hides the ABV well.
Earlier Rating: 5/22/2013 Total Score: 4
Draught. Dark brown with small beige foamy head that disappeared quickly, faint fruity aroma, low carbonation, oak flavored thin bodied beer that is dominated by the alcohol overtones, a late metallic taste, medium finish with slightly bitter aftertaste. A lot of things going on with this beer bit not really converging on a great result!
Oramge brown pour no head. Some bourbon and fig aroma. Moderate body and carbonation. Not a ton of barrel but enough that compliments dark fruit and caramel flavors. Not bad
Seems mellow but good.
"Kinda easy drinking for a BW, which is both good and bad. Covers up the abv quite well. Definitely sweet leaning...a year or two old. Prunes, caramel, dark fruit. Not a lot of depth, but pretty tasty. A session barleywine, perhaps?"
Big boozy, sweet, caramel and toffee, more sweet and booze. Cloudy, reddish brown. Boozy, sweet, toffee, thick.
Pours a murky muddy brown with barely any head. Just a few bubbles. Nose is strong toffee and a sugary cotton candy sweetness. Taste is all toffee and sugar without much complexity and a lightly watery mouthfeel. Like sugar water.
Draft to taster at Arcadia in Kalamazoo. Looks good; a fairly transparent amberish copper with light caramel head that steadily dissipates into lacing. Smells solid; toffee and caramel with a bit of dark fruit in the background. Malty, but balanced. Tastes like it smells with a nice, smooth mouthfeel and a bit of hops as well. Not cloying or overhopped like most barleywines; really nice balance. A good example of the style.
Cereal Killer pours a dark plumb with a wet sandy brown head that lasts a good while. The aroma is malt heavy with caramel, molasses and grape standing out. The flavor is dark fruit, grape, molasses and a hint of citrus. This is a very interesting and delicious beer.
From notes. Enjoyed at the Ashley’s Rare & Vintage Beer TasteFest on June 07. Poured from a 22 oz wax-capped bomber. The pour is a nice ruby color with some light orange hues poking through. There is a nice thin white head and no lace. The aroma is really nice. There is a good malt character and a great addition of dark fruits. It seems a little thin in the back end of the nose with not much booze coming through. The deep end of the draw possesses a nice molasses sweetness. The flavr is a little more heated than the nose lets on. There is still a good soft fruitiness and a great sweet malt backbone. The mouth feel is definitely thin, with a light carbonation and a solid, sweet, lingering aftertaste. Well done.
Bottle. Dark brown yellow pour. Oak, chocolate, coffee, mocha, vanilla. Medium to full body. Good carbonation that makes this easy to drink. Sweet bitter and dark chocolate finish