BrewDog Arcade Nation
This 5.2% black IPA burns the line between an American IPA and a stout, with malt and hops firing on all cylinders, in psychotic synchronicity. Roasty, chocolate and coffee notes duke it out with citrus, mango and pine. Pithy bitterness plays off roasty dryness. Light bodied, but with the intensity of a beer twice its size.
Hopped with Simcoe, Amarillo and Citra, Arcade Nation showcases the incredible complexity of three of our all-time favourite hops. The twisting flavours change so fast, you’ll need the reactions of a hardened retro gamer to keep up with them.
Hopped with Simcoe, Amarillo and Citra, Arcade Nation showcases the incredible complexity of three of our all-time favourite hops. The twisting flavours change so fast, you’ll need the reactions of a hardened retro gamer to keep up with them.
3.6
194 reviews
Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Community reviews
Blurb is bang on- blurs line between stout and IPA. Deep ruby flecked mahogany speckling with tan. Big juicy waft of house curry leaf hop. Liquorice and lychee splashed over burnt custard cream base. Not as disjointed as that sounds. Mellow chocolate and ash sprinkled afters. Mostly curry leaf and lime-zested hop. So doesn’t really blur any lines at all. Beautiful. Even a suggestion of condition. Could happily drink all day.
Bottle from More than Beer. Dark brown coloured, beige head. Nose is roasted malts, coffee, citrus, pine. Flavour is roasted malts, citrus, bit of coffee. Some bitterness. Light bodied.
Bottle @home. Pours dark brown, cream head. Nose is malty, chocolate, citrus and some woody notes. Taste is citrus, tropical fruits slight pine.
BB 07/Jan/17. Poured a slightly translucent dark brown with nice ruby tints in strong light. Had a light tan two- to three-finger dense foam head that retained very well and laced very well. Carbonation high, lively and fine. Aroma soft with citrus and pine plus hints of sweet tropical fruits, roasted notes, coffee and dark chocolate. Tasted of roasted notes followed by sweet fruits, sweet dark chocolate and with a coffee bitterness. Light body. Crisp, smooth, slightly creamy and with a soft thin mouthfeel plus a low to moderate bitterness on the finish. Nice.
Bottle. Dark nougat brown body, small off-white head. Nose is grass, earthy leaves, pine and hints of herbs, licorice and mild chocolate. Taste is herbs, chocolate, grass, licorice and hints of leaves and coffee. Medium body and carbonation. Decent, but not very exciting.
11.10.2016, 0,33l bottle shared with friends @ local tasting:
Nice slightly bubbly-creamy mediumlasting head. Aroma is slightly sweet, dark malts, butterscotch, minerals, herbs, body lotion, dark sugar, grass, bark, grain, licorice. Taste is dry mineraly, weeds, bark, dark malts, hay, sawdust, grass, butterscotch, paper, grain, cardboard, minerals. Medium bitterness, harsh mineraly mouthfeel. Meh!
33cl-fles gekocht bij Bierhalle Deconinck te Vichte. U: Zwart met bruine schuimkraag. G: Citrushop, tropisch fruit, in mindere mate geroosterde mout. S: Chocolade en koffie aangevuld met wat ananas en citrus. Jammer genoeg een wat waterachtige afdronk. M: Medium body en medium carbonatie.
Bottle at Beer Zone Iasi, Ro. Dark brown, medium head, nose with fresh hops and sweet citrus. A very light IPA, not so much "black" over it. Low carbonation, watery towards the end. Low bitterness.
330ml bottle. Big hoppy aromas, with the dark colour betraying the true nature of the beer. Taste is more nuanced, with lots of sweet citrus and pine up front and roasted toffee at the end. Lovely.
Bottle shared at RBWG: Poured a black with a tan head. Aroma is super hoppy to the nose with a undertone of malts. Taste malty with hops and a medicinal hint.
Obfita czapa piany, która długo się utrzymuje. Rewelacyjny intensywny aromat chmielu. Czuć ananas, mango, owoce tropikalne i cytrusy. W smaku czekolada, kawa i solidna dawka orzechów z lekką nutą paloności. Goryczka zauważalna ale jak na IPA nie jest zbyt wysoka. Przyjemne piwo, niezły balans pomiędzy cechami ciemnego piwa a cechami India Pale Ale
Tap @ BrewDog Clerkenwell, small sample. Dark color, short frothy head. Aroma of roast, pine, dark fruit, slight coffee. Medium bitterness, slight roast and dark fruit. Good balance between selected hops and amount of roast. Good one.
A very well hopped, fruity fragrance. Wonderful taste of fruity and moderately with bitterness and sweetness. Well balanced bitterness that fills the mouth for a long time. Drops slightly with the taste after a while. But still really good. Follow me @ Kung av öl @ Facebook for more pictures and ratings.
Poured from 330mL bottle. Dark brown with beige head. A bit of toasted malt and mild grapefruit hops. Finish is a little odd (but interesting) with some dusty wood and berries.
Bottle shared with rlgk, fonefan, ChrisO and beerhunter111. A bit hazy brownish color with a dark orange to reddish hue. Smell and taste malts, soft roast, hops, dark malts, malt and hop bitter. Medium body and carbonation. Quite nice.
From a 330ml bottle on 1/8/2016. Pours not far off black with a big foamy head. The aroma features a bit of fruit, some roastiness, and light hops.The flavour follows suit - some sweet fruit, light roasted malt and some moderate hops. Light to medium body with moderate carbonation. A tasty enough but relatively subdued black IPA.
Look: dark red, almost black, opaque, creamy strong beige head.
Aroma is on the hop side: black currant, pine, some sweet citrusy notes, some cats.
Dry and bitter with subtle.burned and roasted notes.
Coffee and burned notes become more porminent when it’s warming.
Good with balance on the hoppy side.
Black IPA by BrewDog, one of their more ’moderate’ interpretations of the style. Very thick and frothy, pale greyish beige, heavily cobweb-lacing, moussy head over a black beer with chestnut brown edges, only visible under bright light. Quite herbal and at the same time roasted aroma of dried fig, salmiak, dried parsley, coffee grounds, leather, burnt toast, lots of iron, dry beef stock cube, liquorish candy (’drop’), tea, dried seaweed, mocha, hints of charcoal, frozen spinach, black olive, old cloves and a very faint vanilla-ish sweetness peeping through. Clean, smooth, rounded onset, a bit on the neutral side actually, with very low ’dried fruit’ sweetishness and more outspoken ’dried seaweed’ umami flavor, otherwise minerally and medium carbonated, with a very smooth, slick mouthfeel. Somewhat thinnish body with a metallic ’sound’ to it, as toasted and eventually charcoal-like roasted malts pass the mouth cavity, leading towards a herbal, spicy and somewhat grassy hop bitter finish blending in well with the roasted bitterness; this bitterness, however, remains in all relatively soft for a BIPA and certainly for a BrewDog BIPA, roasted bitterness gets the last word and the metallic effect goes down with it. Perfectly decent beer, in all, supporting my argument of a typically European form of black IPA being in development, but honestly I did expect more from it. It is light-bodied, which in itself is not a bad thing of course, but it also lacks texture in the finish because the hops, though spicy enough, remain fairly superficial; a resinous, peppery hop bitter flavor does linger, but just not quite long enough to leave one completely satisfied. Especially since this is BrewDog, one of Europe’s most daring craft brewers, I was hoping for a bit more ’oomph’, I guess. Take their Libertine instead of this.
Bottle 330ml.
[ As BrewDog Arcade Nation ].
Clear dark brown color with a average to large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, beige head. Aroma is moderate malty, dark malt, roasted, moderate to heavy hoppy, citrus, grapefruit, licorice, wood. Flavor is moderate to light heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration, pine hops, dark malt, roasted. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20160625]
Bottle at Hair of the Dog, Phloen Chit, Bangkok. Poured a clear dark brown with a frothy off white head. The aroma is smoky roast malt, light grassy hop. The flavour is moderate bitter with a dry roasty, light ashtray, hop bitter palate. Medium bodied with average carbonation.
330 ml bottle at Ulfborg. Almost black color with beige head. Light malty and hoppy aroma, light roasted, licorice, grass, pine, spruce. Light sweet and moderate bitter taste. Medium oily body with soft carbonation.
Bottled@Little Pub, Vaasa. Deep ambery brown colour, mediumsized slightly off-white head. Aroma is wood, some berries, fruits and mild toasted notes. Flavour is similar, but also very earthy. Quite dusty aftertaste.
Black color with a fine beige head. Good lacing. Looks great. Nice intensity in the aroma. Medium + body and a fine smooth carbonation. Good balance between sweetness and bitterness. A bit oily texture. Chocolate, grapefruit hoppy, pine, some roast and mellow fruity flavor. Solid stuff.
[Bottle from Vinmnopolet Storo in Oslo, Norway]
BrewDog #100
Black color, light beige head with medium duration. Aroma is hoppy with roasted malts. Flavor has a medium bitterness, roasted malts and light licorice. Light roasty final.
Black colur with an off white head, good lacing. Aromais hoppy, pine, resines, tropical fruits, chocolate notes. Medium body, creamy palate. Taste of roasted malts, coffee, chocolate. Good, but not great.
On tap at BD57, april 8th 2016. Black body with a small brown head. Aroma is roasty with mild citric hop notes. Taste of strong coffee, cola, apricot. Robust bitterness, light licorice notes, with a hoppy aftertaste. Nice.
Keg@Brewdog, Leicester. Vibrant looking pitch black coloured beer with a light head. The aroma is lightly roasted and yeasty, and the flavour is gently roasted with some maltiness and sweetness. Overall an average beer.
Pours a pitch black color, topped with a medium sized and nicely stable tan head. Lots of fruity notes upfront, sweet tropical and citrusy feel, lychee, passion. In the back some roasted and coffee notes are present, later on a bit chocolate as well. Moderate bitterness with slightly sweet fruity feel which become more evident later on. Finishing with a gentle roastiness. Medium full body, silky. Like the lower alcohol level, feels more sessionable. Gentle aftertaste. Great.
Almost like two beers in one. You’ve got the mango, peachy qualities of an IPA and the roasted malt and coffee flavours of a porter. Quite nice, but a bit unusual.
BOTTLE 33 CL. Almost black with ruby highlights. Beige head. Balanced better Grepfrut and piney hops and roasted malts, light chocolate and ashes. Pretty light bodied yet flavourful. Very nice.