Review: Arcadia HopMouth Double IPA

In Beer Reviews by Ryan


Arcadia says:

“Deep amber hue with a generous white head, Hopmouth showcases a rich, toasty flavor and a sweet caramel notes as a result of the high-quality Maris Otter Malt, imported from the UK. The hops are right up front in the aroma, reminiscent of citrus and pine, while the resin-like flavors linger well after the last sip.”

Arcadia HopMouth Double IPA
Double IPA, 8.1% ABV

Sayeth the Guys:

Ryan: Have you ever poured a beer and thought, “huh, I didn’t think it would look like that?”  Or took a sip and wondered aloud, “Is this what it’s supposed to taste like?”  That was kind of my thought process as I sat down to review this offering from Arcadia in Battle Creek, Michigan.  This beer was different.  It was good – but it was still different.  But not exactly in a bad way.  Let me try to explain.

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This beer poured a rather dark, rich copper in color with a big ‘ol pillowy tan head that left all sorts of sticky goodness along the side of the glass.  This beer poured much darker than I expected it to.  But, you can’t judge a beer on looks alone – so I took a little whiff.  Ah, now we’re talking.   A big nose of pine and evergreen hits you right away.  So this beer doesn’t look like I expected, but it smells spot on.  How does it taste?

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Back to not like I expected it to.  First and foremost you get a massive wave of caramel and toffee.  The malts are a punch in the face after the nose had me expecting a a hop bomb.  The hops are there, making an appearance in the back end with a nice balance of citrus and pine.  It takes a few sips to get used to it the malt forward attitude of this beer, but once you do its a good drinker.

At first I thought this beer had faded some and the malts had taken over.  But I think this is what Arcadia intended.  Like I said, this is a good beer, but I typically like the hop flavors to overshadow the malts in a double IPA – not the other way around.

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About the Author

Ryan

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Equal parts beer nerd and policy geek, Ryan is now the curator of the Guys Drinking Beer cellar. The skills he once used to dig through the annals of state government as a political reporter are now put to use offering unique takes on barrel-aged stouts, years-old barleywines and 10 + year verticals.

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