Arbor Brewing Sacred Cow IPA - Arbor Brewing Company

Mcculler

Ohio

2.2/5  rDev -41.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Pours a hazy, muddy, amber - beautiful in sunlight but rather unappetising in artificial - with a large, lasting, off-white head. Unfortunately, the head might be the only good thing about this beer.

Smells faintly of bitter herbs, apple cider, slightly sweet malts, and old plastic.

Tastes like a decent IPA - mild grapefruit and lemon with a sweet malt backbone, except running through it is that bitter plastic off taste noticeable in the smell.

Strangely, perhaps interestingly, thick body with good carbonation.

Would be very drinkable without that plastic flavor. Might not make it all the way through this one. Haven't heard the best of things about Arbor brewing from relatively reputable sources. My first try of their beer does nothing to contradict the grapevine.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2010 22:08:50 | More by Mcculler

kegger22

Michigan

3.88/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sacred Cow pours a clear, deep amber with a 3/4" head that reduces to a skin covering. I'm smelling mostly malty sweet. The taste is grapefruit citrus hops with a sweet malt background. Slightly bitter after taste. Feel is medium bodied, slightly oily and modest carbonation. Drinkability is good.

A good, not great, APA with a respectable balance of flavor. I will probably drink again.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2009 17:45:40 | More by kegger22

lackenhauser

Maryland

3.53/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hazy, pale amber color with a nice, off white head. Aroma is ok-pretty much just says "hops"-nothing overwhelming. Soft and malty flavor with enough hops to make them stand out but not in your face. Has a nice earthy and somewhat woody like flavor. Lingering hop bite with a sweet malty finish. Very full body for the style. Grows on me as it goes down. I like the somewhat earthy taste to it. Nice US IPA.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2009 01:06:19 | More by lackenhauser

lukeoberm963

Michigan

1.85/5  rDev -50.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

Had this beer from a friend that bought it to make up from a six pack that he drank that was mine while I was away. When I first saw it I thought "Oh No". The last time I drank it was from another buddy of mine. He had the amber and whenever you poured it the beer foamed up like CRAZY. The glass would fill with 10% beer and 90% head. You could not drink this beer, especially from the bottle (ugh). I figured, heck this isn't the amber, I'll give it a try. When I poured it it smelled ok. When I poured it I got almost the same result 40% beer and 60% head in the glass. I had to wait almost fifteen minutes until it was drinkable. When I did the flavor was a little malty up front with a lot of hop oil, citrus flavor. There wasn't much of I hop smack like I would expect with other IPA's so I was disappointed in that also. I would not recommend this brewery to anyone unless they prefer drinking their beer fifteen minutes and warmer that when they poured the sucker.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2009 15:37:22 | More by lukeoberm963

semihobo

Michigan

3.73/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Was drinking this on cask at the brewery on Washington St. and liked it enough to take home a sixer. Presumably that's about as fresh as it gets in a bottle.

Dark orange and hazy, just how I like em. Nice full finger of ivory head, bubbles as small as monitor pixels.

Smell has some whole wheat toast, apricots, cream. A little bit of gingery spice hints at bitterness.

Citrusy, floral hops, about average bitterness for the style. Quite mellow. Balance between sweet/dry. There is a minor and unpleasant yeast twang on the finish that was not present in the cask version. Finish is messy, everything comes together in a generically funky/bitter way.

Medium-light, creamy mouthfeel. Finish is fairly pleasant.

This bottle wasn't quite as enjoyable for some reason, but the numbers are bumped up a bit due to the tastiness of this beer on cask and previously. Very approachable IPA, sessionable without being weak.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2009 01:11:07 | More by semihobo

chicagobeerriot

Illinois

2.55/5  rDev -31.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Cloudy and Copper-hued. A sloppy pour gives you two fingers of rocky, persistent head that's forming some decent lacing as the session progresses.

Getting a bit of citrus and peach with my first whiff, but this is not a very strong smelling IPA.

Mouthfeel is a bit thicker and full-bodied than I usually like to see from the single-IPA community.

There's a lot more flavor here than I expected based on the smell. It starts out promising, with some nice grapefruit and biscuity notes and the bitterness really makes a hard charge after a second or two. My problem with this beer is that the finish is a bit of a mess. The bitterness goes off the rails and combines with a surprisingly strong alcohol presence to leave a less than pleasant aftertaste. The completist may want to try this, but it's not going to get a repeat visit from me.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2009 00:33:40 | More by chicagobeerriot

dirtylou

Washington

4/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

on cask at the brewpub

cellphone notes

appearance: hazy grapefruit amber body, frothy beige cap. a sight for sore eyes after a long drive from Madison

smell: earthy hops - grapefruit, pulpy hop presence, nicely spiced

taste: a nice cask IPA - moderately hopped primarily showcasing pulpy grapefruit and lemon zest - floral citrus and delicate white pepper. saw the bottles around too but figured fresh at the pub was the way to go

mouthfeel: pulpy, juicy hops - medium body, light bitterness

drinkability: good - a solid brewpub IPA

Serving type: cask

09-16-2009 04:19:27 | More by dirtylou

ThatWineGuy

Ontario (Canada)

3.48/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Huge head, off white, three to four fingers with foamy consistency. Well carbonated, lively with some lace, good retention. Smells of grapefruit, lemonade, sharp hoppy aroma. Taste is quite an attack on the senses - sharp grapefruit, extremely bitter with a long but not all that pleasant finish. With air, a malt bill was more pronounced but it didn't particularly soften the harshness of the IBU front, it seemed to me that this beer was a bit off-balance. Although this beer presents as a typical IPA at first, it's not one of the better ones; I wouldn't be surprized if it drank better out of a cask or on tap, both featured at the brewpub if you find yourself in Ann Arbor. Personally, I'd like to give this another try sometime.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2009 02:44:45 | More by ThatWineGuy

berserker256

Michigan

3.68/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Normally I think things that come from Ann Arbor suck but I'll give this beer a fair shot. Nice hazy deep copper color. Thick off-white head that sticks to the glass. Floral hop and light citrus pine odor that makes me wanna sneeze. Oily texture, light cabonation, semi-syrupy medium body. Slight sour pine flavor with a bitter aftertaste. Burps taste like pine cones. Feels heavy in my gut, but that may be because the stomach was empty to begin with. It feels like a meal. As the beer disappears heavy lacing is left behind. Decent IPA. Ive had better but I've also definitely had worse. Go Spartans.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2009 19:00:36 | More by berserker256

Bierguy5

Ohio

3.08/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

12 oz. bottle. Pours a hazy, light copper color. White foamy head disappears pretty quick, leaving just a few patches of lace on the sides of the glass.

Some earthy and light citrusy flavors. A few caramel and fruity notes. Comes across more of an English IPA here for me.

A very light caramel malt is at the front, lacking depth. Some fruity flavors come in next, but nothing too dominating. Bitterness seems to be on the low side. Most of the bitterness comes across as earthy and floral.

Light body, with a low amount of carbonation. Seems more like an English Pale Ale tom me. Not very impressive.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2009 11:31:12 | More by Bierguy5

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.45/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

On tap at The Hunt Club. Yellow with a significant head, and then lacey. Average mouthfeel. Very bitter and then drying, so if there was complexity of flavours it was a jumbe in the hops. Drinkable, but only average for the style. Maybe better on cask the way the brewery began serving it.

Serving type: on-tap

08-09-2009 13:57:32 | More by northyorksammy

GordonQuid

Michigan

3.7/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into a pint glass.

Tangerine hue with a one inch solid white head and slight lacing.

Smells of huge alpha hops. Piney as hell in the nose with a bit of marmalade sweetness.

Taste is high alpha acid bite; citrus and pine with a nice balance of cara-malt sweetness. The blend gives a nice toasty orange marmalade finish.

Good fresh IPA. The high alpha gives this beer a much bigger profile.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2009 13:23:20 | More by GordonQuid

paco1029384756

Illinois

3.45/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Cloudy light orange color with one and a half fingers of white head.

Scent of citrus, some hops and light grain. Nice and light with a good hop focus.

Taste is a bit more one-dementional. Grain and malts combine to create a somewhat bland flavor, but the faint hops save it from being bad. A bit of spice in the finish.

Mouthfeel is light bodied with good carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2009 03:50:15 | More by paco1029384756

Nickls

District of Columbia

3.73/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

(From notes)

A - We have a major gusher here....way too much carbonation made for an impossibly large white head. Otherwise, a clear yellowy gold color with hints of orange

S - Pine and citrus hop notes; little else going on

T - Aggressive hoppiness; very thin malt backing. Pretty clean, and just OK

M - Too much carbonation; prickly and scrapes your palate

D - Not terrible, but not great for the style. A bit astringent and the carbonation is too much.

Overall, can't help but think this needs to be tightened up in a few ways. Not a terrible IPA, but not one of the better ones out there.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2009 03:54:08 | More by Nickls

UA8

Washington

3.68/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A- Pours a hazy amber/ orange with a medium tall off white head.

S- Big oragney citrus notes dominate the nose, there's also a slight background note of caramel malt.

T- Lead with a slightly funky malt note, midpalate is dominated by citrus hops, while the finish rolls in with a slightly medicinal flavor and herbal hop bitterness.

M- Very good roundness for an IPA, with nice light carbonation.

D- This a solid IPA I do however wish that they had mentioned it was live beer with yeast in it that I wound up pouring out into the glass because I didn't know. If it weren't for slight off notes in the flavor it would have rated higher.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2009 02:07:24 | More by UA8

WakeandBake

Michigan

3.9/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

bA dark hazy golden orange color pour with a very thin white head. Aroma of caramel malt,pine,apple and floral hops. Flavor is suprisingly malty,very balanced, nice caramel malt backbone,with a nice hoppy note,not super bitter but some good hop flavor (pine & grapefruit) ,light to medium mouthfeel.light carbonation, crisp clean finish with a lingering sweetness, a very nice IPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2009 22:52:23 | More by WakeandBake

cdViking

Washington

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Received in BIF via Alan. Consumed on 4/26/09.

Poured into pint glass. Wonderful medium-bodied amber color, with a nice amount of good-looking head. Smell is good, with the scent of citrus fruit and hops. Taste is alright, with the citrus fruit coming out most clearly; bitter aftertaste, almost excessively so. Good carbonation and relatively smooth feel. Nice and drinkable, wouldn't mind having a few more of these.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2009 05:40:43 | More by cdViking

BoitSansSoif

France

3.85/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A-Orange copper hue w/only slightly hazy body and rich frothy head. Awesome retention...still a full cap after 45 minutes and nice lacing.

S-Toasted malt, apricot, apple, a liberal amount of a variety of hops, but mostly pine, herbal, and floral characters. Also a little bit of spice.

T-Bitter apricot and apple and slightly sweet toasted malt blend midway w/spice and feed into a hoppy finish. The aftertaste is extremely bitter w/a hint of apricot.

M-Carbonation is moderate and carries body and flavors well. Only drawback is the extremely bitter aftertaste.

D-Enjoyable brew unlike the rest of its class. Interesting, complex, and highly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2009 06:17:00 | More by BoitSansSoif

Yetiman420

Ohio

3.58/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Picked up yesterday at Siciliano's Market in Grand Rapids and consuming as fresh as possible.

Unibroue tulip glass.

Light copper color with some haziness due to a bit of yeast dregs. Lots of sticky lacing off the forced two finger head.

Crystal aroma which could benefit from more American-style hop aroma.

Full flavor with a noticeable alcohol flavor.

Nothing much from the aroma 1/4 of the way through.

Not a very clean IPA. Perhaps I should have left out the small amount of dregs for a cleaner finish.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2009 02:42:53 | More by Yetiman420

schellsbeer

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

First, a huge thanks to my good buddy redboot (aka...Karl) for sending this one to me. Christmas in February....Love it.

Anyway, on to the review.

A - Poured out of a bottle into my trusty beer class. Little to no head to speak of so very little lacing. Is a cloudy dark orange honey color with small bubbles. Appears different than most American IPA but good none the less.

S - Very sweet smelling with little hops noticed. Smells big of honey and oranges. Did I mention that it smells SWEET!

T - Ahhh there is the bitter bite but it is smaller than usual for an IPA. Again, honey and oranges take center stage. Some brown sugar is also noticed. Hops are there but tamed down a bit. Overall, a very tasty beer. I have never had the likes of it before. The hops are noticed first and then just before you are ready for another taste.

M - Even though tastes of sweet honey and sugar, lighter on the tongue than I would have guessed. Average body and has a very creamy side to it. Nice.

D - I would definitely drink this again if it ever made it to Minnesota. At only 6% ABV, a very nice American IPA. Can you say session?

Thanks again Redboot.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2009 04:39:54 | More by schellsbeer

guntherhophead

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Golden amber in appearance with thin, lacey head. Scents of light hops with faint citrus. Hop taste with a hint of molasses, apple and peppery spice. The mouthfeel isn't bad but the lingering bitter after-taste, more so than a lot of I.P.A.s, detracts a bit from the overall experience. Not bad though.

Serving type: on-tap

02-11-2009 23:43:02 | More by guntherhophead

BMoney575

Michigan

2.6/5  rDev -30.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

Sampled on 2-6-09

Pours a huge foamy mess. Eventually settles to a cool cloudy orange color with a massive white head.

Smell is very citrusy, a little spicy, maybe a little on the old side. Lots of hops, you can smell the bitterness.

Taste is bitter, very spicy and lemony. Aftertaste is a little weird, kind of astringent.

Mouthfeel is terrible, huge carbonation detracts from the flavors and the experience as a whole.

Drinkability suffers from the awful mouthfeel.

Overall, somehow I expected a stinker.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2009 00:46:53 | More by BMoney575

kbeals

Florida

3.83/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A- Cloudy, golden-orange color. Plenty of off-white creamy head. Excellent lacing and retention.

S- Mostly spice and citrus. A bit of hoppy background.

T- Taste is dominated by a citrus finish. Hops play a small role at the beginning of the drink. Not very bitter, surprising for an IPA.

M- Light-Medium body, pretty well carbonated.

D- I could probably drink another one, this beer was pretty good overall.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2009 01:56:37 | More by kbeals

gmfessen

Michigan

2.93/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle into a pint glass, beer is a clear golden-orange color with a massively huge, dense, off white head. The smell has a hint of spice which I wouldn't normally associate with an IPA. That being said, I have a hard time distinguishing the hops as anything but spicey. The flavor also reflects the spicey phenol flavor which seems out of style. For an IPA, I'm not really impressed. There isn't any in your face hops about this one, although it is decently balanced and drinkable there isn't anything spectacular about this brew. The mouthfeel is fairly light in body and the carbonation is also on the lighter side.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2009 04:53:56 | More by gmfessen

beerphan

Pennsylvania

3.35/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle -> pint
no date

Pours a mostly clear deep oranged amber. Small thin head disappeared quickly and left zero lace. Carbonation is robust.

Nose: Sweet malts, some piney hops

Lots of sweet malts upfront, resiny light hops, and a stingy bitterness. Bitterness sticks around. Mouthfeel is quite thin and watery.

My brother bought this back from MI for me, and it maybe a little worse for the ware.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2008 01:44:01 | More by beerphan