Apollyon
Arcadia Brewing Company

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From:
Arcadia Brewing Company
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
Belgian Pale Strong Ale
ABV:
9.3%
Score:
84
Avg:
3.64 | pDev: 14.56%
Reviews:
11
Ratings:
32
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 09, 2020
Added:
Sep 28, 2013
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  11
Tremble before Apollyon, The Destroyer, for herein is a beer that requires careful handling.Produced using a technique that amplifies the intense apple/pear fruitiness of Arcadia's house English-style yeast, the result is a straw-colored Belgian-style strong golden ale that hides its strength carefully. Obscured by intense honey notes, hints of cotton candy, fresh-baked bread, and a wickedly dry, crisp body, we took to calling it Apollyon in homage to the Belgian tradition of naming beers after "devilish" figures. Unlike the king of locusts, the only truly dangerous part of Apollyon is how enjoyable and refreshing it is.
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Photo of jzeilinger
Reviewed by jzeilinger from Pennsylvania

3.59/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
A - Very hazy and possibly a little murky in appearance that's medium to dark gold in color and very thin white lacing. Looks like hazy honey.

S - Fruity on the nose with light honey and delicate spiciness.

T - Consistent throughout with honey, light fruitiness. Ends with a lingering honey caramel sweetness with light spice.

M - Thick with carbonated pricklies.

O - Decent and have no idea how old this bottle is.
May 09, 2020
 
Rated: 3.52 by Knapp85 from Pennsylvania

May 09, 2020
Photo of Brutaltruth
Reviewed by Brutaltruth from Ohio

3.93/5  rDev +8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From the 12oz bottle in a snifter. This decent little BSPA pours a muddled
dark amber with some dark butterscotch notes and a decent head of white
foam that settles to a thin ring, thin layer, and shows some decent lacing.
Nose of lightly herbal honey malts, subtle candy malts, light pear and apple
notes, and floral hop notes. Flavors exceed the nose with a touch of orange
zest and marmalade over honey and candy sugars with herbal hop notes
and orchard fruit notes of peach, pear, and apple. Nice mouth feel; medium
body, lightly prickly carbonation that melds well with the alcohol, and a rich
honey and candy malt finish that is well balanced with the herbal and floral
hops producing a lightly dry finish.

Overall, a SOLID brew from a great brewery!

Cheers
Apr 05, 2019
 
Rated: 3.81 by tripletdrummer from Michigan

Mar 22, 2019
 
Rated: 3.73 by Hefsbeercaps from Ohio

Mar 07, 2019
Photo of Attlebridge
Reviewed by Attlebridge from Indiana

2.45/5  rDev -32.7%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 2.75
Purchased at the local Meijer store on recommendation of the distributor. I paid well below average for what I would consider a comparable beer based on style and location.

Appearance:
The packaging and graphics are good attention grabbers. The beer itself is golden, almost a honey color; clear but with notable sediment. No head to speak of, what did form quickly dissipated; zero lacing on the glass. I noticed sediment in the bottom of the bottle, and it transferred into the glass as well creating an off putting appearance in my personal opinion. As a home brewer, the sediment almost looks like spent yeast which wasn't filtered out properly.

Smell:
Fruity nose, but the yeast and alcohol are very present giving it a bit of a boozy aroma. Not unpleasant, but the yeast notes are concerning, especially with the sediment I noted in the appearance.

Taste:
Definite citrus notes, I personally taste orange, but I also detect just a hint of pear. It is sweeter than I would like for this style of beer, but it's not outrageous. The 9.3% abv is definitely a factor in the flavor of this one and can also taste the bready flavors of the yeast to a small degree. The alcohol and fruity flavors balance out fairly nicely, but the bready flavors of the yeast are a bit distracting.

The aftertaste is both citrusy and malty, and seems to linger a bit.

Mouthfeel:
The carbonation is spot on, I'll give them that. Very nice seltzer sensation as it rolls over the tongue. Slight alcohol burn as is expected with an abv like this. Over all I'd say this category is this beers best aspect.

Over all:
For the price I paid for this I'd be willing to drink it again, but I wouldn't seek it out by name. It's not a bad beer, it's just not a good beer. Slightly below average, but still drinkable. I'd pair this with a lighter fish or shellfish.
Feb 04, 2019
Photo of Raime
Reviewed by Raime from Korea (North)

3.96/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Haven't had a beer from Arcadia in a long time. Maybe a year or two. Finale of the Kroger mix a six.

Look - That good ole familiar Belgian deep murky golden body. Laying atop is a finger of white bubbly head and the carbonation read is about moderate as expected.

Smell - Mainly dominated by the phenols. The usual Belgian esters and mustard seed show up with a bit of bubblegum but the phenols win the day.

Taste - Phenol and bubblegum at about a 70/30 ratio. Touch of alcohol thought certainly not overpowering.

Feel - Thick bodied with a moderate to high carbonation. Swallows with a bit of alcohol and the phenols ramp up.

Overall - For being 9.3% this thing is super drinkable. Not the tastiest Belgian style I've ever had but this thing will do it's job before you realize it. Drinkability wins it a few extra points. Give it a shot.
Jan 26, 2019
 
Rated: 4.46 by I_Am_The_Noise from Michigan

Dec 18, 2018
Photo of BB1313
Reviewed by BB1313 from Ohio

3.81/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottled on 10/23/18. 12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours a hazy golden; small white head that fades leaving decent retention and little lacing. The aromas have a nice amount of banana and bubblegum. Yeasts and malts are there. The flavors follow the nose. More banana and bubblegum leading the way. Some apple, pear and orange. Mild hints of black pepper in the mix. Malts and yeasts do their thing. It's probably more sweet than bitter, but it's ultimately balanced. Subtle warmth in the finish. Mouthfeel is nice. It's full-bodied with moderate to active carbonation. It's sharp, smooth and dangerously drinkable.

This is a pretty nice brew. It drinks like an "American Tripel". It's enjoyable and fun to drink. I really like it. Well done.
Nov 26, 2018
 
Rated: 1.76 by JustLikeMyDad from Michigan

Nov 24, 2018
Photo of JimboBrews54
Reviewed by JimboBrews54 from Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +23.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Bottle. Light to moderate roasted and caramel for the malt, light herbs for the hops, light dough for the yeast, with notes of dried dark fruit in the background. Head is small, frothy, slightly off-white, with fair lacing and is mostly diminishing. Color is clear, with some bits and pieces, medium amber. Flavor starts lightly to moderately sweet and lightly acidic, then finishes lightly sweet and faintly bitter. Palate is on the lighter side of medium, slick, with a lively carbonation and a lightly alcoholic finish. Nice easy drinking Belgian Strong Ale.
Nov 19, 2018
 
Rated: 4.02 by HardyA from Michigan

Nov 13, 2018
 
Rated: 3.48 by tylerjin from Michigan

Nov 05, 2018
Photo of bushbeer75
Reviewed by bushbeer75 from Michigan

3.79/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
12 oz brown bottle - not dated

Arcadia Apollyon Golden Ale has a lightly cloudy orange gold body. A minimal head was produced that dissipated quickly and left no lacing to speak of. The nose is of light fruit; pear, apple and sweet candy sugar. The taste is very similar to the nose with a bready and honey flavor also noted. The mouth feel is light-medium, crisp and dry.

Apollyon is a very drinkable and refreshing ale - especially for its ABV. This Ale is one of Arcadia's better offerings.
Dec 02, 2017
 
Rated: 4.34 by MacStinson from Michigan

Aug 17, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by km02600 from Michigan

Jun 26, 2017
 
Rated: 3.65 by blissfulNemo from Michigan

Jun 03, 2017
Photo of StoutHunter
Reviewed by StoutHunter from Michigan

3.72/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
I picked up a bottle of Arcadia's Apollyon for $2.09 at The lager Mill. It's been a little while since I've had a strong golden ale and I'm interested to see how it turns out, so lets see how it goes. 2017 Vintage. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a teku.

A- The label looks nice, it's got a nice design to it and it's eye catching. It poured a golden color which took on more of a golden yellow color when held to the light and it had a half finger worth of bubbly off white head that quickly faded to a thin ring that eventually faded away and it didn't really leave any lacing behind. The is decent looking beer, but I wish the head, retention and lacing were much better.

S= The aroma starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with the fruits being the first to show up and they impart a some stone fruit aromas with some nice pear aromas seeming to stick out the most and they have a slightly fermented aroma to them. Up next comes the belgian yeast which impart all the estery aspects that I expect with just a slight bit of spices to it. Up next comes a noticeably tart aroma goes into the malt which impart a bready, pale malt, grainy and sweet malt like aroma with the sweet malts sticking out the most towards the end and there's also some noticeable alcohol aromas. This beer has a pretty nice aroma and the balance is nice.

T- The taste seems to be a little similar to the aroma and it starts off with a higher amount of sweetness with the fruits still being the first to show up and they stick up the most this time while impart a very juicy flavor with some peaches being the fruit that stands out the most with the pear showing up more in the background. Up next comes a light boozy flavor and that goes right into a higher amount of light tartness. Towards the end comes yeast which imparts all the same aspects, but it's a little lighter and it's followed by the malts which impart all the same aspects, but this time they are also lighter. On the finish there's a little bit of lingering tartness with a little more sweetness and it has a juicy and fruity aftertaste. This is a pretty nice tasting beer, I like the strong fruity flavors but I wish it was just a little less sweet.

M- Fairly smooth, slightly boozy, a little sticky, slightly cloying, a little refreshing, on the full side of being medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel is pretty nice and it works well with this beer.

Overall I thought this was a pretty nice beer and nice and unique example of the style, the aroma had me thinking it was going to be fairly balanced and true to style, but when I got the taste is was pretty much dominated by the juicy and fruity flavors, but I don't think that's a bad think and it made it a nice summertime beer and unique for the style. This beer has ok drinkability, one is enough for me anymore than that and it would ware on me. What I like the most about this beer is the how juicy and fruity the taste was and I liked how well the alcohol was hidden. What I like the least about this beer was the sweetness and the appearance, they could both use some work. I would buy this beer again when looking for a nice strong and fruity summertime beer and I would recommend it to anyone looking for the same. All in all I liked this beer and I'm a little impressed with how unique it is and how well the booze is hidden. It's one of the better Arcadia beers that I've had lately and it's a nice example of the style. Nice jog guys, this is a tasty and unique beer, keep it up.
May 04, 2017
 
Rated: 3.62 by Taphouse_Traveler from Florida

Mar 15, 2017
 
Rated: 3.84 by mcrawford from Michigan

Mar 10, 2017
Apollyon from Arcadia Brewing Company
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 32 ratings