Arcadia Brewing Company (Battle Creek, MI)

Arcadia Brewing Company is located in the heart of downtown Battle Creek, Michigan. I'd visited Battle Creek many times as a kid when my Mom and my Auntie Gerry took us kids to tour the Kellogg's cereal factory. I looked for the giant "Tony the Tiger" but I didn't see it on our way through town.

Little did I know then that Battle Creek would also be home to Arcadia Brewing Company. Having only had their IPA, Tony (my Tony - not the tiger) and I decided to try the sampler.

Nick brought us Angler's Ale, Whitsun (wheat), Amber Ale, London Porter, Starboard Stout, IPA, Nut Brown Ale and their two seasonal beers - Cereal Killer Barley Wine and the Cocoa Loco Triple Chocolate Stout.

As we engage in the many tastings we are reminded that we almost always enjoy our favorite style of beer more than any other kinds but tasting the various beers is always fun. So, no surprise we liked the IPA, the Amber, the Angler's Ale (English Pale Ale), the Porter and the Triple Chocolate Stout.

The food was quite a treat, too. Tony ate the California Reuben (turkey, coleslaw, swiss cheese and thousand island dressing on rye toast) and I had a slight variation of the Arcadia Special (roasted garlic & herb olive oil, artichoke hearts, fresh zucchini, mozzarella and I substituted caramelized onions for the sun dried tomatoes).

The pizzas are cooked in an Italian pizza oven located just off the dining room. Frank did a great job with the pizza and was happy to pose for a picture for the blog.

The bar area was spacious and well designed. Although not very crowded on the day after Thanksgiving (when everyone else is out shopping), I can picture it full of beer-loving people enjoying the many flavorful beers - like we did.