Crafting a revolution: The rise and rise of Arcadia Ales

While Battle Creek is best known as Cereal City, it’s also home to one of the region’s most innovative craft brewers, Arcadia Brewing Company, which is preparing to open a new facility in Kalamazoo later this year to meet growing demand.

Established in 1996 as a microbrewery specializing in handcrafted British-style ales, all of its beers are produced in small batches in open fermentation tanks using malted barley from England combined with fresh hops from the Pacific Northwest and its legendary Ringwood yeast.

We’ll move to the new facility at the end of the year​

While the company is best-known for its five classic beers (Sky High Rye, IPA, Loch Down Scotch Ale, Anglers Ale and Thunder Trail ESB), it also makes specialty beers including the Hopmouth Double IPA, B-Craft Black IPA, London Porter, Cocoa Loco (triple chocolate stout); seasonal beers and reserve beers including Shipwreck Porter and 'Cereal Killer' barleywine.

Currently, the Battle Creek site can produce just over 10,000 barrels/year, while the new operation in Kalamazoo will be capable of producing more than 50,000, says head of brewing operations Dave Sippel, who began home brewing in high school and studied brewing, business, and graphic design at Indiana University, and then applied his trade at Bloomington Brewing Company, Upland Brewing Company and Victory Brewing Company before joining Arcadia.

“We’ll move to the new facility at the end of the year and aim to start selling our first products from the site in February/March 2014.”​

The ales now sell in around seven states in the region, although 45% of sales are still in Michigan, he says.