Icing On The Cake - Chocolate Cherry
Grimm Artisanal Ales

Skipped dessert tonight? You'll be wise to grab this instead. Just make sure that you have a full stomach to enjoy this on and plenty of time as this was a beast of a beer that deserved plenty of time to savor it!

Such a dark pour to this for something that never approached black, as this beer looked like blood once it settles and dries with all of the oxygen coming out of it. Never saw the pink in the head but the tan head complemented the juicy and syrupy liquid nice as it quickly settled down. Only a few wavy hints of lacing was left behind as it was quite thinner than the liquid was. Lots of deep, earthy, tart cherry, cake batter, and brownie mix as these all exploded on the palate once I gave this a sip. Not quite Wonka-esque, there was something childlike and whimsical about how this beer came across as it seemed like a dessert from yesteryear come to life and updated with modern sensibilities. Sweet, sour, and chalky, there was a *ton* of depth and complexity to this as this took quite a while for me to fully process. Plum, black cherry, and cherry pit notes emerged as this fully warmed up with this beer being the perfect nightcap on a cold winter's day that we haven't had much of this year...

Sure, this was strong and should have been so given the style that it was categorized under. I never had Montmorency cherries before but this gave me a good idea of what they would taste and feel like. The odd, subtly addicting aspects of truffles were present throughout as if this was something brewed by Carton. As I saw it, the end result was a brew that was peculiar, engrossing, and lacking in overt cacao and vanilla but containing the best qualities of those along with the fruit and sweetness that should have been overt from the get-go. This was a fun and inviting beer for those could take the time to be accustomed to such an imposing oddity!

 

 

While pastry stouts are all the rage, Grimm Artisanal Ales hits the trend for an imperial strength, the roast to match and a healthy heaping dosage of cherry, chocolate, vanilla and lactose that's a little more than just icing on the cake.

And no other name will do as nicely as Cherry Chocolate Icing On The Cake while it pours with a dark, rich creaminess that builds a dainty skirt of foam. Espresso dark, the scent of coffee is met with cream, chocolate, toffee, vanilla, cherry and walnut seemingly in equal proportions. After a while, the descriptor terms sound more like that of pastry and that's what captivates the initial palate as those culmination of flavors combine in a sweet, cakey, brownie-like malty impression.

Its rounded taste highlights aspects of luscious maltiness that once more hinge on caramel, bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, sweet cream, dark roast coffee and an overall and cherry character that reads like a fruity tiramisu, cherry covered cherry and an overall confectioner's sweetness to delight the sweet tooth. A walnut-like nuttiness brings a late palate of bitterness as the cocoa and coffee impressions allow for a broad and woodsy balance to keep the sweetness in check.

Full, lavish and silky smooth, the beer's kahlua warmth and cherry tartness that adds a subtle spice to assist the moderate bitterness in balance, but still, the beer trends strongly dessert-like with a cherry inflection on chocolate stout that's just even more icing on the cake.

 

I like the high ABV stuff and this was very good. I had this on tap at Tre Monte in Tyngsborough. Most dominating flavors were strong hints of cherry and chocolate. Nice head, great balance and feel.

Black in color with very minimal head. Smells of dark chocolate, cherries, cola, coffee. Taste is sweet with chocolate and cherries being the most prominent flavors with some hints of vanilla. Alcohol is well hidden and this beer goes down smooth and easy drinking.

 

 

 

 

 

Decanted from a 16 oz (473 ml) can into a custom taster pint: canned 12/18/18 and purchased at the brewery.
A: Pours a black color with ruby highlights, a light brown, less than one inch head, low retention, and low key rings of fine, spotty lacing.
S: Aromas of dark chocolate, cherry, cookie, vanilla, plum, and dark coffee. Slightly tangy.
T: Sweet from what tastes like lactose sugar. Flavors of dark chocolate, cherry, cookie, molasses, vanilla, plum, and dark coffee. Bitterness substantial, but insufficient to entirely offset the sweetness.
M: Full bodied with relatively low carbonation.
O: A really enjoyable and flavorful stout that is entirely akin to Devil's food cake with chocolate frosting and cherry filling. Yum.

 

Tall can directly from the source in BKLYN...canned 12-18-18 stamped on the bottom.

Dark , dark pour, minor darker mocha cap, leaving nice looking super fine lace on the glass.

Sniff of sweet chocolate, dark fruit.

Super tasty and super smooth, more chocolate, more dark fruit, vanilla, light roasty goodness. Complex, flavorful, velvety, well crafted and highly enjoyable....so much great brew being brewed in Brooklyn....beer center of the universe?

 

 

 

 

A: The beer is jet black in color. It poured with a short tan head that died down, leaving a small patch of bubbles in the center and a minuscule collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of dark and chocolate malts are present in the nose along with notes of cherries.
T: The taste has flavors of chocolate malts and black cherries along with hints fo vanilla beans.
M: It feels medium-bodied and very smooth on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: I found the taste of this stout to have a very good balance between the chocolate, cherries, and vanilla. It also did a very good job at hiding any traces of alcohol.

Serving type: can

 

 

 

 

real chocolatey, dark, some vanilla, lactose creaminess, with a nice touch of fresh cherries

 

 

 

 

Tap @Grimm on 12/15.
NIce Dessert Beer.
(11%ABV)
(cacao/milk sugar/tart cherries/vanilla)