Grindle
St. Arnulf Alery

12 ounce bottle with a white paper wrapping, no dating I could find on it but pretty sure this bottle is 2 or 3 years old as the brewery has been closed a while. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with about an inch and a half tan head that stuck around a while. Decent amount of lacing. The brew smells like roasted malt, cocoa, earthiness and a bit of smoke. For the most part the taste is similar to the aroma, but with the addition of some cream, molasses, coffee and dark fruit flavors. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit creamy and has a good amount of soft carbonation. I thought this was enjoyable, probably should have drank it fresher though but it's not bad at all right now.

 

A sweet style, but Grindle walks the line and doesn't get too sweet.
Grindle Looks slightly better than average with just enough foam and ruby tinge to the opaque dark. Smells are not too sweet as I pickup a lingering roasted malt. The initial attack is sugar, but quickly is replaced by the roasted malts and modest hops. Grindle has a touch of the old ale/stale porter sour to it. But the Feel finishes satisfyingly sweet and semi-dry, like a bittersweet chocolate. A fine desert.

St. Arnulf Alery is a bit out of the ordinary for a brewer. While only three years old, they still only have a Facebook page and not a website. They package their ales differently, wrapping them in paper as a label. (I actually like that.) And they make mostly strong stouts. And they are remote. But, they are making a go of being different.

I did not expect this to be as sweet as it was, but still, it was very good...

No head, perfectly black stout with the prototypical malty scent you would expect from an English - all of it to standard, in my opinion. Mouthfeel was carbonated but not so to distract from the overall creaminess. The beer was definitely thick and full-bodied, one of the most full-bodies I have had in quite some time. As I mentioned in my opening, this was sweeter than expected - in my opinion it puts it in the dessert beer realm, but that's for another time to debate. A good malty, sweet, and boozy flavor just blended well and I wish I had another one to really take it in. Overall, a very good to exceptional beer. I had resisted for some time to pick this paper-covered bottle off the shelf, but I am glad I finally did.

 

Pours a black color. 1/2 inch head of a tan color. Decent retention and poor lacing. Smells of alcohol, chocolate, strong sweet malt, hint of wood, slight raisin, and a hint of smoke. Fits the style of an English Sweet/Milk Stout. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with an average carbonation level. There is a slight coffee bitterness. Tastes of alcohol, chocolate, strong sweet malt, slight coffee, hint of anise, hint of wood, slight raisin, and a hint of smoke. Overall, weak appearance, but good aroma, body, blend, and feel.

Visual: Deep dark black, minor creamy lacing
Nose: Sweet wood-smoke, lactose, cocoa
Tate: Smooth, rich, milky cocoa, slight smoke, medium mouthfeel
This beer is more on the milk chocolate side of stouts vs the oily, tarry side of stouts. It is sweet but not overly so and the smoke is well-integrated (not like a rauch beer). I'm impressed with this beer. Will be buying more.

12 oz paper-wrapped bottle poured. I had bought two bottles from two different stores - both places had gushed over this beer to me like I had to have it. One had it for $5.99, one had it for $8.99. Wild.

Deep silky black color with a head of red-beige, 1/2 finger tall. Lots of lace sticking to the sides.

Aroma is completely straight metal. Some slight oak and vanilla.

Okay, so idk what these guys were thinking. This is ALL sugar. I get some really sickening, cloying fake sugar free hershey's syrup, honey, brown sugar, cane sugar, roast malts, bitter smoke, and more chocolate syrup. This is like you took a stout, added 2 cups of table sugar to your glass, and then a cup of Hershey's syrup. I cannot emphasize how cloyingly sweet this beer is.

Buzzing carbonation, slight heat, dry finish.

Overall - sorry to piss in the review pool, and sorry to be crass, but - this beer is fucking diabetes in a glass. What the actual hell. The sweetest, most cloying shit I've ever had. Anyone that loves extremely sweet stouts and double chocolate brownies may find this marginally enjoyable. It definitely fits the category of dessert beer but it's not like you'd expect. I don't have that much of a sweet tooth or high blood sugar to enjoy this nearly as much as others.


Edit : Even after I'm drunk I can't stand this shit! Either I got a bad one or the other reviewers are used to suckling on a hershey's bottle like a life-supported soft teet!! suckle suckle suckle

If you love a sweet full Imperial Milk Stout then look no further than this bad girl. It delivers on the sweet in spades and comes through with caramel, coffee, a little cherry and as the first reviewer mentioned marshmallow. It is almost like a toasted marshmallow dissolved in coffee. There is not one offensive or off-putting flavor in this beautiful offering and I am very unhappy that I only bought one bottle of this while in KY.

Better keep those insulin shots handy, St. Arnulf Alery not only puts out a formidable sweet stout, but one of imperial status. Hinging on the character of the seldom seen "tropical" stout, this bad boy will have the sweet tooth begging for reprieve.

Pouring onyx black and sharing a mirror-like sheen, Grindle releases a scant head that swirls lightly like gentle espresso creme. Sweet aromas are chocolaty, espresso-like and doused with the scent of scorched cream. Hints of dark fruit arise just as the first sip slathers the early palate with sugar, sweet cream and nougat.

The malt sweetness simply pummels the middle palate while a robust taste of darker french press coffee, baker's chocolate and black walnut fight through the sweetness of blackstrap molasses, honey, cream and its chocolaty marshmallow consistency. Caramel, toffee and simple syrups bring a quick fatigue to the late palate while scant bitterness from hops read broad, woodsy and coffee-like to take a slight edge off of the malt.

Unapologetically full, the brashly sweet stout extends long and fat with malt sugars, vanilla and milk sugars. Trending highly dessert-like, the beer plays out on the finish like sweetened espresso but with the kick of kahlua and creme de cacao. Its long sweet and roasty draw lasts deep into the next sip. Its low carbonation allows the full weight of the beer to be felt on the tastebuds, saturating them fully in waves of decadent flavors. Expectedly cloying, this style is designed to be nearly sickly sweet and the St. Arnulf Alery pulls it off quite well.