Saint Arnold Brewing Company Winter Stout

**Aroma:** “Notes of chocolate up front, with some creamy milk sweetness. The roast malt dominates on the nose, with a tart black-cherry ester and slight clove. It’s roasty, earthy, and oaky, with tobacco and a campfire smokiness.” **Flavor:** “Burned roast hits up front, and the roasty malt character carries through the sip. Some milk and chocolate sweetness sit behind the roast, with notes of licorice, cherries, plum, and other dark fruits. It’s a very earthy beer with fruity esters potentially from the hops, but for sure from the roast. Notes of oak, pine, and the big hops bitterness leads to a dry finish. The body is a bit thin.” **Overall:** “Overall, it’s a ‘punch you in the mouth’ kind of stout that delivers on a roast-forward presence. The more I drank, the more it grew on me. The roast has a finesse with some evident fruit flavors, in both aroma and flavor, but the burned characteristics really shone through. Reminded me of sitting at a campfire on a cold winter night, with ashes flying and coals burning.”

“Alcoholic heat in the nose obscures hints of roasted malt, chocolate, and caramel. Booze carries into the flavor, stripping away more subtle complexities. Roasty, smoky, with pleasantly malty profile.”

**Aroma:** “Hops! Fruity passion fruit, orange, lemon, grapefruit, dank resinous in the background—if I didn't see the color, I’d expect an IPA. Some dark roast and chocolate sweetness sneak through once your nose is dead to the hops. Light tart note. As it warms, a slight molasses note starts to mix with the hops.” **Flavor:** “High hops flavor up front with bit citrus notes. Moderate chocolate with big roasty notes support the hops. Quite sweet up front. Sweetness slowly fades into a low bitterness. Toward the end, slight smoke note but big hops that continue into the aftertaste with a mix of roast. Dry, bitter hoppy finish. As it warms, the smoke turns into a burnt molasses note. Very fruity: passion fruit and pineapple. Finish is sweet and lingers. Rich chewy body that doesn’t come across as thick. Big pine and orange flavors from the hops. Chocolate from the malt gives it a chocolate orange flavor. The sweetness comes together with all the different bold flavors and finishes with a slightly dry finish.” **Overall:** “A nice balance of stout and hops, but if you don’t like hops, this stout is not for you. Strong flavors all around with a touch of alcohol warming in the background to fill it all out. Good balance of hops flavor and bitterness. This is a very different take on a stout—kind of a black IPA more than a stout. This beer tastes like a better, less sweet version of those chocolate-covered orange candy sticks, but with a heavy dose of pine richness. Very tasty!”