Gingerbread Stout - Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

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BA SCORE
96
world-class
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294 Ratings

THE BROS
100
world-class
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read more »

rAvg: 4.34
pDev: 11.52%
Reviews: 69
Hads: 225

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Brewed by:
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

Virginia, United States

Style | ABV
Milk / Sweet Stout | 9.20% ABV

Availability: Fall. bottle (59), on-tap (7), growler (2), cask (1).

Notes:
Brewed with baby ginger from Casselmonte Farm and wildflower honey from Bearer Farms, Hardywood Gingerbread Stout captures the terroir of central Virginia in a rich, creamy libation with a velvety mouthfeel and an intriguing evolution of flavors from milk chocolate and vanilla to honeycomb and cinnamon to a snap of ginger in the finish.

Deep, dark chocolate in color with a mahogany tint and a frothy, caramel colored head, Hardywood Gingerbread Stout offers aromatics of holiday spice originating from the ginger, and balanced with a generous dose of whole Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans and Vietnamese cinnamon. Milk sugar (lactose) contributes to the full body of this stout and tames its roasty character, while oats lend a silky quality. Enjoy fresh, or cellar for a special occasion. We hope Hardywood Gingerbread Stout contributes to your merriment this season.

55 IBU

View: Beers (25) | Reviews (0) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by BeastLU:

BeastLU

Virginia

4.8/5 rDev +10.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Currently being enjoyed in a Hardywood snifter. I have had the 2011 on tap and bottled, prefer it on draft. As far as 2012 goes the bottles seem to be better.

A - Black. Surprisingly white head which sticks around for about half the beer.

S - Smells great. take a whiff before you've tasted and you know your in for something special.

T - Tastes better than it smells which is a tall order. Top notch taste. Unique for any stout, particularly of this ABV, almost no booze taste.

M - Honestly I do wish it was a little thicker. This would be my only significant knock on this beer. I wont call it watery but it almost seems unnatural how thin it is with the great taste.

0 - Awesome beer. Maybe the best beer for beer lovers and novices to drink together. The taste is so good anyone can approach it, and any beer geek can taste the genius that goes into every glass. I have a case of the 2012 ready to be aged and 2 bottles of the BA version. Can't wait to see how they taste with a bit of father time on them.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 22:57:46 | More by BeastLU

More User Reviews:

carterbt

Virginia

4.5/5 rDev +3.7%

06-13-2013 03:24:18 | More by carterbt

johnyb

Florida

3.5/5 rDev -19.4%

06-12-2013 15:05:24 | More by johnyb

BeerBuddy2122

Pennsylvania

4/5 rDev -7.8%

06-11-2013 18:18:40 | More by BeerBuddy2122

otrejo

Illinois

3.75/5 rDev -13.6%

06-11-2013 01:24:33 | More by otrejo

JoninVT

New Hampshire

4.25/5 rDev -2.1%

06-11-2013 01:10:31 | More by JoninVT

Dorsch

Virginia

4.75/5 rDev +9.4%

06-10-2013 20:14:03 | More by Dorsch

ravot

Illinois

3.75/5 rDev -13.6%

06-10-2013 04:34:05 | More by ravot

MDDMD

Pennsylvania

4.41/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A-dark brown black color with a nice tan head and decent lacing

S-chocolate, cinnamon, ginger, molasses, spices

T-dark roasted malt, chocolate, ginger, molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, slight honey sweetness

F-medium body with mild to moderate carbonation, smooth and creamy

O-this was a delicious stout, the flavors worked well together and allowed this beer to have a nice complexity and balance

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2013 18:15:33 | More by MDDMD

Etan

Illinois

3.95/5 rDev -9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

750ml into a snifter.

A. Brownish-black with a large light-beige head.

S. Fresh ginger, all-spice, roasted grain, some vague malty sweetness behind.

T. Pretty roasty, with a relatively restrained spice profile, mild honey, dry cocoa.

M. Medium-bodied, frothy carbonation

O. This tastes pretty nice, and compares favorably to other gingerbread stouts I've had due to a bit of restraint in the spice department. It's over-carbonated, though, so the mouthfeel suffers.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2013 16:43:47 | More by Etan

Pecan

California

4.25/5 rDev -2.1%

06-03-2013 06:21:17 | More by Pecan

OddNotion

New Jersey

4.25/5 rDev -2.1%

05-31-2013 17:38:18 | More by OddNotion

KohlbeckM

Virginia

5/5 rDev +15.2%

05-27-2013 21:56:11 | More by KohlbeckM

BrewerB

California

4.23/5 rDev -2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.25

Huge thanks goes to miikezombie for sending this my way. Apparently this one's quite highly rated here by both users and The Bros so I'm looking forward to it. Despite the recommendation of a pint glass, I'm pouring this 9.2% ABV stout into a snifter from Cigar City. Dark brown/black in color with a thick mousse-like light tan head. Ginger comes up quickly in the aromas with cinnamon and a touch of vanilla. There's a picture of a gingerbread cookie on the label and they certainly nailed the aroma. More of this cookie-like quality comes through in the flavor with cinnamon taking a bigger leap forward. Still lots of ginger. Milk chocolatey. Certainly hop flavor was an afterthought here though there's enough bitterness to keep things from going off-track. Silky velvety texture with sufficient carbonation. While it may be 5 months past Christmas this is still tasting fantastic. Certainly one I'd like to revisit again down the road, perhaps in the appropriate time of year and a tad closer to bottling.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2013 05:24:23 | More by BrewerB

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

4.25/5 rDev -2.1%

05-23-2013 02:07:02 | More by mikeincharleston

drgonzo2k2

California

4.25/5 rDev -2.1%

05-19-2013 14:27:24 | More by drgonzo2k2

Photekut

Azerbaijan

4.5/5 rDev +3.7%

05-19-2013 00:47:36 | More by Photekut

mkirkland80

Virginia

5/5 rDev +15.2%

05-18-2013 02:20:55 | More by mkirkland80

tectactoe

Michigan

4.33/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Big thanks to smokeypeat for this one - I love me some gingerbread. GBS pours an intensely dark brown that appears basically black once it groups up in the glass. The cap is nicely foamy and thick, khaki-colored, and has nice retention. Some chunky lacing is left near the top of the glass as well - very nice looking stout.

Hardywood certainly nailed what they were going for in the aroma - lots of warm, sprucy ginger that is met in equal parts by heaps of doughy, cookie-like malts. The combination forms a nice gingerbread cookie aroma that sends you back to making the festive treats during Christmastime. Some other spices lie a little deeper in the aroma, the most notable being cinnamon. Very lively and certainly unique.

Just like the aroma, the first sip explodes with a mirage of flavors that is so delicately reminiscent of the little men-shaped cookies. Gingerbread spice, shortbread, cinnamon, brown sugar... Very sweet and delicate, but balance quite nicely with a slight bit of warmth from the alcohol. The finish has some faint cocoa powder that's easily recognizable, but this beer is all the the gingerbread.

Some light ashiness in the middle-end that seems like it might be from the hops, though the hops themselves induce no extra flavors (no leaves, florals, or anything like that). In all honesty, I'm quite surprised by how much this beer actually resembles a gingerbread cookie. Pretty thick body, lightly creamy and just shy of chewy. Would have like to see just a bit more carbonation, but the mouth feel was still pretty nice.

The people I was with didn't love gingerbread cookies like I did, so they weren't as crazy about this beer as I was. I love gingerbread cookies and I thought this was damn good. A little more complexity or development wouldn't hurt, but they were going for a gingerbread cookie beer and that's pretty much what they got. Sweet without being cloyingly so. Very solid stout for those that love the little cookie-men.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 23:24:47 | More by tectactoe