Gingerbread Stout - Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

damngoode

Indiana

4.1/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A- pours lighter than expected, a deep carmel and settles into an opaque brown with a frothy head that sticks to the glass and refuses to fade

S- the sum of many parts. It actually smells like a wet gingerbread cookie. The smell makes me imagine a Gingersnap dipped in a Christmas Ale. Beautiful.

T- beginning with some chocolatey sweetness and the majority of the spicy goodness hits at the tail-end of the swallow. There's an 'ah-ha' point in the swallow where it all marries up and you GET it.

M- good fizz.not as viscous as i was expecting.

O- a really nice beer, definitely unique and something that those who love(d) a Christmas Ale but got burnt out should try.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2013 23:54:52 | More by damngoode

Lucho

Florida

4.16/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Appearance: Pours an amazing dark brown almost black with a beautiful tan/gingerbread creamy head of two fingers with great retention.

Smell: Spices, maybe clove, not sure about the gingerbread. There is cinnamon on the nose.

Taste: There it is, Gingerbread! Well played good sir. Nice and light gingerbread with sweet cinnamon and nutmeg finish. I wish I would have saved this one for the Holidays. I was a little worried about it fading.

Mouthfeel: excellent carbonation with medium to heavy body with a nice dry finish.

Overall: well this is my first gingerbread stout but I say its spot on with what you would expect. The only thing is maybe it could use more of a presence of gingerbread and cinnamon and other seasonal spices. An awesome beer! Cheers

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2013 05:37:42 | More by Lucho

jmarsh123

Indiana

4.2/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours deep brown with a decent sized beige head. Thin layer of retention and some lacing down the glass.

Really does smell like a gingerbread cookie. Ginger, cinnamon, some brown sugar with a touch of vanilla and a bit of roasted malt.

Wow amazingly integrated. I hate most spice beers usually because they are overspiced. This one is good. Spices are in play, but in balance and not overwhelming. It's an adjunct not the main feature, as plenty of the milk stout base comes through. Similar flavors as the nose all mixed well.

Medium bodied with higher carbonation than I care for in a stout. Only downfall of this beer.

Very good beer and probably my favorite holiday spiced ale I've had, but really the mouthfeel prevents it from being world class. I like a smooth velvety mouthfeel in my stouts. The sweet spot where the carbonation had died a bit, but not warm enough for the spices to take over was too brief. Looking forward to trying the BA version of this.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2012 20:36:50 | More by jmarsh123

Beejay

Virginia

4.22/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Dark brown as it pours, very deep black in the glass. A nice sized milk chocolate colored head floats on top of it.

S: There is a nice cocoa powder smell at first. Followed by ginger, cinnamon, and perhaps vanilla. The spices mix well with the bready grain smells, and meld together to smell a lot like frosted ginger snaps. Perhaps just a hint of yeast in the finish.

T: Ginger, and a nice caramel flavor come out first. The caramel blends into the bready flavors and really combines well to make a gingerbread flavor. There is a hint of black licorice in the finish, as well as some earthy bitterness, and dark chocolate. The alcohol is certainly present, but not overbearing.

M: Medium thick on mouthfeel. The carbonation is fairly fine in size, and adds a certain creaminess to it.

O: Overall I think this beer does a good job of treading a fine line between imperial stout and holiday beer. It's a nice enough stout that I would drink it normally, but spiced enough to celebrate the season.

Serving type: growler

01-04-2012 01:02:30 | More by Beejay

Beerontwowheels

Maryland

4.23/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Bottle to GBS tulip.

A. Pours with a coca cola brown color. 3/4" of head that is also very reminiscent of coca cola. Head settles to a thin layer.

S: Smells wonderful, just like a ginger cookie. Brown sugar, cinnamon and a touch of vanilla complimemt.

T: The taste follows the nose. The honey is more prominent here than in the nose.
Very well integrated.

M: I found this overly carbonated. More prickly on the tongue than I like in a stout. Would benefit from a lighter carbonation and creamier mouthfeel.

O: A great beer from a favorite brewery of mine. Given the carbonation in the bottle, i'd like to try this on tap. On nitro, this beer would be incredible. Can't wait to try the BA version.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 23:26:15 | More by Beerontwowheels

thagr81us

South Carolina

4.23/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Big thanks goes out to sincereNc for sharing this one at a past Random Sunday Tasting! 2011 Vintage! Served from bottle into a Mikkeller taster flute. Poured pitch black with a one finger tan head that subsided to a half finger slowly. Maintained excellent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, ginger, cookie, sugar, and sweet alcohol. The flavor was of sweet malt, gingerbread, ginger, sugar, and spice. It had a medium feel on the palate with medium-high carbonation. Overall this was a pretty good brew. The brewery really nailed the gingerbread cookie aspect here if I am honest. It almost tasted like you were drinking a gingerbread man in all his glory. Very well balanced and complex. This made it quite inviting and would make it a perfect candidate for a dessert beer. Very well done and I hope I get to try more of it in the future.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2013 11:59:54 | More by thagr81us

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.23/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Coming off of the heels of the recent holiday season where a few of these "gingerbread" stouts emerged, I found myself discrediting the combination of taste as being underwhelming at best or even messy. But Hardywood has taught me something else- maybe these varying flavors can marry up pretty well.

But like many a stout, the beer pours with a very dark black, seeming darker than I expected somehow. Its mocha froth caps the beer with a sturdy foam stance that outlasts the beer in the session and laces evenly 'til the last sip.

Though the stout flavors are certainly strong enough to qualify, it is edged out by the desert scent of gingerbread snaps. Molasses, ginger, clove, nutmeg, and graham cracker all align on the nasal cavity just the same way as baking the snaps themselves. But underneath all that are the stout-like aromas of strong roast coffee, baker's chocolate, candy shops, and burnt bread.

Flavors are more balanced than the nose let on so that the melange of taste starts sweet and ends spicy. Molasses, confectioner's sugar, and heavy whipping cream allows for a creamy sweet taste of pulled candy and marzipan to start the show. Roasted elements of French-press coffee, sweetened cocoa, roasted almonds, and burnt grain all rise closely behind and give a robust flavor to balance the initial sweetness. And then all of those Christmas spices settle in as the roast trails for a strong and seductive medley.

Firm support for all that roast and spice has got to come from more than just the caramelized grain sweetness and starch. The "milk" portion of the beer wraps around the carbonation and gives the beer its milkshake-like consistency. The beer's support holds strong until very deep in the session where coffee-like bitterness, spicy warmth, and an echo of molasses brings the beer to closure.

The beer works because it is a stout first. Knowing that the dryness will expose flaws in taste and throw off the balance, it is propped up with an enormously creamy texture and taste- proving to this skeptic that stout and gingerbread can indeed play nicely with one another.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2013 18:40:24 | More by BEERchitect

mikeyv35

New York

4.23/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

Date: 02/25/2013
Type: 750ml. Bottle
Glass: Southampton Tulip
Vintage: 2012

Pours a black in color w/ a 1 to 11/2 finger tan head that left medium lacing. Aromas of roasted chocolate, honey, ginger, and vanilla bean. The flavor is of a gingerbread cookie folded into layers of roasted chocolate notes w/ enough hop bite on the finish to prevent cloying. Medium bodied and very creamy and lush w/ a bit too much carbonation. Drank my 16oz. glass w/ ease as the ABV is not at all noticeable. This brew presents a liquified gingerbread cookie taste while maintaining the stout components which makes it a success.

Overall, a fantastic brew that tastes like what it was intended to taste like, a gingerbread cookie stout. After drinking this brew, The Boston Beer Co. should be ashamed of their horrid tasting Gingerbread Christmas Stout! This brew would be all-world if the carbonation was turned down a bit which was too high for my liking. The high carbonation keeps the beer from getting heavy and makes it more drinkable, but makes it too pillowy in the mouth for the rich flavors to grab hold and be enjoyed to their fullest. Anyway, I am glad I have 2 more bottles of this brew in transit to me as we speak, as I would gladly drink this again.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2013 09:16:44 | More by mikeyv35

BrewerB

California

4.23/5  rDev -2.8%
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

MasterSki

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

Bottle shared by Tom. Served in a snifter of some sort.

A - Dark tan foam settles to a wispy, partial cap, thick collar, and spotty lacework. Very dark brown body.

S - Smells as you'd expect - like a gingerbread cookie. Nice accents of vanilla, roast, biscuit, toasted grains, chocolate, but predominantly cinnamon, ginger, and sugar. Alcohol is quite well hidden too.

T - The taste is a bit more stout-influenced, with a bigger emphasis on roasted malts, molasses, and chocolate of a darker variety. Still some vanilla and a touch of ginger, but not as spiced as the aroma. Alcohol is still quite well-hidden - never would have guessed this was 9.2%.

M - A bit overcarbonated for my tastes, but not offensively so. Medium body, dry in the finish, with no trace of the listed 9.2%

D - Not a beer I could drink in mass quantities, but achieves exactly what it sets out to do. Enjoyable for a few ounces, albeit a tad undersized for the listed ABV. Curious how the bourbon barrel version compares, although I'd be concerned the body didn't stand up.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 02:39:21 | More by MasterSki

mltobin

Connecticut

4.26/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Bottle shared with a few friends, poured into a snifter. The appearance is dark brown color with a short tan head. While the taste of it is brown sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, roasted malts, amongst some other spices/flavors that I cannot pinpoint. It seems like a lot, but is nicely balanced. Mouthfeel is towards heavy, a creamy finish. It leaves you with a sweetness on your palate. Going into this beer from Hardywood, I was a bit skeptical. But for what it is, they really did a nice job. A perfect beer to serve alongside most desserts.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2013 23:28:36 | More by mltobin

dogphishead

North Carolina

4.3/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I've had this on tap and in the bottle(a few times each way). Fantastic! Off the top of my head, there's no beer that absolutely nails a re-creation of dessert or any type of food the way this does. As hopbully stated, you can keep drinking this beer and will probably want to, whereas with other dessert type beers I feel like I've had all I need after 1/2 a pint. Nice job with the booming gingerbread cookie flavors without being overpowering. Well done, Hardywood!

Serving type: on-tap

05-26-2012 04:08:35 | More by dogphishead

n2185

North Carolina

4.33/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: pours black with half a finger of tan head that fades into a frothy ring with no lacing.

S: lots of sweet cocoa up front followed by ginger, cinnamon, and other spices. It smells like chocolate and gingerbread cookies--quite nice.

T: roasted malts up front with lots of sweet chocolate. Wonderful gingerbread flavors follow with lots of ginger and spices. Sweet, creamy, and a little spicy. Slight bitterness on the finish.

M: thick body with medium carbonation, this beer is nice and creamy at first with a dry, fairly clean finish. Nice.

O: I was quite impressed with this beer. It tastes and smells like chocolate-covered gingerbread cookies. Great beer from a new brewery.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2012 00:24:49 | More by n2185

starrdogg

District of Columbia

4.33/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Been wanting to trying this for a long time, here we go.

Beer pours a dark brown/almost black with a fluffy tan head. There are a ton of bubbles, making it actually look almost like a glass of Coke. Smell is of winter baking spices primarily with some roasted malt in the background. I don't think I would think "gingerbread" based on the smell if this beer wasn't called what it is. That said, it smells quite nice. Flavor takes it to the next level, however, as I feel like I'm drinking a chocolatey gingerbread cookie. The same winter spices from the nose combine very nicely with the stout base to create something very tasty and well-done. It's sweet, but far from being overly so, and still maintains the roasty stout aspects of the beer without letting the spices take over - very nicely balanced. I get much more "gingerbread" in the flavor, though I still wonder if I would've come to that conclusion on my own. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with nice carbonation and works well for the beer. Overall, this isn't a beer I'd want to drink every day, but it's pretty damn impressive for what it is - a great, well-crafted, unique beer for the holidays.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2012 23:37:43 | More by starrdogg

jaasen64

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750ml bottle split two ways and poured into the Hardywood GBS glass that came in the gift packs. Have to admit the fact they put that this beer has a 100 rating on BA is kind of pretentious- better live up to the hype! Thanks Don for sharing this with me.

A- Pours a dark brownish that appears pitch black in the glass with roughly a finger of creamy foamy light mocha head with nice retention that slowly fades to a thin layer. Nice consistent carbonation.

S- Honey, ginger, some cinnamon, a bit of cocoa and lactose sugars. Decently aromatic, interesting smell although a little bit weird. Honey definitely comes out the most with a decent amount of ginger and cinnamon. Not bad smelling, fairly appealing, but definitely not the best beer I've smelled.

T- Ginger, honey, cocoa, cinnamon. Nicely balanced sweet ginger and cinnamon finish that lingers for awhile. Definitely tastes like gingerbread and comes together a lot better then in the aroma. Very flavorful and very well balanced.

M- Medium bodied, nice carbonation, very easy drinking, no alcohol burn, fairly smooth.

O- This was a very good gingerbread Christmas themed sweet stout that I definitely hope to have again. It is very well executed with an almost perfect balance of ginger, honey, and cocoa. The only aspect that could definitely be improved a little bit is the aroma. I definitely recommend trying this out.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2013 04:31:59 | More by jaasen64

tectactoe

Michigan

4.33/5  rDev -0.5%
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. Carbonation is on-point and the mouth feel gets even better as is gets a little warmer.

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

Onenote81

North Carolina

4.35/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Another shout out to YumYumGumGum for trading me a bottle at the ORF release this year! Cracked this open with fellow BA, ClarkPinnock. Poured into a chalice.

I probably didn't let this one "warm" up enough as there isn't the slightest bit of head on this pour. It is thick though, and it is black. Really heavy-looking. Might be the glass I chose though, because CP's pour had a nice half-finger of mocha-colored froth on top. This is a really thick and luscious beer. Heavy, slightly oily feel. Good carbonation. A sipper.

The first whiff of this smells exactly like freshly-baked gingerbread cookies. Spot on. They nailed it. Sweet bready aroma, vanilla, creme brulee, faint chocolate. Smells great. This beer starts out sweet for sure, with just a smidge of ginger on the finish. Sometimes when a sweet stout is "imperialized," it can get too sweet and cloying. Not this one. Great balance of sweetness and semi-bitter dark chocolate. Vanilla, sugar cookies, ginger, roasted cocoa. I'm glad I split this bottle, as I wouldn't think I'd enjoy a full bottle to myself, but as my glass empties, I find myself wishing there was more.

Fantastic beer. I'd like more, and am definitely interested in the Barrel-Aged version now.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2013 14:18:38 | More by Onenote81

smokeypeat

Maryland

4.38/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a deep dark brown, almost black. Huge beige head on this one that is slow to die down. I got at least a three finger head out of it much more than a lot of stouts.

Smell is baking spices mixed with roast. Some molasses and cinnamon with bakers chocolate. Not getting a lot of ginger in the smell which is a little surprising.

Wow, taste is right up there. I'm not sure where all that ginger was in the aroma, but it is really prevalent on the first sip. Ginger, milk chocolate, spicy rye bread, nutmeg. It really is like a cookie, with a background sweetness present the whole time. Pretty wild, never had a beer like this before.

Mouthfeel is great. Good level of carbonation to deliver all the flavor. It's got a full body, but its not overly "sticky".

Overall this beer delivered a really unique experience. I'd love to know the recipe of this one to see how they pulled it all off. I would think this would be a really easy beer to screw up, but they have brought it all together to make a great holiday beer. Can't wait to crack one of these again on Christmas eve.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2012 20:28:16 | More by smokeypeat

Code3Brewing

4.38/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served in Snifter

A - Pours dark brown with a finger tan/khaki head, leaves a decent amount of lacing. When held to light it has nice dark ruby color to it.

S - GINGER!, but was expecting more over the top on the ginger smell, it also some slight vanilla and toffee notes.

T - On the front of the tongue I got a slap of that bitterness from the ginger itself, then a huge surge of caramel/toffee sweetness, then a very slight cinnamon and a slight roastiness and slight chocolate on the aftertaste.

M - Full and thick mouth feel and nice and smooth. A fair amount of carbonation,which makes it crisp. No alcohol taste or harshness, very nice.

O - I really enjoyed this!, I wish I would have received two bottles though, so I could have put one away to cellar. It reminded me of Christmas as a kid, when I would eat ginger bread men, instead of putting them on the tree. I would also love to see a barrel aged version of this.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2013 00:27:09 | More by Code3Brewing

yamar68

Minnesota

4.38/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Big old thanks to cw577enfield for this beaut!

Murky brown cola body... near pitch black in the center. A pale tan head swells to around three fingers before slowly residing to form a half finger cap which laces very well.

Bright ginger comes immediately... nutmeg and cinnamon, mellow honey presence, cocoa, some vanilla or toffee... I don't even like sweets but this smells like my kinda dessert.

Much smoother on the palate as well... tame, metallic cardamom, toasted grains... it honestly does taste like gingerbread. Bready, sweet caramel/cinnamon... vanilla and cream... no alcohol bite whatsoever which is interesting given the amount of legging. Tasty ass shit.

Very good - thanks Colin!

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2013 01:35:02 | More by yamar68

jzeilinger

Pennsylvania

4.4/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

A - Pours dark brown / black with a toffee colored head and adheres to the sides of the glass like sticky cotton candy.

S - Ginger spice and chocolate, cinnamon, and spices.

T - Ginger, cinnamon, spices, chocolate.

M - Thicker medium body with cinnamon.

O - A very unusual and flavorful combination, highly recommended!

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 20:57:16 | More by jzeilinger

Jimmys

Pennsylvania

4.41/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

750mL from the fall '12 release. poured into snifter.

A: pretty close to black body. opaque. frothy brown-white head has great retention. tons of froth left behind on the glass. a good looking brew.

S: a bunch of fresh ginger combines with sweet unfermented sugars. slightly chocolate. not milky, but definitely some chocolate in there.

T: lots of cinnamon starts the drink off. even more ginger. molasses-like thick sweetness. finish has a slight bitterness to it, but otherwise predominately sweet. a little bit of grain too.

M: frothy and full. medium/full bodied.

D: this thing certainly has plenty of elements of gingerbread, however a few are missing. nutmeg for sure and cant say im getting too much clove either. that's me being picky. otherwise a very tasty, very unique stout from gingerbread. I recommend drinking it around the holiday's!

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 13:19:06 | More by Jimmys

brentk56

North Carolina

4.43/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Pours fudge brown with an inch or so of foam; a few strands of lace are left behind

Smell: Chocolate and gingerbread, chocolate and gingerbread etc., honeyed tones underneath

Taste: Black bread and milk chocolate with a developing gingerbread and honey character; in the middle, the gingery-gingerbread character really dominates, though the milk chocolate tones linger underneath through the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation; a bit less carbonated on tap, which is better for this brew

Overall: I heard good things about this beer from hoppedup (for those who remember him from this site) and decided to drive to Richmond for the release; glad I did as this is a great beer and is nicely differentiated from a lot of the other big stouts that get released around these parts

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 19:45:42 | More by brentk56

billab914

Virginia

4.43/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750ml bottle poured into my Devil's Backbone snifter. Black in color with a thick tan foam filling the top inch of the glass. Nice head retention and very good lacing.

Aroma has a very appealing mix of spices with notes of cinnamon, ginger and brown sugar. I get some chocolate to it which really compliments well. It really comes together well, it smells pretty much like a delicious Christmas cookie.

The taste shows a little more dark chocolate and molasses presence to it. The spices come out more in the finish leaving a very nice ginger bread flavor lingering. Again, it comes together very well and the flavors are all complimenting of each other.

The mouthfeel is a little thin feeling for the style and carbonation is above average. The carbonation seems to work with the spices though.

Overall, I thought t was a great beer and I especially loved the uniqueness of it. I thought everything came together almost perfectly in it. They managed to completely capture a gingerbread cookie in a glass without overdoing it on the sweetness or spices. I'm not usually big on spiced beers but this one is easily the best holiday spiced beer I've had. Would love to drink more of this around the holidays.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2012 00:22:22 | More by billab914

alpinebryant

Connecticut

4.45/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours an overbearing head with very sticky lacing

S: Aroma of freshly baked sweet gingersnap cookies with cotton candy caramelized sugars.

T: Full flavored stout with nice spicing. Rich candied sugar flavors. Funny enough, the sugar flavors really are reminiscent of the white confectioner candy sugar coating on top of cookies. There is a biscuit flavor along with the spicy hinge at the end of the beer mixing with some anise like flavors and a charcoaly like ashiness from black patent presence.

M: Very well done body in my opinion. The carbonation seemed high judged solely on the massive head, but once it settled roughly ten minutes , I could really enjoy the carbonation levels which seemed extremely smooth.

O: Overall a very good stout, and my favorite milk stout to date. There are a lot of flavors going in here to make it more complex while at the same time helping to mask any flaws, but as a full package, I dig it.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2012 00:00:47 | More by alpinebryant