Gingerbread Porter
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

 

Appearance - Pours near black in color with a tan, half finger-width head that dies down quickly, leaving a thin, broken layer of suds atop, with a tin but consistent ring around the outer edge of the glass. No lacing.

Smell - Ginger, cinnamon, caramel, roasted malt, chocolate and hints of vanilla and honey.

Taste - Follows the nose. Hits with a mix of gingerbread notes with toasted cookie, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, and a hint of honey. Mid-taste brings a malted roast and dark chocolate base. Finish sees some milk chocolate and continued roasty malts as the gingerbread character dies down, leading to a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - Medium-to-full in body with fair carbonation. Slick, silky drinker before a drying finish.

Overall - Very similar to the OG GBS, minus the milky sweetness. Pretty good overall. Not quite as cohesive as the GBS, but it's not far off from their flagship. It's GBS but with a classic American porter base.

 

Pours very dark. Dark tan foam. Gingery aroma. Heavy ginger and cinnamon body. Taste lingers. Bitter finish. Not much sweetness. Too much ginger and cinnamon for my liking. Should be a little sweeter. I'm thinking some milk sugar would really spruce this up.

2020
Name: Gingerbread Porter
Brewery: Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
Location: Richmond, VA
Style: Imperial Porter
ABV: 9.2%
Date: 10/24/2022
I am drinking GBP using a pint glass. I served it at 52 degrees. The pour created an airy, two-fingered, dark tan head with above-average retention. The color is dark brown, nearly black, charting around 34. The beer is opaque. Lacing was left on the sides of the glass as it dissipated. The appearance is slightly average for this style.
The first whiff is big, roasty, malty bread, chocolate, and ginger aromas. Nosing the glass, I smell caramel, light molasses, anise, coffee, and earthiness. Light floral esters, hints of cereal grains, and a nutty undertone hide in the background. A delightful Christmassy aroma is nearly perfect for this style.
The flavor has this big, earthy, malty, dark chocolate, dark roasted malt, ginger, cinnamon, and vanilla. The malt is bready, with slight char notes. Sipping the beer again reminds me of chocolate gingersnap cookies. This stuff is tasty; I wish I had a few cans around the holidays.
The mouthfeel is astringent, finishing slightly dry. The mouthfeel is medium and has medium carbonation.
I could not tell this stuff was two years old. It tasted fresh and full of ginger flavors. Delicious stuff.

Copper with a 1/4" tan head, which slowly fades. Moderate lacing.

Aroma, ginger dominates, cinnamon, vanilla.

Tastes of strong ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, pepper, cocoa.

Full body, light carbonation. Dry, spicy finish.

This is a very good Porter.

Motor oil black appearance.
Medium bodied with light carbonation.
Aroma is black coffee, dark chocolate, roasted malt with gingerbread cookie.
Taste is slightly sweet which is coupled with dry coffee bitterness. Roasted malt,gingerbread and a little boozy.
Overall a very good dessert beer.

 

A very dark black color with a slight head and some lacing. Aroma has chocolate, ginger, cinnamon, honey and vanilla
Taste has a chocolate, ginger, cinnamon, honey and vanilla flavor
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A balanced porter

 

 

 

Poured from a 16 oz can dated 9/08/2023 into a shaker pint glass.
L - Pours a dark brown color with minimal tan head.
S - Smells of gingerbread cookies.
T - Tastes of gingerbread and finishes boozy.
F - Fuller body and minimal carbonation.
O - Very tasty if you like gingerbread.

 

Canned on: 10-24-22

A - Black pour with thin, dense, toffee colored lacing and little to no carbonation.

S - Cinnamon dominates the nose followed in close 2nd with ginger, then a slight bit of chocolate roast.

T - Chocolate roast malt base with cinnamon and ginger from start to finish over top and a slight bit of residual vanilla lurking in the background.

M - Big medium body with light prickly carbonation and a slight bit of warming on the way down. Leaves a sticky residue on the lips.

O - While cinnamon and ginger can be pretty dominating, this is really well balanced. Worth checking out.

great Christmas porter nice ginger - malt flavor not strong

 

Plenty of dark roasted malt with a healthy amount of ginger and cinnamon. Honey is there, but not as assertive as the spices. Medium bodied, clean, and a boozy presence. I like it!