Gingerbread Stout | Hardywood Park Craft Brewery

4.46/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Dark dark brown red, opaque
Thin whisky stout head
Strong strong stout nose
I’m not catching the ginger or gingerbread - overwhelmed by the dark malt and strong alchohol
But


Very nice nonetheless for a snowy evening in Vermont

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4.18/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured black with a quarter inch tan head that dissipated quickly and left little lacing. Smells of roasted malts, dark chocolate, ginger and cinnamon. Taste follows the nose with additional flavors of vanilla, caramel, molasses, nutmeg and coffee. Creamy mouth feel, full bodied, light carbonation.

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3.98/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Type: 500-ml. bottle
Glass: Pure Project 16-oz. snifter glass
From: Trader Joe’s in College Area (San Diego, Calif.)
Price: $5.99
Purchased: Jan. 11, 2019
Consumed: Jan. 11, 2019
Reviewed as: Milk / Stout
Misc.: No bottled on date

Had been wanting to try this for a while and surprise, surprise I found it at a Trader Joe’s for $5.99. Had first saw it the week before in Santa Barbara, but didn’t pull the trigger (which was stupid when I now think about it). Grabbed it the next time I saw it again in San Diego. Description was, “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.” Damn that was long, but informing.

Poured a pitch black color with three fingers of khaki-tan rocky-to-frothy head. Some bubbles coming up along the sides of the glass. Good spotty lacing. Excellent retention. (Sight - 4.25)

Smelled ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, molasses, clove, menthol, honey graham cracker and boozy wintry spice. A little brown sugar from the bottle, which adds to it. (Smell - 3.75)

Tasted better than the nose, but still underwhelming overall. Got ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, molasses, wintry spice, honey graham cracker, pumpkin pie crust, vanilla, hints of milk chocolate, caramel, espresso and cacao. (Taste - 4.00)

Full body. Creamy-to-sticky texture. Average carbonation. Long, spicy finish. (Feel - 4.25)

Really liked this beer overall, but I have to admit was not as good as I was hoping it would be. Still solid and damn good value for $5.99. (Overall - 4.00)

3.98 | 89 | B+

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4.04/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

22 ounce bottle into a snifter. 2017 edition. Had 5/25/18.

Pours a dark brown, opaque, with a half inch foamy head and some slick, foamy lacing. Aromas of roasted malt, chocolate, vanilla, cocoa, some toffee and cinnamon, light ginger and caramel. Flavors of roasted malt, honey, chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, ginger- which shows mostly in the aftertaste, some caramel, light smoke. Smooth, creamy, a very good full body, well carbonated.

I’ve heard this was kind of a down year, but even with that, I’m still a little disappointed. Very good base stout, the cinnamon shows more than the ginger and vanilla. Needs to be fully warmed for best results. It’s certainly good, but seems to be rated a bit high to me. Have another bottle, maybe I’ll be less crabby about that one. Worth a purchase at a good price point.

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3.79/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured from fridge temp. Pours jet black with quickly dissipating light brown head. Nose is roasted malts, licorice, gingerbread, and vanilla. Taste is fairly smooth, with roasted malts, some burnt wood, licorice, ginger, lactose, and a touch of dark fruit. Mouthfeel is creamy and thick. Overall, not a bad stout, but nothing spectacular.

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3.93/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml bottle into a goblet. Packaged 11/1/17, so over 14 months old here.

Classic stout look to this beer. Big bad looking black as night body with an inch think head looking like a well done pancake on top. really nice lacing here.

Mild ginger aroma.

Well, much as I love ginger, and love stout, this particular combination, while not tasting unpleasant, to me tastes like thick alcoholic ginger ale. The other notes mentioned on the bottle, vanilla, honey, cinnamon, don't come through and it ends up being a bit one dimensional.

Mouth between medium and full, finish is ginger.

Overall, a bit disappointed, was expecting more from this beer.

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4.11/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Look: Dark black with a good amount of dark tan head that hangs around for awhile
Smell: I am getting a bunch of ginger, some honey, chocolate and a hint of cinnamon.
Taste: Served too cold at first, I am getting mostly a ginger flavor. As it warms the flavor rounds out nicely with cinnamon, chocolate, spice and a slight ginger finish.
Feel: Medium to full bodied with a nice smooth creaminess. Good amount of carbonation.
Overall: Super enjoyable milk stout

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4.25/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

warm cinnamon and nutmeg quality, a clean ginger note, sugary, spices definitely invoke memories of Christmas. some hints at vanilla and roasty throughout, a creamy chocolate flavor presenting as well but overall the spice and ginger qualities are predominant, which really works for the style.

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3.26/5  rDev -24%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25

Perhaps I got a bad batch or spoiled bottle, because I'm really surprised at how high of a rating this stout has gotten. I was really looking forward to this beer, especially after reading the reviews, and was sorely disappointed. Even beyond saying this was just "okay," I actually disliked this beer. I would like to try it again, however, to see if this bottle got somehow ruined by time/transport/heat/etc. Bottling was on 10-18-18 and I drank it 12-26-18.

Color: pours very dark with a very nice, generous foamy head
Smell: metallic, nutmeg, molasses, with a sourness
Taste: Alcohol and spice with a sour aftertaste. Hints of cinnamon and nutmeg follow.

Overall, I'm very disappointed in this one. However, being that most of the reviews have given this beer an outstanding rating, I'd be curious to try it again... perhaps the truck that delivered them got overheated.. not sure.

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4.28/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Huge thanks to Craig for this special hand delivered gift.

Gingerbread Stout is a beautiful beer, and just what you'd imagine it to be. Black as a lump of coal but with exceptional clarity. The tanned head above resembling the baked sweets color it was named after. It recedes leaving little spots and a blank surface which in this case reflected the background fire magically.

Chocolate and spices ascend from the glass. A touch of roasted coffee with a dash of cinnamon. With some time, brown sugar and fruit cake give promise for a sweet indulgence.

Once again, chocolate and spices are the driving force behind Gingerbread Stout. An estery finish along with anise, cardomom, and a general stone fruit give this a Belgian stout-like sensation. Ginger and clove add to the long list of spices, but none are in abundance. Just a tingle to lightly cut through the sweet milk chocolatey base.

A moderate feel with a touch of creaminess, with that aforementioned tingle of spices on the finish. The sweetness is balanced by that spice along with a smooth roastiness.

Once received, this was an obvious choice for my daughter to leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve. The bottle was empty in the morning which could only mean he happily approved.

Cheers!

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4.22/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Pours more of a dark cola color with a thinner but well retained with a deep ginger bread colored head atop.Ginger and underlying cinnamon stick out most in the nose,ginger really comes thru as it warms.Nice subtle complexities on the palate,starting out with a tinge of vanilla,then bitter chocolate,the ginger is less pronounced on the palate then the nose but that's a good thing here,a shot of roast/char comes in and lingers in the finish.The creamy texture is spot on for the flavor profile,a really nice holiday stout.

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4.49/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Churchkey in D.C.

Pours a very dark brown with fine, chocolate colored foam.

Smell is rich and sweet, with notes of ginger, chocolate, coffee and cinnamon.

Taste is slightly roasty with cinnamon, coffee and chocolate dominating with some puffs of giger here and there. Very luxurious and rich.

Mouthfeel is full and smooth, well carbonated.

Overall, a really nice, Christmasy stout.

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4.29/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

It's a beautiful looking deep black with dark chai latte foamy head. I can only get hints of brown on the edges when holding to the light. Smell is a little oaky with baker's chocolate. A whiff of alcohol esters on the end.

It tastes like Christmas--dark, brooding flavors of vanilla, chocolate, and sweetness. Definitely wait a while between sips bc the after taste is great and varies. The warmth of the alcohol and gingerbread develops slowly and lingers nicely.

Body is more medium plus, but the smooth carbonation makes it seem fuller--like you can almost chew it

Overall, I think this is going to move to the top of the list for winter seasonals that I'll look forward to. Great beer!

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4.06/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

On tap in Raleigh.

A: Dark brown to almost black - like cola. Can barely see through it.

S: hints of sugar, molasses, ginger.

T: Aside from the leading ginger, this ha as very malty, nutty taste more typical of a brown. As the beer warms, some
Esters and more ginger comes out on the back.

M: this was just tapped within a week, so incredibly fresh and popping.

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4.21/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Jet black beer with a brown head that quickly retreats to the edge of the glass. The aroma is pure ginger with some roasty, sweet malt. Sweet up front with a lot of ginger and roasted malt that brings a little coffee and chocolate. Molasses bitterness balances it all out. Very tasty.

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3.96/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

One of my first beers. Foams up well when poured and settles down to a ring. Very dark brown in color, it looks like its heavy. As soon as you pour you can smell the ginger and cloves. It smells like Christmas as you'd expect, but heavier. Warms you up with each sip, and is almost chocolatey. Hops on the aftertaste. Made me want to try more from Hardywood.

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4.23/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

750 ml bottle poured into a tulip glass.

L---Deep, dark brown. Opaque. Big, thick light brown head that faded quickly, but left good lacing.

S---I get sweet Guinness. Some burnt malts. It's clearly a stout with sweetness, cinnamon & light gingerbread.

T---Gingerbread is more prominent in the taste, as is the cinnamon. Very nice.

F---Lighter than I would have expected. High alcohol lends no harshness. Creamy & smooth.

O---Damn good stuff. My wife's aunt gave this to me as part of a Christmas package. This is going to be the 2nd best one from the bunch,

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4.03/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured at 52 degrees into a tulip. Near-black with 2+ fingers of tan head that fade to a ring.

The nose is ginger, cinnamon, cola, root beer, and buttery pie crust. Hints of cherry and butterscotch.

The taste opens with cinnamon and ginger, becoming buttery and cookie-like mid-palate, before some char and bitterness ride out on the finish. The mouthfeel is medium minus. Bordering on thin, which causes a beer that's otherwise tasty to be a little less round than it should be on the backend. Hints of red fruit, licorice, and cola.

Overall, an enjoyable beer but the mouthfeel is lacking. 8-/10

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3.98/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

An attractive pour, with good carbonation and swirling remnants of head mixing on the surface. A nice ginger and chocolate aroma, with honey more on the mid-palate. Thinner body than expected, with a finish more like molasses cookies than a gingerbread.

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2.77/5  rDev -35.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

I do not know what they did with this years batch, but it doesn't taste anything at all like it had previous years. Super carbonated, smells off, very little spice, feels like I'm drinking soda or something. Hopefully the BA variant is better or I'm going to be a very sad dude. I always get hyped for this release too! Stout used to be a 5/5 for me. Hopefully I just got a bad bottle or something.

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3.23/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This year's batch is not up to par with previous years. It has a fairly thin mouth feel and and an unusual amount of carbonation compared to last year's. Flavor is off as well. I get initial ginger but nothing much after that which was very disappointing. I was expecting the creamy mouth feel with the awesome flavors of ginger, chocolate, and vanilla that has brought this beer to be such an anticipated release, unfortunately not this year.

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4.38/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Look: Pitch black with 2 inch khaki head.
Smell: Gingerbread, nutmeg, apple, and mulled spices.
Taste: Gingerbread, banana bread, nutmeg, and mulled spices.
Mouthfeel: Medium with good complexity.
Overall: A good fun stout from Hardywood. Not too sweet.

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4.41/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Look is pitch black with 3+ fingers of dirty khaki head. (Love me some head on my stouts).

Aroma is ginger, cinnamon, vanilla and honestly smells like christmas morning.

Taste is ginger, cinnamon, vanilla and maybe molasses.

Feel is a bit thin, but certainly creamy.

Overall it's really good. Tastes like a gingerbread cookie and reminds me of Christmas morning.

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4.25/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750 ml bottle into snifter, no bottle dating. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy dark khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, vanilla, caramel, cream, honey, brown sugar, molasses, toasted oats, biscuit, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of raisin, plum, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready malts and spice notes; with big strength. Taste of big milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, vanilla, caramel, cream, honey, brown sugar, molasses, toasted oats, biscuit, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of raisin, plum, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light roast/char and herbal/peppery spice bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, vanilla, caramel, cream, honey, brown sugar, molasses, toasted oats, biscuit, dark/brown bread, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and flavors; with an awesome roasted bitter/sweet and peppery spice balance; with zero acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Light dryness from bitter/spiciness, lightly increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky, and lightly sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is awesome. Minimal warming alcohol for 9.2%; with a touch if increasing ginger heat through the glass. Overall this is a fantastic spiced imperial stout! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malts and spice flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV. Pretty much perfectly balanced between stout and spice flavors. Not super roasty/charred for a stout; but adequate to still feel like a stout, and let the spices have a nice showcase. A highly enjoyable offering.

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4.1/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

3-25-17 - On tap at Heritage in the Fan of Richmond. Just a hint of Christmas in March. Served in a short stemmed wine glass with dark, dark brown color and a caramel colored head. Nutmeg and slight cinnamon flavors with just a bit of the gingerbread flavors. A nice stout to begin my meal. Great restaurant.

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