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
by HoppingMadMonk from New Jersey

Solid black appearance.
Medium light carbonation with an above average body. Slight slick creamy feel which all adds up to a nice feel.
Aroma is boozy alchohol, gingerbread spices, cookie, with some black coffee.
Taste is alchohol, boozy, gingerbread cookie,malt,dark cocoa, brown sugar sweetness.
A really well done dessert beer that is sweet but far from cloying. Definitely worth a try but one at a time is all could do.

Jan 09, 2022

4/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by izraelc from New York

Pours very dark. Tan foam. Sweet cinnamon aroma. Big cinnamon body. Very sweet. Sweetness lingers. Gingerbread and cocoa are present. A solid sweet stout.

Jan 02, 2022

4.18/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5
by BloodSoakedAleMug from New York

Look: Pours a rich shade of mahogany / deep reddish-brown with a billowing two and a half finger head of beige foam. Great head retention, it lasts for about 10 minutes before finally subsiding into a thin ring of foam around the glass; revealing beautiful, intricate webs of lacing as it dissipates. Really a pretty looking beer. 5/5 on appearance.

Aroma: Sugary. Red stone fruit like plums and cherries. Toffee/caramel. Coffee. Cinnamon, chocolate and ginger. Slight notes of lactose.

Taste: It's sugary, but the taste is not nearly as sweet as the aroma. Upfront, a brief flash of vanilla bean amongst mildly bitter notes of sweet milk chocolate, burnt toffee and lightly roasted coffee. Transitions immediately into fruity notes of cherries, dates, tamarind candied apples and plums. There some banana/bubblegum like notes of yeast to round things out. Ginger and cinnamon blanket the entire taste in a pleasantly warming way, without outshining the other flavors. Mild, clean burning taste of alcohol on the tail end.

Feel: Sugary. Light body for the style, although the lactose and spices give it some weight. Medium-light feel. Low carbonation. Silky, slightly too sugary and slick but not unpleasantly so. Alcohol profile is apparent, but not in a flawed way.

Overall: Great flavor, tastes like gingerbread but in a non-artificial, genuine way. Flavored/desert stouts are not something I'd typically buy, but I saw it was fresh and decided to give it a go. I was worried this was going to be a sugar/spice bomb like a lot of other holiday / desert style beers; luckily it wasn't, although it's certainly very sweet. This is fairly well rounded beer for a desert / milk stout; a style which isn't particularly known for being "balanced" per say. Worth a try if you're looking for something seasonal but not over the top.

Dec 01, 2021

4.43/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by BrewMaven from New York

Pours near black with the slightest hint of ruby showing at the bottom of the Nonic.
Thin mocha head that flattened to a cover. Splotchy fine receding lace.
Smells of ginger vanilla and a bit of roasted malt. Sweet chocolate, molasses with a hint of ginger on the back end. Thick smooth mouthfeel with fine carbonation. Excellent!

Nov 25, 2021

3.93/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
by ScruffySouthpaw from New York

Served in a goblet from the can.

Appearance: Thin body with a dark brown body and a off white head coming with a tan head maybe rising half a finger's length off the body.

Smell: Ginger and heavy molasses aroma but hits like a one night stand.

Taste: Sweet molasses and hea y Ginger coming off a lightly spicy.

Mouth: Soft body. Well sticky enough to clean your palate.

Overall: Great grab, spicy with hints of nutmeg and coffee. Salud!

Nov 25, 2021

4.55/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
by Antg8989 from New Jersey

Definitely needs to be on. everyone's holiday beer list. Ginger and cinnamon in aroma. Taste is both of those with vanilla backed by a chocolate malt backbone. Holiday spice and everything nice here.

Nov 16, 2021

4.5/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by shigg85 from Japan

So much chocolate, vanilla, honey, cinnamon, and malt in this. Velvety smooth and delicious. This has been one of my white whales, and I'm so glad I finally captured it. Delicious!

Feb 22, 2021

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

16oz canned 10-26-20, opened 2-19-21.
3 finger beige head with amazing retention.
Black core with some dark brown edges. Spotty, slippery lacing.
Perfumey ginger and honey. Floral note that seems a bot out of place.
Spicy ginger, cinnamon, vanilla comes on midway to late. Roasted malt is apparent but is underneath the adjuncts.
All advertised flavors are present and accounted for.
Full body, smooth and velvety mouthfeel with low + carbonation. Lengthy, lightly roasty and sweet finish.
Very Good to Outstanding.

Feb 20, 2021

4.35/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by keithmurray from Connecticut

Appearance - dark mahogany body with tan head

Smell - chocolate, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon

Taste - chocolate, cinnamon, ginger, honey, vanilla

Mouthfeel - medium plus bodied, medium carbonation, sweetness upfront from the chocolate, cinnamon comes next followed by the ginger

Overall - this is a nice stout, although on the sweeter side. I would drink this again next holiday season

Price Point - $15.99/4 pk 16 oz cans

Jan 16, 2021

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

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with a half finger dark khaki head with great retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, cinnamon, cocoa, vanilla, lactose and light ginger. Flavor is dark, lightly toasted malt, ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, lactose and milk chocolate. Gingerbread and dark malt finish. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess. Well, this stout sounded a little over-the-top for me, even as a pastry stout fan, but I was wrong to be skeptical. It really does deliver an close to authentic gingerbread cookie flavor, but excellently supported by the underlying malt. The mouth feel is silky and creamy, with clear oat character. The finish has just the right touch of cinnamon and ginger to linger, but not intrude. One of the best pastry stouts I've had. I could easily make this a holiday standard.

Jan 07, 2021

3.5/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
by firesidewithphil from Illinois

Gingerbread Stout has a ton of ginger and is the most prevalent flavor. It also has a molasses profile even though it is not listed as one of the main ingredients. The spice is a bit too much to out this one higher.

IG: @firesidewithphil

Jan 03, 2021

4.52/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by basaywhat from Illinois

16 oz can. Pours a very dark brown with a brown head. Cinnamon and light ginger aroma with caramel and spice. Ginger and toffee flavor with spice. Medium bodied. Ginger and toffee linger with light molasses and spice.

Dec 26, 2020

4.93/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
by DanBrenda from Washington

Ordered from Tavour and poured into a pint glass (should had been poured into a snifter but whatever).

Look: dark (almost black), very small head, little lacing
Smell: roast, ginger bread (cookie), honey, small spice (cinnamon?)
Taste: front end sweet stout, mid taste we get intense honey, backend we get gingerbread cookie and far trailing end we get roast and a bit of booze.
Feel: full mouthfeel, a bit of carbonation and then bittering end notes give a bit drying on the end feel

We are from Portland OR area and lived in Virginia for a while. We love Hardywood. They are very creative and fun. This beer is interesting because it is intense honey with gingerbread cookie; and full mouthfeel probably from the lactose. There is not intense vanilla or cinnamon, but the flavors profile is all gingerbread cookie mid drink, exactly what it says. It is a 9.2 ABV but they hide it well for those that are not big boozy beer drinkers.

Dec 21, 2020

3.81/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
by UWDAWG from Washington

Poured from a 16 ounce can into a snifter at 45 degrees per can.

Look- Black, medium brown frothy head, average head retention and lacing.

Smell- Ginger, cinnamon, vanilla.

Taste- Ginger, vanilla, ginger and sweet honey finish.

Feel- Medium body, slightly mouth coating, creamy, below average carbonation.

Overall- Good, but reminds me more of root beer than gingerbread.

Dec 21, 2020

4.06/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by BillAfromSoCal from California

16 oz can purchased 11/20/20 off room temp shelf for $3.75 at Trader Joes. Canned on date of 10/1/2020.Can states Imperial milk stout with cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, and honey. Poured into the stemmed tulip glass as recommended on the can. Not black...very deep mahogany. Trivial amount of head disappears almost completely within 30 seconds. No lacing. Basically nothing in the appearance that is enticing. Almost no smell at all (conformed by wife as second opinion), including when it warmed up to almost room temp. However, the taste is very good; exactly as described on the can with good balance among all the flavors. Not any overpowering fake gingerbread flavor. Considering the disappointing looks and smell, the flavor is top notch. The feel is quite nice with a creamier feel than you would guess based on the appearance. Overall a great flavor/good feel if you want that flavor profile, but just not worthy of high points in looks or smell. Certainly cannot see how this got a "world class" rating.

Nov 22, 2020

4.43/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by PSYCLST from Pennsylvania

Very dark with sweet smell with depth. Taste matches the smell and is balanced winter stout due the tasty blend of vanilla, ginger and cinnamon. Excellent overall and ages well.

Apr 29, 2020

4.12/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by bret27 from California

Bottle courtesy of appearanceswc.
Much gratitude!
Appearance: black. Thick brown head.
Smell: gingerbread, vanilla, cookies,
Taste: vanilla, gingerbread cookie, wood, malt, milk, cereal, bread, root beer. As it warms more and more flavors show up.
Feel: medium to full. Smooth, slight burn.
Overall: nice interpretation of the style, especially with fairly high abv. A little sweet for my personal preference, but appropriate for what it is.

Apr 20, 2020

4.12/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
by daliandragon from Maryland

This one has been hanging around the fridge since last year. Pours big and impressive, with a dark tan head and jet black body. There is a slight snap of ginger among the roasted coffee tones and de riguer hop balancing act that is the nose.

Intense sugary lactose and chocolate buzz throughout the sip. Plenty of Christmas spices...vanilla, cinammon etc. The texture is thick but relatively smooth, particularly in the finish. Quite a bit going on here and it mostly hits the mark, although I do find it a bit cloying in the middle before rounding out in the aftertaste. Good effort, at any rate.

Mar 09, 2020