Hey Mr. Gingerbread Man
Tree House Brewing Company

 

Not great, not bad.

 

From a 16oz can, date-stamped - as is, apparently accepted practice now - simply ‘Winter 2023,’ despite the fact that it won’t actually be winter for a couple more weeks. Ah, well, que sera, sera, I mean, right? Served in the final surviving preternaturally fragile spiegelau ba tulip glass.

Pours a motor oil-like chestnut-black with a scant half-finger of hot chocolate-like froth. Retention is effectively zippo, leaving a small soapy collar and a rousable sheet of thin, slippery lacing.

Nose is roasty, but not especially strong. Aroma is mainly roasted coffee - some raisin, and maybe a little chocolatey goo in the background.

Taste is dense and malty. Tasting liquified cocoa powder and raisin purée. I’m looking at the picture of Mr. Gingerbread Man on the can and he has royal icing eyes, not raisins but, by god, it’s raisins I’m tasting, not icing. I don’t taste anything that’s reminiscent of gingerbread spice, either, but I could be persuaded to taste fruitcake. There’s brown sugar and a smidge of charred coffee, roast bitterness in the finish, and that’s that.

Feel is syrupy-smooth and unctuous, thick bodied with fine, prickly carbonation - not a lot of carbonation but just enough to keep things moving along.

Overall, tasty enough - of course - but nothing remotely reminiscent of the flavours of gingerbread. In fact, it tastes pretty much like every other Tree House milk stout albeit a little less sweet than some and at a higher price-point than most.

 

 

Let warm to ~55F, before opening.

Very dark brown, with 1.5 fingers of tan head, that leaves a thin ring and a few streaks of lacing.

Smell is coffee, dark chocolate brownie w/ hint of sour cream tang, and a hint of earth and wood. After the head fades (& from the open can), there is a slight aroma gingerbread cookies (dry, not fresh out of the oven).

Taste is chocolate syrup (but less sweet) , ginger, and allspice, finishing with a coffee+chocolate liqueur taste and feel. I.e. noticeable, pleasant alcohol . None of the (slight) sour tang in the aroma shows up in the taste.

Feel is syrupy-slick, with light, very,very,very fine carbonation tingle on the latter half. Slight warming sensation at, & after finish.

Overall , enjoyable. Not something I'd want very often, but one is nice. I like that the spices, coffee, and chocolate are done with a light touch. Even though some of the alcohol is noticeable in the flavor, it doesn't detract, nor seem "hot". If not for how my head feels, I would have guessed ~7% abv, not 9.4%. :0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Presentation: 16 oz. can with the canning date printed on the bottom. Served in a Teku.

Appearance: The dense, dark tan, two finger head stays around for a long time and leaves behind a foam layer that stays until the end and a lot of patchy lacing. It's a deep, dark, pure black color.

Smell: It's a beautiful, warm aroma of gingerbread cookies, milk chocolate and latte. There's also some darker notes of raw cocoa and dark roasted coffee beans in the background.

Taste: It's rich and very well balanced with a sweet, filling taste of chocolate cake and gingerbread cookies at first. That's followed up by some bitter notes of black coffee and dark chocolate.

Mouthfeel: It's silky smooth and full bodied but it never gets out of hand. Just a perfectly balanced texture. Carbonation is low.

Overall: A very well balanced and rich beer that's perfect for the holidays with a lot of gingerbread and chocolate character.

"no, not the buttons! Not my gumdrop buttons!" - 12/09/19