Hardywood Christmas Morning

Brewer's Notes: Hardywood Christmas Morning lends a cheerfully heightened decadence to our Gingerbread Stout through deep conditioning on locally roasted Blanchard’s Coffee Co. coffee beans. Hints of sweet honey and oven baked gingerbread greet the comforting nuances of freshly brewed morning coffee in this imperial milk stout. Skip the leftover cookies and milk and awaken your senses with this delightful holiday tradition.

Reviews
202601: I drank the second of two cans. It was a delight. The bitterness of the coffee cuts the sweetness of the stout.

Rating = 6 glasses

202512: I drank one of two cans from a Hardywood gift pack. It is nice, even for someone like me who does not like coffee. However, I am downgrading the rating slightly.

Rating = 5.5 glasses

(202203) The coffee balances some of the sweetness in Gingerbread Stout.

Rating = 6 glasses

Hardywood Gingerbread Stout

Brewer's Notes: Made 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 notes from milk chocolate and vanilla, to honeycomb and cinnamon, to a snap of ginger in the finish. We hope Hardywood Gingerbread Stout contributes to your merriment this season.

Reviews

Nov. 25, 2022

I shared the last bottle dated 201612 Alex last night with Thanksgiving dessert. Six years of aging makes the beer a delight. It is plenty sweet with a nice ginger kick. 

Rating: I am leaving the rating at 5.5 glasses but think aged bottles are better.

 

(202002) I drank a bottle dated 201612, meaning the beer has aged a little over about 5 years. Aging makes the beer yummy. Flavors are muted like a three-day old stew. Patsy picked up hints of port. Alex thought that the ginger shined through. I really liked it.

I also drank a glass on draft recently. It was a disappointment. Tasted off. This is my second bad experience with Gingerbread on draft at Postbellum.

Rating = 5.5, up from 5, based on the 5-year old bottle.

(201911) Hardywood Gingerbread Stout is a BIG Milk Stout. It contains vanilla, cinnamon and local ginger and honey.  The taste varies from year to year. I described my first glass years ago as like drinking chocolate gingerbread cake. Last year's version was a disappointment. Hardywood is back on their game this year. Back to being chocolate gingerbread cake with a titch of cinnamon sauce on top. It is a beer you want to drink slowly and best one beer per evening.

Rating = 5 glasses

Alewerks Coffeehouse

Brewer's notes
This Milk Stout is brewed with a generous amount of Guatemala Antigua coffee. There's a noticeably sweet character but we don't shy away from the coffee's bitter nature. It's the coffee drinker's coffee stout.

04 Jan. 2020
The brewer's notes are spot on. The beer is good, interesting, and flavorful. It combines sweet stout with a BIG dose of coffee. The beer is "smaller" than Hardywood Christmas Morning but has more coffee flavor.

BeerAdvocate.

Rating = 4 glasses. If you love coffee it is probably a 5.