Bourbon Barrel GBS

Review Date 7/27/2024  By John Staradumsky

  Style: Spiced    Brewery: Hardywood   Country: USA   State: Virginia   $ Per OZ: $. (B)   ABV: 11.5%

Remember Gingy? Sure you do. Gingy was the little creep in Schreck who went around pissing everyone off. Well, guess what? Gingy went on a bingy and stuffed his bourbon-soaked body in a bottle of Hardywood Bourbon Barrel GBS (Gingerbread Stout). And now he’s making everyone happy!

At least, he’s making me happy with every sip this Christmas in July as I enjoyed a bottle I bought from Half Time last winter. Now, the first bottle of this wonderful beer I ever had was a few years ago, bought here in Georgia. I haven’t seen it since, though, until Half Time had it. That first bottle I enjoyed in November of 2022, but never reviewed it. I am setting that to right, and Hardywood Bourbon Barrel GBS will now join the Pantheon of fine brews here at Guruofbrew.com.

Hardywood says on their website:

Hardywood Gingerbread Stout, described by BeerAdvocate as “freagin’ Christmas in a bottle,” is an imperial milk stout brewed with fresh vanilla beans, cinnamon, fresh baby ginger, and wildflower honey from local family-owned farms. Gingerbread Stout is then matured in Virginia bourbon barrels, where it adapts an incredibly mellow character with oak, caramel, and bourbon undertones and emerges 12 weeks later as Bourbon GBS. A festive blend of spice character laces this rich, chocolatey stout, which warms the palate and the soul.

Hardywood Bourbon Barrel GBS has an alcohol content of 11.5% by volume and I paid $6.49 for my 12-ounce bottle from Half Time. That’s very reasonable for a single. Total Wine sells it for $19.99 a 4-pack, though again I have not seen it in a long time. If you hurry, their website says their Palm Beach Florida store still has some in stock.

Hardywood Bourbon Barrel GBS pours to a jet-black color with a thick creamy head and a nose of fresh baked ginger bread soaked in bourbon. Taking a sip, the beer is full in body with a truly luxuriant mouthfeel. Soft brown bready gingerbread notes pop to the fore, then comes vanilla and coconut and wood. Cinnamon too, and at the last boozy bourbon.

A truly wonderful beer indeed for Chrisymas in July or December. Even Schrek says so.