Hardywood Park Craft Brewery Kentucky Christmas Morning

**Aroma:** “Mexican chocolate—cinnamon, vanilla, maybe a little chile/cayenne. Super aromatic! Moderate sweetness, light coffee, light anise. Reminds me very much of cinnamon rolls. A touch of ginger and clover start to give way to a pumpkin essence.” **Flavor:** “This is somewhere between a Mexican mole stout and a Christmas beer. It is very much like a cinnamon roll. Moderate sweetness with high spices that grow in intensity toward the end. Alcohol stays in the background as a warming. Light coffee note toward the end. If you like cinnamon-clove-ginger, you’ll be quite happy. Mexican hot chocolate.” **Overall:** “That’s a spiced stout! If you like chai, this is a beer for you. Moderate sweet notes with the chocolate and coffee. Low alcohol stays out of the way. Move over coffee beers—this would be perfect with a cinnamon roll for breakfast.”

Aroma: “Rich chocolate roast character with vinous dark fruit and white pepper.” Flavor: “Fantastic rich and chewy stout character, huge chocolate and dried cherry, with hints of vanilla. The finish is quite sweet, but cut by the tannic barrel-aged character. Not as much red-wine character as in the nose, but it still adds some complexity.” Overall: “Wow! This is an awesome beer. The milk stout borders on being overly sweet, but it has some really nice complexity and when paired with the barrel-aged qualities, it leads to a fantastic rich and chewy finish. The red-wine qualities from the barrel are evident throughout and accentuate the complexity.”

“The subdued nose is pleasant—light caramel, light toasted bread, some black-tea herbal notes. The light doughy aroma is unassuming, but the first sip makes a stronger impression—a wash of crusty French-bread malt never slides into sweetness. It’s balanced with an herbal hop, driving to the perfect bitter finish. That bitterness builds a bit higher than one might like for the style, but it works well here. Nice, round, smooth flavor—bright, moderately sweet malt, fully married to a pleasant, gentle, herbal bitterness. Elegant, with some pleasant sweetness and heft. Nicely done.”