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Hardywood Bourbon Cru

Hardywood Bourbon Cru
Beer style: 
Abbey-style Quadrupel Aged in Virginia Bourbon Barrels

Hardywood Bourbon Cru is brewed in the fashion of the abbey quadrupel, the grand cru of many of Belgium’s revered monastic breweries. Bourbon Cru displays a sunset orange hue with a substantial head and brilliant clarity after months of barrel ageing. The maturity and melding of flavors brought on by the freshly drained, half-decade old Virginia bourbon barrels from Fredericksburg’s A. Smith Bowman Distillery lends an extraordinary sense of harmony to Bourbon Cru. Almond toffee and oaky vanilla aromatics give way to dark cherries, raisins and mature whiskey. A bit of plum flavor is greeted by caramel overtones and an assertive yet incredibly rounded body and a lingering, bourbon-laced finish.

Best with: 

Hardywood Bourbon Cru harmonizes beautifully with soft, spreadable cheeses such as Neufchâtel, Camembert or Brie, perhaps topped with plum preserves. Bison, venison loin or short ribs cooked in a savory sauce or as a stew would also pair quite well. Potato leek soup or corn chowder would lend themselves to the rich malt character of Bourbon Cru. A wide range of desserts, but particularly dark fruit pastries such as blueberry crisp or tart cherry pie à la mode would make a heavenly accompaniment.

Testimonials: 

"Hardywood nails this bourbon barrel-aged beauty...great to see the influence of Virginia's A. Smith Bowman distillery here as it returns to prominence." - Lew Bryson, All About Beer Magazine

"With 10.2 percent alcohol and a name like Bourbon Cru, I'm expecting something very big, and I'm not disappointed...dark fruit and vanilla leaping from the glass." - Stephen Beaumont, All About Beer Magazine

Strength (ABV): 
10.2 % ABV
Color (SRM): 
14 °L
Bitterness (IBU): 
18 IBUs
Availability: 
Ltd. - Spring
Next release date: 
Sat, 04/27/2013 - 2:00pm
Package: 
Draft
1/6 bbl (5.1 gal) keg
Bottles
12 x 750 ml bottles
Category: 
Barrel Series beer
First release date: 
April 2012
UPC: 
8 56718 00306 8

Comments

Grog da Growler King's picture

Wed, 04/25/2012 - 10:24am — Grog da Growler King (not verified)
The Vanilla Sky
Nigel Whitenack's picture

Wed, 05/09/2012 - 3:33pm — Nigel Whitenack (not verified)
Just tapped the Bourbon Cru! Come in and grab a glass while it lasts!!! Thank you Erik and Patrick for another great brew!
Brad's picture

Wed, 05/16/2012 - 10:30pm — Brad (not verified)
Hard to believe how good this is. Had a couple at Cap Ale Midlo tonight. WOW! Following up Hoplar with this only increases my raving about Hardywood. This is another classic.
Cru Enjoyers's picture

Fri, 06/15/2012 - 10:06pm — Cru Enjoyers (not verified)
Love it at Tastebuds - so good as after dinner as well as paired.
ronald ott's picture

Fri, 06/22/2012 - 9:28am — ronald ott (not verified)
one of the best bourbon aged beers i ever tasted. keep on the great brewing!
Sam Draper's picture

Tue, 06/26/2012 - 11:32am — Sam Draper (not verified)
New in town from Frederick MD. We dined at this new spot a few weeks back and had the pleasure of tasting your Cru, along with great food....what can I say, Bourbon Cru stacks up there with some of the best Belgiums. Chimay used to be my go to for a mellow relaxing Belgium, give me a Cru instead! Great Job Hardywood! See you on Thirsday for a growler full if it lasts.
Gary's picture

Wed, 07/25/2012 - 10:38am — Gary (not verified)
Im running low on bourbon cru. I only have 9 let in the closet and i would like to save some for the winter time. ARE YOU SURE THERE IS NO MORE IN THE BACK? The thought of snow chilled bourbon cru sounds pretty nice!!!!
Beer Fan's picture

Sat, 11/24/2012 - 3:36pm — Beer Fan (not verified)
Your Singel is good, but you're missing out on a lot of potential business by not offering some of these beers year round. I say this as a compliment because I want to be able to buy the Cru year round, but it just seems like bad business sense...
eric.mckay's picture

Mon, 11/26/2012 - 9:39am — eric.mckay
Beer Fan, Thanks for your feedback. Funny coincidence, we had bourbon sweet potatoes with pecans with Thanksgiving dinner, and I was thinking Bourbon Cru would make the perfect complement, though, as you pointed out, it's been out of stock for several months. One reason for not offering many of our beers year round is that we're committed to using fresh, local ingredients (as with RVA IPA, Farmhouse Pumpkin, Gingerbread Stout, Virginia Blackberry, etc.). The other reason is capacity. We've been at 100% capacity since we opened. In order to make beers like Bourbon Cru year round (this beer takes 18 weeks from brew day to packaging day), we would need to curtail production of our other offerings, reducing variety. We'll continue to balance this tradeoff between variety and longevity of each of our beers. In the meantime, know that we're just as eager as you to get Bourbon Cru back in the kettle, the tanks, the barrels, and ultimately, the bottles and kegs this spring.
New Brew Crew Member's picture

Mon, 11/26/2012 - 10:18pm — New Brew Crew Member (not verified)
Is there a reason 4/20 was chosen for the next release? I've noticed a lot of people with beards and funny plants growing out front...not to mention the food carts! As a side note, I recognize the constaints of capacity and availability of ingredients you face when crafting your cornucopia of concoctions. I actually appreciate the the anticipation you create announcing your release dates/parties. I look forward in more than one way to the next release on 4/20 and believe me, I will stock up more than I did this year!!
GARY's picture

Tue, 04/02/2013 - 9:05am — GARY (not verified)
I WAS WONDERING IF THE RELEASE DATE FOR THE BOURBON CRU WAS STILL IN APRIL. I DIDNT SEE IT ON YOUR EVENTS LIST? I LOVE THIS STUFF. IS THERE GOING TO BE A LIMIT OF 3 BOTTTLES PER PERSON AGIAN? IS THERE ANYWAY TO TAKE A PRE-ORDER?

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