GINGERBREAD LATTE

BEER REVIEW: 429

BREWER: Vault City, Lothian, Scotland

STYLE: Imperial Stout

ABV: 11%

VESSEL: 330ml tin

DATE OF POST: 26th December 2025

 

JYMI SAY’S…

For this review to work, it’s important that you remember that I live in a stately home (seems beer reviewing pays pretty well, and you can see how, what with us sometimes hitting double figure likes on Bluesky!).

Christmas Eve through to a day or so after Boxing Day can be pretty hectic. Especially if you’re hosting and many family members come over to camp out / settle in for 4+ days. There is the food to prep, eat and tidy away, 3 or more times a day! When it comes to the drinking there is the constant chilling, pouring and cleaning of glasses. Presents need to be wrapped (hopefully prior, but not always), unwrapped and said wrapping tidied away. There is the endless patrol of people making sure they’re ok, having a nice time and ALIVE (especially when it comes to Uncle Walter). There is also entertainment… who wants what? Movie? Which movie? Music? What music? Are the kids all ok? Is Uncle Walter asleep oooooooor?? Are the dogs ok? Is the music too loud? Does anyone need a top up? Is the ham defrosting for tomorrow? Where did the bottle opener go?!…

IT’S HECTIC!!!

But there always comes that time to take yourself away from the chaos, maybe with your father, maybe with you brother-in-law, maybe with your brother or maybe with your father-in-law. It could be your sister, Uncle Walter or just yourself. You reside to the library for calmness, contemplation and a wee sip of something by the fire. Typically, maybe a brandy or a port… but this is where our behemoth of a beer today would come into its own. Gingerbread Latte is absolutely perfect for that moment of calm. Taking it easy for 30 mins. No rush. No stress. Just sitting peacefully in your easy chair… sipping.

And here is why…

This Imperial Stout is nothing short of exceptional. Starting proceedings with a sweet ginger syrup nose you know instantly that you’re in business. The taste is one of faint (but certainly in the forefront) ginger. The mouthfeel is one of thick creamy milk. The aftertaste is one of bitter coffee, with the bitterness building the more you get into it. And although this brew is biconically strong at 11%, it only comes across as something more in the 7% region making it slip down with absolutely zero effort nor alcohol burn. It’s rich, it’s uncinus, it’s luxurious… it’s fantastic.

And once finished you slip into a 20 min power nap with a HUGE WARM SMILE on your face safe in the knowledge that you have just consumed greatness in a glass.

And then… it’s back to the chaos!

All is good x

Jymi’s Rating: 96%

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

The taproom hums with Christmas hits and the clink of glasses, its chalkboard menu rewritten in candy-cane cursive for the season. You settle into a corner booth beneath a garland-strung window, and the bartender slides over the Gingerbread Latte like it’s a gift wrapped in aluminium. That tall 330ml tin gleams with festive flair; snowflakes, spice swirls, and just enough whimsy to make you grin before the pour even begins.
It lands in the glass like molasses in slow motion. Deep, dark, and decadent, crowned with a brown head that looks whipped by the elves themselves. The nose is a knockout, ginger and vanilla leap out like they’ve been waiting all year for this moment. It smells like the inside of a gingerbread house, if the house also served espresso and had a roaring fire.
The mouthfeel is pure velvet. It coats the tongue like a cashmere scarf, smooth and indulgent without ever tipping into heaviness. The flavour journey is a sleigh ride through a spice market. First, sweet vanilla, soft and creamy, like the foam on a festive latte. Then gingerbread, rich and chewy, followed by a swirl of cinnamon that warms like a hug from someone in a Nordic jumper. Just when you think it’s all sugar and spice, the coffee hits; a bold, bitter slap that grounds the sweetness and adds grown-up swagger. And then, like a ghost of Christmas past, the ginger returns, lingering long after the sip, a spicy echo that refuses to fade.
This beer doesn’t just taste festive, it feels like a tradition. It’s the kind of brew you’d serve at a midnight toast, or crack open after the last present’s been unwrapped. It’s strong, unapologetically so, but never brash. It’s confident. It knows it’s the best-dressed guest at the party and still brings a tin of homemade biscuits.
If your local coffee shop turned into a taproom for December, this would be the signature pour. It’s a stout that sings carols in minor chords, that pairs perfectly with ginger snaps and twinkling lights. It’s not just a beer, it’s a mood, a moment, a memory in the making. And you’ll want another.

Sammy’s Rating: 96%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 96%

MOB review next weekend: MARTHA: QUAD by THE BREW SOCIETY

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze weekly since 2017

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M O B 2025

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