Hardywood is a craft brewery in Richmond, Virginia, and a peanut butter porter from a brewer like that is a dark, roasty beer with a nutty, dessert-like finish. It is sweet-leaning without being syrupy, and it works best served cool rather than cold. Below is what it tastes like, how to serve it, and where to look in Westford if you want something close.
What is a Hardywood peanut butter porter?
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery is based in Richmond, Virginia, and is known for dark, pastry-leaning and barrel-aged beers. A peanut butter porter from a brewery like that starts as a porter, a dark ale built on roasted malt, and then adds peanut character on top.
Porter is the older cousin of stout. The two overlap so much that brewers and drinkers argue about where one ends and the other begins. In practice, a porter tends to be a little lighter in body and less sharply roasted than a stout, which leaves more room for added flavours such as chocolate, coffee or peanut.
That is why the combination works. Roasted malt already tastes a bit like cocoa and toast, and peanut butter sits comfortably alongside both.
A small note, since the word comes up: if you are in the shop looking for butter flavours of a different kind, the Butter brand page covers a pair of wines, which we get to further down.
What does a peanut butter porter taste like?
Expect roasted malt first: toast, cocoa and a little coffee. Peanut shows up in the middle and the finish, often as a salted-nut or roasted-peanut note rather than a sweet spread. If chocolate is part of the recipe, it lands somewhere between milk and dark chocolate, bringing a gentle bitterness to balance the richness.
The body is usually medium to full, with low carbonation and a smooth, slightly creamy feel. Hop bitterness stays in the background. Porters of this type are made to be sipped and are not meant to be refreshing in the way a lager is.
If you have had a peanut butter cup, you already know the direction. The beer version is drier and more bitter, and the alcohol gives it a warmth that candy does not have.
Butter we stock
Our best sellers first. In stock now, at today’s prices. Order online for pickup, delivery or shipping.
How does peanut flavour get into a beer?
Brewers have a few routes. Some use peanut-derived ingredients added during or after fermentation, and others use natural flavourings made to taste like roasted peanut. Each leaves a slightly different impression, from a toasted-nut note to something closer to a spoonful of peanut butter.
Peanut oil is the awkward part. Fats in the beer can flatten the head and soften carbonation, which is one reason these beers pour with a thin, quickly fading foam. That is normal for the style and not a sign of a flawed bottle or can.
Peanuts are also a major allergen. If anyone you are sharing with has a peanut allergy, treat a beer like this as unsafe and read the label carefully.
How should you serve it, and what goes with it?
Serve it cool, not ice cold. Somewhere around cellar temperature, roughly 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit, lets the roasted and nutty notes come through. Straight from a cold fridge, a dark beer tastes thin and the peanut character disappears. Pulling it out 15 to 20 minutes before you open it is usually enough.
A tulip, snifter or small tumbler suits it better than a pint glass because the aroma is half the point. Because these beers often run higher in alcohol than a standard porter, a small pour is plenty and the beer is better sipped slowly and shared.
For food, think dessert and smoke. Chocolate brownies, vanilla ice cream, a salted caramel tart or a simple bowl of roasted nuts all work. On the savoury side, smoked brisket or sausage picks up the roasted malt. You can also pour a little over vanilla ice cream, a trick that works with most sweet stouts and porters.
Can you find it at CBC Liquors in Westford?
Craft releases from out-of-state breweries come and go, and a specific beer may or may not be on the shelf on a given day. The most reliable way to find out is to ask at the shop at 142 Littleton Rd, Westford, or search the site for the name.
To browse on your own, start with the dark beer section, which gathers porters and stouts. From there you can go to stout or to speciality beer, where unusual, flavoured and limited releases tend to sit. The wider beer category is there if you want to search by style or maker.
The shop is open Sunday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Monday to Thursday 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Pickup runs the same hours. You need to be 21 or older, with ID, to buy.
What can you drink if you cannot find it?
Start with a porter or a sweet stout, then look for chocolate, coffee or nut on the label. Those flavours are the closest match, and they are easy to spot in the stout and dark beer pages. Labels often say milk stout, chocolate porter or pastry stout, and all three point the same direction.
It also helps to browse by maker. The shop carries a lot from craft breweries such as Night Shift, Other Half and Jacks Abby, and their brand pages are a quick way to see what is on offer from each.
If a staff member can tell you which dark beers are on the shelf right now, ask. A one-line description such as roasty, sweet, nutty or dessert-like is usually enough to get pointed to the right can.
Is there a butter-flavoured wine, too?
If butter, rather than peanut butter, is what you are after, the wine world has its own version. A buttery taste in chardonnay comes from malolactic fermentation, a step that converts sharp malic acid into softer lactic acid and gives the wine a round, creamy feel. Oak ageing adds vanilla and toast notes that suggest the same thing.
BUTTER Chardonnay is named for that style, and you can browse more in the chardonnay category. If you prefer red, BUTTER PINOT NOIR is the red counterpart, and the pinot noir category has others.
Serve the white chilled but not frozen, and the red lightly cool. Both are better with food than on their own.
Can you get it if you live outside Westford?
CBC Liquors offers pickup, delivery and shipping as well as walking in, and it serves Chelmsford, Carlisle, Littleton, Acton, Tyngsborough, Lowell, Billerica, Boxborough and Dunstable. Delivery runs Sunday 10:00 AM to 7:30 PM, Monday to Thursday 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM, and Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 9:30 PM.
If you are in one of those towns, the delivery pages for Chelmsford, Acton and Littleton explain how it works for your area. Check availability of a specific beer first, then choose pickup or delivery once you know it is there.
For an item that is hard to find, the shop also takes special requests. Describe what you are after and let the staff tell you what is possible.
Common questions
Is a peanut butter porter sweet?
It leans sweeter than a standard porter, but most are balanced by roasted malt bitterness and are not as sweet as candy. Expect cocoa, toast and roasted peanut.
Is Hardywood a Virginia brewery?
Yes. Hardywood Park Craft Brewery is based in Richmond, Virginia.
What is the difference between a porter and a stout?
Both are dark beers brewed with roasted malt. Porters are often a little lighter and smoother, while stouts are often fuller and more roasty, though the line between them is blurry.
How cold should I serve a peanut butter porter?
Cool rather than ice cold, around 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Taking it out of the fridge 15 to 20 minutes before opening lets the flavours open up.
Is peanut butter beer safe for people with peanut allergies?
No. Treat any beer made with peanut ingredients as unsafe for someone with a peanut allergy, and read the label.
How do I find out what dark beers CBC Liquors has right now?
Browse the dark beer, stout and speciality beer pages on the site, or ask the staff at 142 Littleton Rd in Westford.
