Founders Imperial Stout

Brewed by Founders Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

i rated this one third tonight behind mikkeller weasel and espresso oak aged yeti. bitter, coffee, but nicely balanced. good beer.

12oz bottle. Pours a thick and black body with a thin, brown head that dissipates quickly and leaves a light, delicate lacing. Aroma is quite complex. Chewy caramels, lots of rich and dark chocolates, roasted coffee, molasses, cinnamon rolls doused in frosting, figs, burnt raisins, and a good amount of citrus pines and florals. Very nicely balanced with nothing taking ownership. Fantastic aroma. Flavor seems to lack the complexity of the aroma, but its still very nice. Greeted with a lightly dusted rich and dark chocolate, a light ashy roast, and a good amount of sweet and chewy caramel malts. Some wood and vanilla as well as a burnt raisin come in during the middle before this finishes with a good amount of citrus, some coffee, a light grape, and a light bitterness that dries this and leaves plenty of aftertaste. Creamy, medium to full body, slightly syrupy, mouth coating, and eligantly carbonated. Overall, a really impressive impy. My favorite part of this beer is the all-around balance. Every flavor and aroma seems to take as much of a role as the next one. This is definitely a big, bold, and complex beer. Well done.

This pours like motor oil. Thick, black and viscous. I like. Thin, dark chocolate colored head of foam, which dissipates quickly. Lacing is spotty, but good. Smells of big, dark roasted malts. Fair amount of dark roasted coffee notes and light scents of dark chocolate. Slight hint of booziness. Slight sweetness. Smells warm and inviting. Taste follows the nose. Big, dark roasted malts are, once again, out in front. Nice chocolate and dark coffee presence. Nice, light, hops kiss on the end. Lighter hops presence than expected, thankfully, at 90 IBU’s. At a time where Stouts are all going ’over the top’, this one is refreshingly well-balanced. Not that I’m against ’over the top’, mind you. It’s just nice to have a good, solid, well-balanced stout, every now and then. Nice medium body. Actually would expect, and like, this to be a little thicker in body. Smooth and creamy, with a touch of slick oiliness. Would love for this to be a bit on the ’chewey’ side. With the excellent balance this beer offers, I find it to be very drinkable. The 10%ABV will keep you from downing multiples, in a single session. The ones that you do get down, though, will be thoroughly enjoyed.

Bottle. Pours a black color with a small tan head. Has a roasted malty chocolate and licorice aroma. Roasted malty chocolate and licorice flavor with some hints of coffee. Has a roasted malty chocolate finish with hints of licorice in the aftertaste.

Bottle courtesy of DA from Fever. Wow..biting black coffee scene. Faint hints of chocolate and oats. Definite black chocolate in the taste. Btter for sure. Very tasty though...do not taste the alcohol one bit. It’s not quite as good as the Breakfast Stout, but it’s still great.

Pours a pitch black color with a hint of brown at the edges when held to the light. A small, foamy dark tan colored head tops the body and slowly fades a to thin film without leaving much lace. The aroma shows dark chocolate, dark fruits, vanilla, and some anise. There is also plenty of toasted caramel and roast as well. The flavor follows and is very rich with the dark chocolate and sweet caramel blending nicely with the dark fruits, roast, and earthy spices. The mouthfeel is full bodied and smooth with subtle carbonation with a lengthy roasted chocolate finish. This is a really nice imperial stout.

In short: An aggressive roasted vinous alcoholised big stout. Good but a little too brutal.
How: Bottle 12oz. Consumed about 6 months after purchase
The look: Black body topped by a medium moka head
In long: Nice rich nose that is both fruity (dark fruits) and highly roasted chocolate cakes, like a burnt fruity chocolate cake freshly baked. Taste has all what I listed in the aroma (dark fruits, chocolate, lots of roastiness) but also adds strong vinous notes, a lot of molasses, and an inexplicable wood barrel flavour (and yes I know the beer is not barrel aged). Something very woody in the malt bill I guess. Biting aggressive bitterness that seems to be coming from the high roasted level and alcohol bite more than actual hops bitterness. Alcohol is not well hidden at all. I had that beer a few times, late night after many beers, and each time I thought it was very good. But now that I decide to rate it I drink a bottle with a fresh palette and don’t find it nearly as good. Just too aggressive for a fresh palette I guess. Not a bad beer at all (it is good) but in the crowded genre of American Imperial Stouts this one is just average. Abv felt even more than the advertised 10%. Maybe Founders cannot count up to ten. Lots of people can’t seem to be able count to ten. And they are usually in front of me in the supermarket express lane.

Bottle thanks to pantanap: Poured a black with light brown head. Aroma is sweet with chocolate and coffee. The taste is coffee with some bitter chocolate.