Founders Amber Ale

Brewed by Founders Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

Ultra transparent and clear copper in color with a bitching, booming root beer float head. No matter how many times I tried pouring a few ounces at a time, the foam was unstoppable. Maple, caramelized pecans, hazelnuts, syrupy pancakes, butter pecan ice cream, pralines basted with caramel and apple butter provide the sweet, autumn nose. Flavor is when it officially falls apart. Prickly trickle of hazelnut syrup sweetener. Sugary maple vibes hum sweetly post sip, but the palate is in such a state of shock. Honey, pecans and moldy birchwood give it all they’ve got, followed up by a mouth feel of chomping airborne patchouli. Prickly, stinging, harsh acidity. The most painful palate known to man. Over carbonated, finishing with musky maple connotations. Truly a tragedy.

12 oz bottle with the Red Eye label thanks again to SuIIy. Super duper head. Took three pours to get the 12 ounces into my 16 ounce glass. At first I was not liking this. The aromas were metallic and so was the flavor. But the metal faded, and I was left with some really malty flavors. Burnt malts and caramel were left with only a trace of metal in the finish. Turned out to be ok.

Red Eye label. Poured with a tremendous beige colored head. So big I needed two glass and both ended up being 3/4 foam. Beer portion was a hazy dark amber. Aroma was mildly tart with caramel, chocolate, nuts and hint of cherry. Flavor had some more chocolate a mildly tart. Reminded me of chocolate twizzlers. Man I haven’t seen those in a long time. Semi-dry finish with light bitterness.

(12 oz bottles: Obtained in trades with Pailhead and Sully, thanks Kevin and Mike!) Most of the hues on the label of Red Eye are in fact an amber-brown, and so it is apt that the color of this beer matches the overall tone of label. Once poured, the small, off-white head dissipates quickly leaving a body of liquid that is a cloudy, muddy, light-brown color with ruddy and amber hues, much like the pool near the base of a small waterfall along a muddy stream. Perhaps some of the earthy debris that washed into that stream during the heavy rains have found their way into this beer, as the flavor is earthy, twiggy, toasty, smoky, and minimally sweet, with a bit of sourness and light bitterness seated in the middle of the canoe lazily paddling along. It’s not a heavy, pungent earthiness, the kind you get from a well-aged dark beer, but rather is lighter and more airier. However, pungent earthiness is an accurate descriptor for the aroma, along with dried Shiitake mushrooms and a modest sourness. The body is of medium heft, barely, and carbonation is fairly gentle as well. Fortunately, I have a second bottle, which I have quickly thrown into the freezer to do a comparison because this beer seems far too earthy for an amber ale. Let’s see what the other bottle is like...

I wish I had more disposable income to spend on beer because in every trade, I’d get two bottles of each beer. This beer is a good example of why this would be helpful as this second bottle is quite different from the first. Greatly reduced are the earthy characteristics. Whereas the general tone of the first bottle seemed dark and brooding, this is a brighter, more vibrant and playful beer, showing considerably more hops and moderate bitterness. The malts are actually on the grainy side, though it’s still a bit toasty and slightly earthy. The aroma is also more grainy and toasty, more hoppy, less earthy. The color is similar, but less muddy in appearance, and the head is pretty small, but shows slightly better retention, though it fully dissipates over time as well. All in all, this is a decent amber, certainly not your run-of-the-mill copycat. Enjoyable, but not a beer I’ll rave about.

Murky red color with a thin head. Grainy aroma. Nice taste of oak and malt with a bitter finish. A little thin, but I wouldn’t expect a heavy hitter in the Amber category.

Courtesy of Pailhead. Sour fruit mash aroma. Foam practically busted me int he teeth when I opened it. I had to do beer surgery to get the pour right. Cloudy reddish brown color...the head is big and fluffy. Very thick amber with a massive malt profile. Sweet caramel notes, fruit and a restrained hop finish. The palate is TOO thick for an amber ale but there is a fruit (closest to green aplles) flavor in there that I find appealing so it is still enjoyable.

(Bottle, labled as Red Eye) Pours a lightly cloudy amber body with a moderate white head. Aroma of caramel and taosted bread. Flavor of hops and sweet malt.

Red eye bottle courtesy of Pailhead. Pours transparent amber, watery. Aroma is caramel with some fruit in the background. Flavor very dry sweet malt with that film you get from ambers. Leaves you begging for a glass of water.