Founders Backwoods Bastard

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

Bottle that was very kindly passed onto me from Miketd via Craig, cheers Mike, consumed in a field at Towersey Festival, Oxon, 29-08-09 Pours dark brown with a tan head. The aroma is sweet and slightly alcohol with the bourbon aging clearly showing. Warming in the mouth, the alcohol is apparent but the barrel aging sends bourbon flavours flooding around. There is plenty of sweet maltiness, rich fruitiness, touch of vanilla and a dab of smokiness going on, lovely stuff. A6 A4 F8 P4 Ov14 3.6

Bottle via trade. Dark reddish brown color with a beige head. Aroma is scotch whiskey, oak barrel, roast, spices, and smoke. Flavor is malty with caramel and roasted malt, scotch and oak, spices, earth, and vanilla. Body medium, palate smooth and creamy. Pretty solid overall.

Bottle. Dark amber pour with almost no tan head. Sweet flavors of roasted malts, chocolate, spices, bourbon and some dark fruit. Lots of flavors meld pretty well, nice beer.

Picked up in a trade with the Beer Sommelier. 12 oz. 2008 bottle. Nice dark brown with a nice thin off-white head. Best scotch ale I have seen to date! Aromatic bourbon and wood aroma; nice aroma! A nice sublte sweet, dare I say almost chocolate sweet, aroma. Smells like an f’in smore! Very nice aroma I must say! Not overly pungent, but just so damn smooth of a nose. Nice vanilla-sweet flavor. Has a nice bourbon finish. PilsnerPeter below my rating said this had a graham cracker aroma, well I am tasting that in the flavor. This would be perfect with dessert, even though I don’t care for matching beer with foods, I would rather just drink the damn beer! Nice sweet caramel flavor as well. This beer is very good, and very nuanced in terms of flavor and aroma. Not a VERY creamy beer, but this thing is pretty smooth. Alcohol is welll hideen, although there is a slight bite at the end. I am happy I traded for this, seeing that this beer is just a superiour scotch ale. Nice bourbon touches throughout the drinking experience, which I love.

Bottle: Pours a rubyish brown with a wispy tan head. Big and sweet aroma- caramelized brown sugar, graham cracker and plum. Slick body and richly malt flavor. Plummy, some mild honey, peat and toasted notes to balance. There’s also some toasted coconut, graham crackers, very mild smoke followed by a toasted lingering finish. Pretty nice example of the style. Big, yet drinkable.

Thanks to the RB crew in Queens! Pours a light maroon with minimal head. Wonderful oaky aroma with tons of caramel, malt, bourbon, vanilla, and a bit of spiced chai. Lots of vanilla and bourbon flavors. Surprisingly smooth. Light body with a vanilla finish. This is incredibly well-balanced.

Draught. I was told this was a barrel aged version but I surmise from the description that that’s the norm. The body was dark brown almost ash colored with a decent tan head that produced nice lacing. Aroma was initially mellifluous, some vanilla, strong bourbon oak, caramel, a little dark chocolate or coffee roast, and a sweet spicy perhaps even slightly peaty finish alongside alcohol. The flavor was even better; chocolate syrup, caramel, bourbon oak, light vanilla, lightly rooty and spicy, and the wood and alcohol finished out strong. Palate was thick and smooth and slightly numbing.

’08 sample thanks to Ben @ crown #6. Pours dark golden, scotch-like. Nose is slight roasted malt, bourbon, some vanilla. Taste is an excellent complexion, very good bourbon component that doesn’t overpower, slightly sweet, smooth and a little caramel/nut. Finish is a bit sticky, and aftertaste is wonderful bourbon with a touch of alcohol, not too much in any way. Wonderful beer, glad I got to try!