Founders Backwoods Bastard

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

Poured deep nutty brown with no head what so ever. Aromas of rasins and alcohol. Taste is terrible! Alcohol and old beer taste is all I had. One sip and I couldn’t take anymore.

Thanks to Adam for this. I don’t know if this was a bad bottle so I need to try another one. If it wasn’t a bad bottle then the aging process is killing this beer. I’ve heard good things about this beer, but man I was really disappointed. Poured like murky lake water, with almost no head. No carbonation in it, just a very boring flat beer. Aroma has hints of caramel and alcohol. Tastes like charred wood with an alcohol burned finish. Not a pleasant beer to drink. I am not a fan of pouring beer down the drain, but had to with this one. This shouldn’t be in the 90th percent tile. I’ll rerate this beer again just to make sure it wasn’t a bad bottle.

Thanks to Derek for this one. Dark caramel brown, no head forms but a tan mist relaxes on the top. Caramel, vanilla, and bourbon aromas. Flavors of vanilla, bourbon, burned bitter caramel, a warming alcohol, and dark chocolate accompanied by a dry finish. Smooth body. Better than expected.

Thanks to Padrefan98. Pours a light brown with a faint amber hue, no head. Aroma of a nice Scotch ale with soem vanilla, bourbon ,and wood. Flavors were very good, bourbon, wood, vanilla, sweet malt, and some dark fruit.

12oz bottle from kmweaver. I’m really am beginning to like this brewery. Except for the Breakfast Stouts (overrated). More along the lines of a BA BW on the nose. Definite wood and alcohol presence. Sweet toffee malt. Creme brulee and alcohol on the nose. Pours thick and dense brown with a nice sized dark tan head. The barrel aging really rears its head on the tongue. Not sweet, but plenty of BA characteristics. Wood tannin, toasted caramel, maple syrup... wow. Lots of Bourbon flavors. Not too heavy or cloying on the palate. For those who are not on the Bourbon Barrel bandwagon... stay away.

12oz Bottle. Thanks Sean! Heavy bourbon and vanilla nose. Creamy sweet fudge, light molasses and waves of black cherries soaked in bourbon. Fresh. Bright, but not hot or overly alcoholic. A bit of soap and oak. That’s nice. Pours an evenly toned ruddy brown, 40% opaque. Silky, long lace of pale khaki film. Flavor is a dense, sweetened cream mingled with bourbon straight from the glass. Carbonation parses out some caramels, oak tannins, and maple-like residuals. Surprisingly light and not densely sweet, but the alcohol from the bourbon really dominates the profile. Not unlike that more abominable Imperial Stout. There’s a nice leafy hop backdrop to the beer that settles the alcohols. Malt complexity is average and I would have expected more caramel density, but I appreciate that lack of cloying sweetness. And interesting bourbon rendition. I think this would be more interesting blended back with the straight Bastard, around 40%. Refined and mature. Filtration cuts into the potential complexity of this beer, in my opinion.

12 oz bottle thanks to nolankowal. I really liked the smoke and wood smells in this one. Awesome flavors of some bourbon and some sweet vanilla.

12 oz bottle shared with Padrefan98. Aromas were a lot of sweet wood and bourbon. Actually, I think it was a lot of wood and sweet bourbon. But I can’t be sure. The aroma led me to believe this would be really hot. But it was quite smooth and vanilla with touches of dark dried fruit. Pretty darn good stuff.