Founders Bourbon Imperial Stout

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

Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, on tap at Founders Taproom. Black with tan lacing head. Aroma of chocolate, roasted malts, bourbon, caramel, and wood. Taste is rich and smooth chocolate, molasses, and coffee with a big bourbon profile that’s not overpowering. A hint of vanilla with a warming alcohol burn at the finish. Dangerously easy to drink and delicious. Another incredible beer from an incredible brewery.

Poured at 4:20 pm at the Great Taste of the Midwest, Madison, 8/13/2005. This was one of my last beers of the day, given my wife and I needed to get back to Champaign that night. I’m a big fan of the latest Founder’s Imperial Stout, but this took my experience to a whole new level. Rich flavors of vanilla and dark chocolate with roasted nuts on the nose and then on the palate. More chocolate mixed with wood and toffee working through as it glided down my throat. I really can’t describe this better than StewardofGonder, so be sure to read the previous comments! But I will rate it a bit higher, this was awesome stuff to me. Founders needs to bottle this one.

On tap @ MBGF: Don’t know what the big secret was, but for some reason they didn’t want to say exactly what this was until one of the guys behind the tap inadvertantly shouted it out. Now it turns out he shouted out the wrong name, and now my rating is here instead. Excellent chocolate aroma with bourbon, light alcohol, and a hint of wood. Dark brown with no transparency and a tan ring for a head. Roasted coffee is really subdued compared to the regular version. Notes of bourbon, vanilla, and chocolate. Chocolate increases in the finish and lingers into the aftertaste. As it warms vanilla becomes more noticeable. Absolutely excellent. Please bottle this so I can get more!!! And one more thing, when you brew something this good, tell people what it is.

On tap at Founders. I think this is actually their barrel aged imperial, bourbon imperial is older and different, but I don’t feel like adding a new one. Black pour with a dark tan head. Lots of lacing. Lots of bourbon and molasses in the aroma. Lots of oak, bourbon, vanilla, caramel, dark chocolate and espresso in the taste. Full bodied, almost creamy mouthfeel, they really have the body of their double stouts consistent throughout the different varieties. Lots of lingering vanilla, barrel, toffee. Alcohol nearly non-existant, but this brew is definetely warming. This might be the best stout I’ve tasted from them, this could be better than the KBS, better than the CBS, but that is a slightly different beast. In summary, lots of goodness. Not as bourbon-y as the Bourbon County, with all the benefits of the slightly overshadowed Founders Imperial.

On tap at Founders. Pretty much a black pour with a very boozy aroma. Not much in the way of a head, but whats there is tan. Pretty good mix of chocolate, coffee, and maybe a touch of caramel and ash. Finish is a moderate bourbon burn.

The best aroma of the entire Black Party. Literally ,just stuck my nose in and out of the glass for almost 5 minutes, the absolute perfect bourbon and malt aroma, full rich wood,vanilla,and excellent whiskey,blended with chocolate brownie ,with gooey frosting,taste smooth as chocolate and bourbon,this is what Greg Hall at Goose Island must have envisioned when he started this craze. An excellent barrel,with a great Imp Stout,aged for the perfect amount of time. Purer then the KBS because it laced the coffee distraction. One of the highlights of my year,worth alone the trip to Grand Rapids

Tap @ GTMW. Deep midnight brown in color with a thin, creamy tan head. Aroma prominently features chocolate and roasted malts with bourbon, cedar and vanilla serving a sweetening supportive role. Glorious chocolate and roasted pecan flavoring is perfectly complimented by the bourbon traits. Some dark chocolate pulls through the other headliners. Sweet caramel underscored with vanilla. Sauna cedar panels add a unique depth perception. Fudge brownie resonance. Medium-to-full bodied. Creamy, fudgey and enriched with vanilla cedar tones. An improved manifestation of their standard imperial stout and enjoyable in every sense.

Tap at Founders. Jet black pour with a dense, lasting, 1-finger, tan head and good lacing on the glass. Lots of bourbon in the aroma. So much so that it sort of burns and lingers after you take a whiff. The aroma also has oak, burnt coffee beans, molasses, rum, alcohol, some ripe dark fruit and milk chocolate. In the flavor the bourbon really comes out first again followed by burnt, bitter coffee. There’s a subtle earthy vinousness to the flavor as well as notes of milk chocolate, candied dates, a lasting bitter finish and some vanilla that start to come out as the beer warms. Oily full body with moderate carbonation and lots of alcohol burn. I love how this beer manages to bring out such big bourbon character without covering up the subtleties of the great base imperial stout.