Founders Breakfast Stout

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

Bottle courtesy of santoslhalper. Great nose to this one. Rich, smoky, chocolate and coffee. Vanilla and molasses, light Tootsie Roll. Mild acidity with alcohol vapors, and a sour tang. Very nice. A glass of Stygian darkness with chocolately thin lacing head. Full oily body with medium carbonation, liquid velvet. Starts rich and chocolatey, with smoky toasted malt, vinuous acidity, molasses and coffee, burnt smoky acidity. Tootsie Rolls and vanilla. Leaves a nutty burnt bitter chalkyness on the tongue, with a bit of alcoholic warming and sweet creme de cafe finish. Light smoky coffee after with perfect balance of bitterness and lingering sweetness. This is a really nice impy stout.

12oz bottle courtesy of styles. Good chocolate and oatmeal aromas. Black body with tan head. Had a good creamy chcoclate flavor with some oatmeal in the mix. Smooth enjoyable stout on the palate. Thanks Chris.

Smells completely like coffee. A lot of coffee in this, especially up front. This is good but too much coffee for my liking.

Bottle shared with tupalev & jerc - courtesy of tupalev. I originally rated this beer based on a sample at the Michigan Brewer’s Guild Festival a couple of years ago, but my rating simply consisted of the word "COFFEE!" written over and over again, so I’ve always wanted to give it another try and a proper rating. Many thanks to tupalev for giving me the chance. Pours a deep inky black, absolutely beautiful as a it hits the glass. Huge aroma of coffee, chocolate, bourbon and wood smoke - outstanding. Full, round, lucious mouthfeel - wow! OhmygodsoGOOD flavour of dark roasted coffee, bitter chocolate, big roasted malts, a hint of smoke, and a moderately dry finish. I concur with tupalev when he says "One of the best stouts I have ever tried". Un-freakin’-believable!

2005 Bottle, Maybe 2006:
Deep dark brown coloured body with a very thin tan head, the body is almost 95% opaque - only a sliver of light getting through. Aroma of deep roasted malt, coffee, smoked peat, nuts, chocolate and a very heavy dose of tobacco - a bit too strong up front. Full-bodied; Super strong alcohol, roasted malt and vanilla tastes up front with some smoked flavours and tobacco following soon behind. Aftertaste is very complex, yet very strong - not a light taste in sight. Overall, a good and impressingly full-bodied taste throughout. I thought this was good, but some of the smoked and tobacco tastes were a bit too strong for me. I sampled this few year old bottle originally purchased at Merchant’s in Dearborn, Michigan on 16-February-2008 on the Eastern Shore of Virginia for rating #1700!

12 oz bottle, via trade w/ ughsmash. Pours an oily black under a chocolate brown head that settled quickly to thin film. Good retention through the whole glass. Nose is chocolate & espresso against burnt malt. Faintly alcoholic and some vanilla notes as well. Flavor is big and bold and very roasty. Espresso, burnt toast, and chocolate. Long clinging bitter coffee finish with a little mineral character as well. Thick and oily on the palate with minimal carbonation. A great roasty Impy for those who prefer minimally hoppy versions. Possibly losing a little coffee flavor due to a little age but still really good.

12 oz bottle consumed at 8:30 AM with some eggs on vacation in the smokies. Pours deep dark brown with a brown creamy head. Aroma is coffee and milk chocolate. Flavors include coffee, chocolate, oatmeal, and cookie dough. Palate is amazingly smooth and mouth coating. A tremendous stout very worthy of its rank on this site!!

XBF05: Black with a small tan head. Huge roasted coffee with a touch of chocolate aroma, wow forget drinking coffee, I’m going to drink this in the morning. Full bodied with an oily texture and average carbonation, starts and ends bitter.