Founders Breakfast Stout

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

Tosa Tasting ala Silphium. Opaque brown color with a dense head of tan bubbles. Heavy aromas of peat and malt. Mild coffee and dark chocolate also in the nose. Rich dark chocolate and roasted malt flavors. Interesting back drop of licorice and lavender. Long roasted finish. Mild coffee and black malt acidity.

Dusseldorf Gathering, Bottled. Sweet coffee and licorice aroma. Black color, brown head, good lace, pours like soysauce. Loads of coffee in the flavor, milky, roasted bitter, bit smoked, very full. Founders, please don’t age this on bourbon barrels! It’s much much better this way.

Sampled bottled at Man Land, Portland
Opaque black, nose of fresh coffee & mild roast, excellent flavor. Very rich and malty, lots of coffee & chocolate. Rich creamy malts but fairly acidic finish. Yum!

Bottled at the London gathering, November 2005. Thanks to Captain Cougar for bringing this one over. Very black. Coffee, coffee and more coffee. Just as well I like coffee. Not sure about 8.3% for breakfast, although I’m sure that feeding this to children (a depicted on the label - surprised it hasn’t been banned!) would keep the little brats quiet for most of the day. I thought this was quite dry for a sweet stout. Slightly oily texture. A sumptuous and delicious beer, if a little one dimensional.

Bottle. Thanks to bu11zeye for this gem. Pours a black color with a nice tan head. Roasted malty coffee aroma with hints of chocolate. Roasted malty coffee and chocolate flavor. Long roasted malty coffee finish with hints of chocolate. Very nice!

Tap. Stopped at Founders and tested. Black color with mediem tan head. Flavor was complex combo of sweet coffee and bitter chocolate. Finish was strong and lasting. Was good with cigar.

Bottled at the Chris_O Beer, Cheese and Curry powwow. A black coloured beer with a very nice tan coloured head. The aroma is very dry and very roasted coffee. The taste is more roasted coffee beans. The alcohol comes through but really it’s just too coffee dominated for my liking. Big thanks to CaptainCougar for bringing this one over to Kook and to Kook for sharing.

BBB63 is one of the best traders of all time. This is only the 3rd beer I’ve had from his trade with me, and I already wish I had an extra day off from work so I could drink them all tonight. A GIGANTIC thank you to BBB63 for this one. Pours RAVEN BLACK (it shines) with a two finger tan head. Take a picture because you won’t see a better looking beer anywhere. Huge aroma of malt chocolate, tons of coffee, and even jalapeno peppers. Marvelous intense aroma. Tastes very malty, with tons of chocoff, some fruit, nut hints, and that finishing burst of jalapeno oil which twitches the tongue. The palate is super firm, very well balanced, and amazingly complex. As it warmed, more chocolate and even raspberries came out with the coffee receding a bit. The jalapeno sensation remained throughout, and it was a welcome innovation. If this beer was Greg Louganis, its head would not have hit the diving board and bled AIDS into the Olympic pool. No deductions here, even from the Russian judge. Ladies and gentlemen, we have PERFECTION! Hands down, the best stout I have ever had along with the Central Waters BBS. I’ve had great Impy Stouts (and I consider this one an Impy, as such), but in the stout category, this one is tops with the CWBBS. I’d drink this for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack if I could get my hands on more of it. As Pittsburgh Pengiuns announcer Mike Lange might say after a Mario Lemieux goal, "Buy Sam a Founders Breakfast Stout and get his dog one too."