Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout

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

Had this at the great Taste of the Midwest..Thanx Dave Engbers! Nice bourbon presence with a slight amount of maple sweetness coming through. Damn this one should be bottled and released as a special edition brewery only shit! I would travel to grand Rapids and pick this bad boy up! The pleasure was mine to have had the opportunity to sample this awesome creation!

On tap at Glass Nickel Pizza
Despite a total disaster I was able to get a sample of the Canadian Breakfast Stout. It was almost worth the crowd; this is probably on par with Kentucky Breakfast though personally I am not the greatest fan of any of the three. One that I would not rush out to try again this is likely a special release anyways.

Aroma / Appearance - The black body was so dark that nothing could escape save for the occasional stray light beam. Oily and slick it crawled up and down the sides of the glass rather than flowing smoothly together. Smoke, maple, and coffee are the key ingredients. Overall I am reminded of Kentucky Breakfast Stout minus the bourbon.

Flavor / Palate - I think KBS gets the slight edge but this is a fabulously well balanced beer. Smoke, anise, black coffee, and hints of maple meld into a seamless experience. For the gravity it hides the alcohol well though it may come out if you don’t get it in a coffee cup.

Nearly pitch black, completely opaque, thin head that very quickly dissipated into a thin ring and some little splotches in the middle. I can see an occasional bubble run up the side of my glass. Dark malts on the aroma with some bitter coffee like hints in there as well as some chocolate. The mouthfeel is nice and thick, very creamy. Very nice tasting, not bitter or sweet, has a nice mellow ’in the middle’ feel. Certainly has a bit of a sweet syrup feel to it, though it’s not terribly pronounced, more like well integrated. There is some chocolate and some nice hearty malt. There is a bit of alcohol burn at the end, as well as some bitter. It does more to make you want to take another drink than anything else. Well done, very interesting.

Ink black pour with only the scantest of brown heads. Potent coffee based aroma. Toast, hiding behind the coffee. Flavor likewise begins with an up front burst of coffee, moves on to a very sweet roast malt body. If the maple barrel is adding much, it’s completely harmonized with the coffee. This is really good coffee. Very full bodied, viscous on the palate.

On-tap @ Founders. 12oz pour into Pils glass (?). A - Black as black can be with a tan-colored head. Good lacing, very sticky head. S - Sweet milk chocolate, maple syrup, expresso, no hint of the almost 10% of alcohol. T - Huge sweet syrup flavors along with chocolate, expresso, and a nice creamy flavor as well. Slight alcohol burn and a bitterness on the end. M - Full bodied, rich & thick, a little more carbonation then I really prefer with this style but still very smooth. D - Way too easy to drink...another? Yes please! A little better then the regular breakfast stout but not as good as KBS, IMO.

Rating number 100 for the beer. How special. On tap at the beer Engine 8-2-09. From the aroma I couldn’t much tell the two apart (Kentucky Breakfast) being the other. But holy fuck this one has a sweet side to it. The maple flavor is very subtle, but that is partially due to the very sweet nature of the beer, and partially due to the high ABV of the brew. Now when I say sweet, that seems like a loaded term for beers. This doesn’t taste like a big beer that is still loaded with residual sugars, this is more like some Willy Wonka Voodoo. As it warms up the maple flavor seep into the beer and mingle wonderfully with the slight woody flavorings.

Draft from Buckeye Beer Engine. Thick brown body followed by a slowly dissipating head that left some decent lacing. Roasted nuts, bitter chocolate, overly burnt toast and sugary molasses in the aroma as well as some coffee and liquor. Flavor follows suit with a woody touch. The taste delves more into a complexity of roasted and burnt malts that is countered by some dark fruits and a noticeable bitter bite. Smooth alcohol fade, the beer is sweet and creamy to the palate. Drinks slow but fairly easily. Nice drawn out aftertaste. Wonderful way to start the day.

On tap, Beer Engine. Pours mahogany with a big brown head. Aroma of chocolate, fruit, brown sugar and booze. Sweeter than Kentucky breakfast and actually better to me... it doesn’t have the acidic aftertaste. Full bodied and a very cool thing to try, although got no maple or barrel.