Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

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

12oz bottle. Pours golden amber with a medium fluffy off-white head that laces the glass nicely. Aroma and flavor of sweet malt with bread, caramel, and vanilla. Also has some dried fruit flavor (raisons, apricots, and pears) and a barrel-aged quality. Texture is a little too syrupy, but overall this is a pleasure to drink.

Bottle Pours out a cloudy rust/amber topped with a small head. Aroma very nice sweetness lots of caramell. A little hop. Tast lots of the sweetness very nice. A good rich malt and some vanilla. Thanks Puddintane

Boozy, sweet carmel toffee, some oak whisky and maybe a bit of butterscotch diactyl? Not sure it’s a bad thing in this instance, but threw me. Not sure what to make of this beer, but it’s most similar to a barleywine. That’s all I can think of to compare it. Not much head, very little body, but a sticky feel on the tongue. Interesting, but might not buy again. I’d like to rate it higher, I’m just thrown by this. Very unique, and good in its own right. My impression of it I think is higher than my rating.

12 oz bottle courtesy of The Adrian. Pours a hazy caramel-orange colour with a thin, quickly disappearing beige head. Hop particles can be seen floating throughout. Aroma of butterscotch, caramel, vanilla, hops and malts. Flavour is same as the aroma but with the addition of a strong alcohol presence. Not as sweet as the aroma would lead one to believe.

Bottle - thanks sigma23. Pours a hazy brownish-orange with a large, creamy beige head. Aroma is sweet with faded hops and florals. Some caramel too. Tastes sweet, yet balanced in faded hops and creamy caramel maltiness. A hint of butterscotch, perhaps? Even has a little bit of bourbon presence. Very smooth.

This isn’t my favorite style of beer but it’s a nice representation of the style. It has a nice caramel slightly fruity flavor. It’s sweet and bitter at the same time. The alcohol is very present. This is a sipper for sure.

Pours a rich, beautiful dark amber with a tightly knit tan head. The head is reasonable persistent, but does start to dissipate. Nicely developing Belgian lace. Rich, winy nose, with hints of cognac. Caramel, toffee, sherry, and dried fruits. Very moderate, but noticeable, hoppiness, with lingering caramel and malt notes on the palate. The roof of the mouth gets a sense of the level of alcohol, however, the alcohol level is not fully evident. Thus "caveat bibor" is appropriate. This is not a session beer or a vorspiel beer. Medium body with a sweet, long lingering. This is a multidimensional old ale. If I had the patience and cellar, I would attempt to age the Old Curmudgeon a few years to see how it develops. It should age well. A great ale to accompany hearty food and BBQ. The richness and residual sweetness would also work well with spicy food.

Amber brown, thick oily pour with a light lacy head. Aroma is unusual. Deeply malty with a lightly peppery nose. Lightly musty character as well. Lots of rich sweet vanilla, orange peel and a little bit of light dried fruit. Thick, unctuous mouthfeel. There is a little bit of light syrupy sweetness, toffee and even a little bit of cotton candy. Quite sticky and not all that boozy. There is a faint backnote that is hard to describe (perhaps slightly vegetal) that I’m not a fan of. Pretty assertive, earthy bitterness.