Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

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

12oz bottle from Crown Liquors (Indianapolis, IN). Pours a generally clear dark amber copper color with a thin white head. Aroma is sweet and malty with strong notes of brandy, raisins, ripe dark fruit, caramel, honey, phenol. Flavor is also malty and sweet with notes of ripe dark fruit, bourbon, raisins, plums, sweet caramel. Generally medium body with a smooth malty and sweet finish.

(bottle - 12 oz) Got this in a little trade from Dave. Thanks man. Copper pour with a creamy tan head. Aroma is sweet with some good hints of sweetness, dark fruits, oak, maybe some bourbon, and alcohol. Flavor is very sweet and rich with lots of toffee, caramel, oak, wood, vanilla, alcohol, and a light tartness near the end. Finishes smooth and sweet.

Bottle into snifter. Pours a very hazy dark red-brown, almost no head. Nose is rich, prominent but not overwhelming bourbon note, clean dark fruit, toffee. Front has some carbonation burn, with a rich malt note of toffee and molasses, vanilla and bourbon coming through also, and a light, balancing hop bitterness as well. The bitterness melds well with the dark fruit and light alcohol bitterness that tend to emerge right before the finish. Finish is lots of bourbon, lightly bitter, with a lingering overripe dark fruit and molasses richness. Mouthfeel is lightly carbonated, sticky and thick bodied.

12 oz bottle purchased at Chuck’s Liquor in Bowling Green. I believe that this must be a 2006 bottle, because this beer was full of bourbon notes. Poured a clear amber color with a two finger cream colored head. The aroma was strong with bourbon. The flavor was vanilla and bourbon, with a caramel malt background. The palate was perfect on this one. The alcohol was well hidden, the mouthfeel was chewy and creamy, and the carbonation was soft/mild. This was an absolutely excellent brew.

THOUGHTS: It’s amazing to me how different old ales can be from one another. This one seemed a little harsh, but I think it will age well. The flavor did grow on me as I drank it. It was like a different twist on a barley wine. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a medium to dark brownish orange with a hardly there, off-white head that mostly lasted. What little was there hung around for a long while. The aroma was heavy caramel malt, moderate pine hops, light to moderate yeast, toffee vanilla, alcohol, brandy, orange, spices, slightly soured fruit and a little of that special barley wine smell. The flavor started sweet and a little bitter, and finished mostly bitter with some alcohol and an average to long duration. There was caramel malt, alcohol, spicy yeast, toffee and some orange hops. The medium to full body was sort of syrupy with tingly carbonation and a slightly metallic and lightly alcoholic finish.

Very smooth the bottle I had was 2 years old lays down nice. Smooth malty creamy. I would say there are extra candi sugars added to this beer almost could pass as a barley wine if some citrus flavors were added. Like a barley wine with out the citrus. Not much hop presence but this bottle is 2 years old. Wow 9% alcohol hidden very well. Nice beer recommend.

A nice sweet caramel aroma. This is quite nice. A good hop flavor, some sweetness, a hint of caramel and molasses. A slightly coating finish, this reminds me of many barleywines.

courtesy of kiefdog. Pours copper with tan head. I guess I was too mesmerized by the goodness of this beer to even actually take any decent notes. Taste had a good dose of malts, balanced with the bourbon, and light vanilla notes. Just overall excellent beer.