Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

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

12oz bottle. Pours a copper/amber color with an off-white head. Aroma is of malt, caramel, vanilla, bitter fruit, and a very strong alcohol presence. Taste is malt, caramel, raisins, vanilla, all soaked in a nice woody bourbon flavor. Lingering caramel taste. Nice warming booze feel. Couple more of these brews and I’d wake up naked on the front lawn again. Surprisingly drinkable, despite the booziness. This is the perfect beer for a cold winter night or a bitter divorce.

Pours deep, clear copper into a snifter. Head quickly recedes to hug rim. Bourbon, vanilla, and alcohol aromas. Upfront full, syrupy oak turning boozy bourbon in the lasting finish.

Pours a murky reddish orange with a creamy off-white head that lingers as a thin cap for quite a while and leaves good lacing. The aroma is heavy on sweet caramel malts and dark sweet fruits. There is definitely a wood and bourbon presence but not overpowering. There are some floral hops up front as well. The taste is boozier than the aroma with lots of bourbon and oak throughout. The flavor has the sweetness of the caramel malts and molasses but it takes a back seat to the barrel character. The mouthfeel is crazy smooth but with good carbonation. Just coats the mouth wonderfully. This is an interesting old ale and I think it would have been even better for me without the overpowering barrel presence in the taste. Nonetheless, a good sipper.

Pours a nice copper with a decent beige. Strong bourbon, alcohol and rum notes with some raisin and twizzler notes. The taste is extremely oaky with lots of alcohol and bourbon. Nice sweet vanilla and caramel notes with subtle hints of chocolate and dark fruits. Pretty good, but way way way too heavy on the oak.

Pours a clear pale amber colour with no head to speak of. The nose is of root extracts, corn syrup, lager yeast, cola, vanilla, wood and burboun, though it is highly muted in respect to all these nuances. The flavour is oddly vegetal, but the finish is laden with wod, vanilla, burboun and corn syrup. The predominant flavour is corn syrup. The palate is smooth but thin. For a beer I’ve been itching to try, this was a colosal let down.

Deep amber/red with a faint white head. Syrupy palate, viscous body. Caramel up front, a bit worty, lots of excess alcohol showing. Fruity finish with a lingering hint of bourbon and toffee.

Bottle thanks to TURDFERGUSON. Labeled at 9.8% ABV so I am assuming it is the Bourbon Barrel version or something recent. Pours with a light brown head and a slightly hazed, pretty reddish amber body. Head fades to a ring after a while and leaves pretty good lacing. Aroma is alcohol (Brandy with notes of vanilla and bourbon), with tons of caramel and a bit of fruit behind the alcohol burn from my snifter. Tastes is alcohol and a bit of bitter butterscotch, with a touch of dirt or cobwebs, some fruits, and raisins. Alcohol is not welel hidden at all (but that is okay by me). Creamy mouthfeel and light carbonation. Another good Founder’s Beer.

Thanks to Honkeybra. Aight, so I pour this out into two separate glasses, one for me and one for Jakebra. His is cloudy, mine’s clear. So…appearance is actually 3 ½. Kinda scotchy and fruity nose followed by a really smoky flavor. Like smoky scotch or something. Interesting brew. I’d like to try it again.