Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

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

12oz bottle. Pours hazy amber with golden edges and a thin golden tan head. Aroma malty, toffee, brown sugar, dark frutis, woody and a little alcohol. Flavor is sweet malts, brown sugar, toffee, caramel, a little booze, and apples that give a little tartness at the finish. Really liked this old ale. Will have to keep the rest to see how they age.

There is a quality to this beer that I really don’t like. I know a lot of people like this, and it’s a pretty great old ale. I can drink it if I plug my nose. It smells like thrift store books. Anyyyywayyyyy.... it’s a ruby color .. nice representation for the style. Flavor is REALLY malty... almost a peat like quality to the malt there. I smell leaves. Like old leaves waiting for pickup on the side of the street. OK, come to think of it, this beer of the personification of a child molester. It’s kind of musty, dated, old sock-ish, and reeks of booze. I need an adult.

2008 bottle. Amber clear pour with small white head. Smells... old. Smells like weathered wood, lemon oil, malt (but not too sweet), some hints of vanilla and toffee. Maybe also some peat. A little bit of pleasant sourness. Some mild autumn fruit... apples and raisins. Full mouthfeel without feeling sticky or thick. I found this really tasty, even young. Can’t wait to see if these improve with age.

Autumn colored ale with a full white head. Very nice complex aroma has complexity from the malt as well as the barrel. Notes of vanilla, creme brulee, cookie, coconut as well as some spice nuances and barrel character. Flavor has some complexity from the original beer (caramel., toffee), as well as some light notes of whiskey, peat, toasted wood and vanilla. A fairly nice ale.

2008 vintage. A fairly clear clear orange/amber pour. Miniscule off white head. Nice malty aroma, increases as it warms. Tons of malt flavor, some toffee, brown sugar with a little raisin. A small amount of hop presence. Nice and sticky and lingering. A little bit young I think, I bet the other three will age very nicely. Right now I’d say the Ola Dubh version I’ve had are a little bit better, but they’re aged. This should have no problem competing with some age and at a bargain of a price comparitively. Actually bought a couple 3rd Coast Old Ales with this 4 pack, curious to see how they compare, even though they are technically barley wine.

I live in Grand Rapids so I’ve tried most of Founders products and though they are all distinctive in thier own way this, along with the Kentucky Boubon Stout, is by far thier finest masterpiece. Thick and Malty, this beer tastes like candy mixed with fine whiskey and warms soothingly as you swallow. The hops are generous but not too stong and play off the primary cereal flavor perfectly. Despite the price this is a beer you must try if your lucky enough to catch it on the shelf.

A good Old Ale from Founders. compares somewhat to Third Coast, but has a more fruity finish to it...not so much hoppy.....have to see how the rest of the bottles age in comparison to the first.

Pours light brown with a fine white head. Aroma is mildly alcoholic and malty. Flavor is complex with a salty quality with a mild caramel sweetness and some light fruitiness.