Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

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

Pours a dark orange brown color with a medium beige head. Aroma of oak, vanilla and strong alcohol. Taste is much the same as the aroma. Strong oak and vanilla presence with alcohol prominent. Nice warm finish. Very good.

Pours a deep cherry red, hazy, with good head but minimal lacing. Aroma of whiskey. This ale has a wonderul bourbon whiskey flavor, as much as you could possibly want, yet without coming across as a "whiskey wannabe" -- it’s an ale all the way. Additional notes of coconut, brown sugar, oak, some cherry. Nice alcohol warmth. I’m a variety lover, yet this is one of the few beers I feel like I could enjoy every day.

Skipped over this one in my notes. Murky chestnut color with a very thin head. Raisin, apple, caramel notes along with some nutmeg and brown sugar. Virtually no alcohol aroma. Thick syrupy palate. Dark pit fruit and sweet dried apricot flavors mix with a spicy, slightly sour finish accented by a bit of heat. A very enjoyable brew.

2006. Burnt orange pour. A brilliant color is diffused by substantial haze. A very thin off-white head forms and quickly fizzles out. With warmth and a gentle rousing, a more sizeable and lasting head is rustled up through a syrupy body. Lacing is thick and irregular. Aroma is forged of bourbon and wet oak, caramel and baking cocoa, sweet dark and ripe tree fruits, alcohol playing a moderate backing role. Lovely nose all around, enticing. Hops aren’t anywhere to be found, suitable for the style. The malt profile is elegant and weighty due to skillful employment of barrel aging. Flavor is delicious. Fruity character is massive and blends very well with the whisky notes. Actually tastes like fruit infused whisky. Light to medium bitterness and bold sweetness further compliment the heavy oak and roasty attributes. Light vanilla is revealed late, along with bold warming from the alcohol that is clearly apparent on the tongue. Finishes dry and fruity, sweet caramel lingering for a great length. Mouthfeel is adequately carbonated, lightly spicy, very smooth and full bodied. A lovely beer. Certainly an Americanized take on an old ale, worthy of its heritage.

Bottle. Thanks to solan for the bottle. Poured a deep amber body with thin head. Heavy bourbon aroma, malty, slight yeast. flavor was sugary with a heavy alcohol taste, caramel, malt. Smooth considering the high alcohol amount. Good ale.

Courtesy SoLan. Pours a cloudy, orange red, with a thin light white head. Smell is of thick caramel and bourbon notes, quite enticing to the nostrils. A hint of some sweet fruit and malts as well. Taste is quite full bodied with a rich, full mouthfeel. Bigtime caramel flavors, some vanilla, sweet darker malts, and butterscotch. Quite smooth and easy drinking but carbonated nicely. Aftertaste is of big butterscotch and bourbon. Quite enjoyable.

Bottled, 2006 version. A hazy amber beer with a beige head. The aroma is sweet malty with notes of hops and caramel. The flavor is sweet malty with strong notes of caramel as well as light notes of alcohol, and notes of whiskey, with a thick flowing body.

Bottle 2006. Hazy amber colour with a big beige head. Caramel malt, grape, wood, vanilla aroma and taste. Medium to full body with a sweet vanila, wood, bourbon whisky finish.