Founders Imperial Stout

Brewed by Founders Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

Pitch black in colour, large deep brown head. Slightly clear at bottom, around 95% opaque. Aroma of cherries, milk, coffee, chocolate and roasted malt. Full-bodied; Lactic tastes up front quickly followed by deep chocolate and roasted malt-then bitter coffee follows. Aftertaste is deep and mellow - subtle chocolate, cherries and molasses. Overall, a damn good Imperial Stout, definitely worth trying if you can find it. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased at Merchant’s in Dearborn, Michigan on 22-May-2005.

12oz bottle. Pours black with a dark brown head. Aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, nuts, caramel, and alcohol. Taste is of hops, caramel, roasted malt, alcohol, dark fruit, and chocolate. Lingering coffee and booze bite. Thick, creamy mouthfeel. Incredibly drinkable. Huge warming feel from the alcohol. This beer is great.

Bottle. Pours a thick black obsidian body with a dark tan, cream head. Fantastic lacing on the glass. The nose has notes of baking cocoa, french toast, maple syrup, dry grains and nutty dark chocolate. It hits the pallate with a smooth dry texture with little or no alcohol soak. The huge presence of hops really lets the caramel chocolate malts work their magic without being overbearing. The flavor is full of rich creamy chocolate notes with dark rich malts and some chewy toffee. There is a freshness in the bitter back end where the chocolate dries up and a toasted almond nuttiness really shores up the experience. I am off to buy more bottles of this immediately.

Dark roasted coffee aroma. Cocoa powder and freeze dried coffee powder flavor (both seemed dry, I dunno). Doesn’t seem very complex to me, but it is well made, and a very solid imperial stout.

One of the better Imperial Stouts out there. Pours a deep black with a fantastic looking brown head. Aroma is roasted chocolate, barley, grains, and a hint of lactose. Flavor is chocolate, lactose, with lots of oat, roast and a touch of licorice. Nice hint of coffee and cookie as it warms. Maybe even a touch of maple syrup. Mouth feel is slightly oily. Amazing.

Bottle. Aroma has notes of coffee, chocolate, wood, dried dark fruits, some citrus, and licorice. Black with an average sized chocolate brown cascading head that left a little lace. Flavor is roasty sweet and finishes bitter. Palate is full bodied and oily soft. Very good Impy from one of my favorite breweries. This brew is going to be gangbusters with 1 to 3 years on it. Great for cellaring. Top notch.

Bottle from Armanetti’s on Lincoln. Pours black as night with a nice, dark head that dissipates into an oil slick on top of the blackness. Nose has some chocolate notes, touch of roasted grain and sweet kona coffee. Touch of alcohol burns the nose. Initial taste is a bit acrid, but full of roastiness and a tinge of sweet stone fruit buried in there, albeit roasted. The hops are definitely present in this one, though not as floral as the Storm King. This is a damn fine stout and I’m not sure why it took me so long to try it. Big mouthfeel. Delicious!

Bottle at Jerry’s. Black with chocolate shake, foamy head / Cigar box nose / Full body, chewy, with great balance and finish / Flavors of tobacco, coffee, and bittersweet chocolate, / Founders, the gods of stout.