Founders Imperial Stout

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

A dark brown almost black pour with little to no head. Aroma and flavor are dark coffee and chocolate. Palate is full bodied with nice carbonation. A very special beer.

12oz bottle. Black with a brown head. Love it when a stout pulls off a properly dark head. Malty and roasty aroma with caramel, chocolate, licorice, and some coffee. The flavor struck me mostly as smokey and almost burnt, with a lot of dark chocolate. Not a lot of hop flavor going on, but a good amount of bitterness to balance out the huge malt backbone. Full bodied with smooth, lower carbonation. All I could think of was how this seemed super typical for a bigger American impy, but was still really good. Not really on the hoppy or sweet, malty side of things, but strikes a good balance.

Motor oil pour with a small tan head- thick and viscous, with great lacing. Aroma is rich with chocolate, espresso, cream, and alcohol. Rich flavor holds coffee, roasted malt, chocolate, and a chalkiness that combines with a creamy and smooth palate to form a complex and excellent body. Alcohol is beautifully present at the finish; I can feel it seeping into my gums. Delicious impy.

Black Pour, thick and gloppy. slight head, tan. creamy chocolate aromas, bitter and nice, some booziness in the end. Mouthfeel is oily, some chalky chocolate in the taste, bitter baking chocolate. some coffee notes are present as well. Palate is incredibly viscous and smooth like silk. Fantastic.

Used motor oil pour with one finger tan head that dissipates into a veneer. Aroma is chocolate cream and roast. Coffee and some boozyness sneak in there as well. Flavor is loaded with dark chocolate, cream, and dry bitter roast. Alcohol is slightly noticeable, but doesn’t interfere with the flavors in any way. Palate is syrup like- viscous and silky. Couldn’t ask for much better than this.

Bottle. Pours black with a small film of brown head. Aroma is dark and rich, mainly of dark chocolate, molasses, and roasts. Palate medium in fullness, mildly carbonated, creamy-smooth, and slightly dry at the finish. Oh, but the flavors! A wonderful blend that starts with deep dark chocolate, moves into dry cocoa and espresso, filters this over smoky, roasted fine wood, and ends with distinct piney hops. Goodness gracious, this is good! Along with Victory Storm King, this is probably my favorite in the roasty-bitter RIS sub-category.

Bottle courtesy SamGamgee. Pours pitch black with a beige lasting head. Graham crackery sweetness in the aroma with milk chocolate and cocoa powder. No indication of what’s to come in the flavor, which is massively roasted with notes of the darkest chocolates. Highly bitter and slightly ashy. Surprisingly dry on the palate with no trace of the high alcohol. Medium-heavy body, smooth and drinkable.

Thanks to MrChopin for including this one in a trade! This is exactly the kind of stout the last one I had was attempting (and failing) to be. Pours pitch black from the bottle, with a dense, slow-forming, mocha-colored head. Aroma has dark chocolate, lots of roasty coffee and molasses, some smoke. The flavor brings the hop contingent around, is just a tad boozy, and finishes with dry, roasty coffee. Mouthfeel is wonderful - this is really thick stuff, but silky smooth, and hides its 10% very well. Really, really good stuff - I’d love to try an oaked version...