Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS)

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

Dark with a deep tan head. Strong bourbon aroma with some chocolate, molasses, and dirt. Smooth bourbon and roasted malts in the flavor with light cocoa, and that damn dirt again. The body is perfect for the flavor. The bourbon is a little harsh in this one but I’m sure another couple years in the cellar will fix that.

400th rating! Thank you Armsby Abbey in Worcester, MA. Pours a pure, opaque, oily black with a very fine, thin, shimmering caramel head. Heady aroma of sweet coffee, caramel malt, dark dried fruit, and oxidized notes along with a slightly smokey, almost honey edge. Flavor contains the perfect level of sweetness to support and compliment the incredibly complex, multi-layered flavor profile. The first level of flavors consists of dark roasted malt and subtle hops bitterness followed by bourbon sweetness, smoke, and wood-aged characteristics. Coffee is present as well but doesn’t overpower or dominate the other flavors. Still more flavors arise with a hint of dark black cherries and well-integrated alcohol. The body is perfectly balanced with smooth, mouth-filling expressions of bitterness, sweetness, and the full range of flavors in between.

Bottle: (received in a trade about 6 months ago, but I forget from who. Thanks though) Pours opaque with a fading, very deep brown head. The aroma is pungent and charred. Smells like old/used coffee grinds, an ash tray with water poured into it, a touch of vanilla/booze sweet undertones, and lots of whiskey/oak character. A bit harsh. The body has a substantial feel without being cloying. Starts off harsh and one dimensional with just the base beer character showing it’s overwhelming coffee grind flavor. However, as it warms a touch of vanilla comes through, followed by more bourbon/cask character. The sweetness from the barrel balanced the base beers homogeneous bitter coffee grind character. (I’m not really a fan of the Founders Breakfast Stout) But this stuff gained a lot from the barrel, giving it that bourbon sweet bite and balancing the harshness. It worked out really well. This is significantly better than the Breakfast Stout (which had no subtleties) In short, the barrel character saved the beer and gave it some nuances to enjoy.

2006 bottle thanks to TBC. This rating and bottle is to celebrate the birth of my daughter... I’ve been saving this bottle for a special occasion... pours a deep dark black with a good size tan head. aromas of bourbon, coffee, licorice and vanilla. simply outstanding... nice solid body over the palate with the licorice coming through strong on the front of the palate and the bourbon aged barrels on the finish. coffee undertones on the sides and deep roasted malts throughout. Founders has crafted a world class beer and deserves all the hype surrounding this beer.

Strong and rich with a very thick palate and well balanced flavors of oak, coffee, vanilla, malt and chocolate. Deep dark with a reddish brown head. Very good.

Pours like motor oil with a very small head but has good lacing. The aroma is of minerals, bitter black coffee and dirt. Has a flavor of coffee with notes of chocolate and oak. Full bodied and very bitter throughout with a syrupy texture. A good stout, but very harsh-not for beginners.

Pours with virtually no head. The body is murky with no particles. The body hue is a very dark brown color, maybe even black. The aroma of the beer is very moldy, minerally, with a hint of a cobweb scent. - Smells a little like an attic that hasnt been opened up in years. The initial flavor is moderately sweet with the finish being heavily bitter. The body feels full to the palate and the texture feels syrupy. The beer has soft carbonation. A little Disappointed by this beer.

My thanks to nbutler11 for splitting a bottle with me. This bad boy smells like 7-11s used to in the eighties: old coffee and ice. The aroma and the flavor are even layers of coffee, roast, and charcoal, creating a monument of texture and power - monumental, but not super complex, which is why I couldn’t do more in the Palate category. Obviously a masterpiece.