Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS)

12oz bottle, sampled alongside the Breakfast Stout. Pours pitch black, with a short, light brown head that quickly diminishes to a thing ring of bubbles that hugs the walls of the snifter. Strong coffee aroma; with some dark chocolate, oak and vanilla. The coffee aroma is stronger here than it is in my Breakfast Stout. The coffee again defines the flavor, again with some bitter dark chocolate in the background along with caramel and burnt toast flavors. Bourbon was not as prominant as I expected. More intense than the Breakfast Stout, but still smooth and enjoyable.

Pours like motor oil with a thin tan head. Notes of chocolate,bourbon, and strong coffee fill my snifter. Big malty flavor that surrounds your palate. Nice bitter finish. Superbly balanced. Tremendous stout.

12oz bottle from Julios. Smells of bourbon but where was it in the taste? That’s not going to keep the score to far down for me but I was expecting to get kicked in the as$ with bourbon when I took a sip. However, I Absolutely loved this beer and the palate is awesome! Jet black with minimal head. Flavor was a dark coffee and slght choclolate. Wish I had more!

12 oz. bottle from drewbeerme. Pours thick, black and opaque with a thin tannish head that leaves a trace of lace. Bold roasty coffee aroma, a bit of charcoal initially with boubon undertones. Flavor features more coffee, bitter chocolate, rich bourbon and vanilla, tannic notes, alcohol nicely balanced with sweet, tart and astringent flavors, then a slight puckery aftertaste. Full body, very smooth - like liquid silk - and rich creamy carbonation. A real treat.

12 ounce bottle from Beer Depot in Ann Arbor, MI (June 2007) drunk at cellar temperature from a Corsendonk glass at my parents’ house in southern Wisconsin. Beautiful pour, impenetrable midnight with a chocolate-pudding head that decays slowly leaving thick dark lacing.....nose is nearly all coffee at first, surprising as usually the bourbon overpowers these things, but slowly some oaky hints, burnt caramel, and faint traces of berries show up; its assertive and different, anyway....very rich mouthfeel, somewhat dry and coffee-ground-like at first, the gritty texture giving way to velvety cakiness quickly, dark bitter chocolate infused with blueberries, and doused briefly in fairly young, harsh bourbon....bitter and long, burnt malty character runs through to the finish. I had the feeling this would disappoint me, and it didn’t actually, I find it quite interesting and different from most other BBA Imperials I’ve had, the whiskey not overdone at all; that said, it’s a little harsh to drink with regularity so I’ll probably save a bottle or two for just a little mellowing. Perhaps not quite deserving of its praise, but not completely overrated either.

A black and huge head of tan pour wit a huge aroma of expresso and mocha. Flavor is sweet with same flavors but with an added oilyness and a slight petrol taste. Well hidden alcohol but again a nasty gasoline aftertaste that probably came from overoasting or something.

On tap at the brewery. Pours a dark black with a ruby head and lots of lace. Big aroma of rich chocolaty malt and traces of bourbon. Flavor is slightly sweet malt with tones of chocolate, coffee, and with some bourbon kick, but not at all overpowering like I feared. The initial stout is somewhat subdued, more so than there regular imperial, which really allows the bourbon to come through without being overpowering. Has a noticeable alcohol character throughout. Very drinkable, complex, not overdone, really outstanding.

Bottle: Pours pretty much pitch black with a thin bubbly brown head. Aroma is of sweeter coffee and chocolate and some bourbon spice. Flavor is lightly malty and rich coffee and chocolate flavor. Sweeter than i expected, strong vanilla notes and slight bourbon and oak flavors. Not nearly as bourbony as i thought it would be either.Though that is not a negative. The body is medium. The slight sweetness and the more subtle flavors of this stout combined with not as thick a body as some make this an extremely easy drinking stout. I love imperials but cant drink them everyday. But this one i wish i could drink everyday!