Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS)

Bottle. Pours B-L-A-C-K. Thin almost non-existent brown head that disappears fast. the nose is coffee, big time, like fresh ground beans also has some chocolate molasses and wood notes. chocolate coffee vanilla and oak dominate the taste. palate is near perfect, thick and rich without compromising drinkability. Hops are solid playing a supporting role here, only appearing on the finish and just enough to cut through all that sweet sticky stout. i could spend all day just smelling this stuff. awsome.

Me and Jared each had a bottle to ourselves for this fantastic tasting. Drank this one out of a big snifter, what a massive aroma! Heavy bourbon (nearly overpowering), complimented by craploads of molasses. Minimal dark brown head, but poured like thick crude oil, nice and velvety. Flavor was very well balanced between the molasses, vanilla, coffee and excellent oak & bourbon finish, complemented by a bit of black cherry flavor. So thick, the brew left legs on the walls of my snifter glass. Taste lingers forever, the palate is extremely chewy and soft. An absolutely fantastic imperial stout, and looking forward to trying one again!

Re-rate on 10-11. The aroma on this one blew me away...it wreaked of chocolate, vanilla, coffee, oak, and loads of bourbon. Flavor is much of the same. This is just a great stout - big, bold flavors combine with a rich and robust nose... all this coupled with an extreme ease of drinkability, which rounds out this great concoction. So smooth and balanced to the utmost degree for such a big beer. Yum!

Rerate 11/14/07: 6 month old bottle this time instead of nearly 2 years. Significantly thicker palate, more assertive, round and luxurious beer. Bourbon is noticeable but contained. Could definitely be a lot more roast. A very nice beer, but still don’t see this as top 50 worthy. 7/5/7/5/3.7

5/28/07: 9/3/5/3/3.2: Bottle from TAR. I’m pretty sure this is the new batch, so only 3 or 4 months old. Aroma is fantastic. What a tease. Pure, rich, luxurious chocolate and vanilla, oak and coffee, rich all the way through. Actually, it doesn’t smell that good anymore, but that first whiff was heaven, so I’ll leave it at that. Pour is very black with a small beige cap that fades to just a tiny ring. What is this I taste? Nothing, you say? Perhaps. Perhaps up front. And then bourbon. Bourbon bourbon bourbon. Why is this beer in the top 50? Or number 4 on BA? Am I crazy? Do I have a bad bottle? It’s not bad, per se, it’s just so one dimensional. So boring. Some people seem to like the thin palate ("drinkable," I’ve seen) but I think it is just weak. You can’t put this beer up against Speedway or DL or even Storm King. Or it’s little cousin Breakfast Stout, for that matter. It’s just... not well made. I’ll definitely have to give this another shot, though; I just can’t believe that this is the best this beer can be.

Aroma dominated by oak. For the flavor, imagine that you have passed out after a night of drinking bourbon and you wake up face down, with your tongue out on an oak deck on which someone had spilled their coffee. But in a good way.

Thanks to bdigi66, Is absolutley the best bourbon stout I have ever tasted!

Pitch black pour with little to no head on it. Some of the finest espresso bean aroma hits you right off the bat. A faint bourbon linger sneaks up on me like a some crazy ninja would, being very subtle but lethal. Viscous mouth feel that holds tight throughout. A malty, brown sugar and vanilla start finishes into fine coffee/espresso with just enough of a bourbon taste that doesn’t overpower it. Very fine brew, I’m just pleased I was able to get my hands on a couple of bottles. 9-5-9-5-19

Re-Rate: Draft at the brewery pours a pitch, midnight black with a medium-sized rocky, tan head. Mild bourbon aroma hits you immediately followed by a mix of dark roasted malt, espresso, dark brown sugar and chocolate. A sweet vanilla bean taste imparts itself upon my mouth and is backed by a smooth chocolate and coffee essence. Notes of the bourbon come through on the finish. Just Phenomenal. 10-5-9-5-19

2007 bottle. Dark brown-almost-black color with short medium tan head. Aroma reminds me of a strong cup of french vanilla coffee with a hint of bourbon. The taste is quite similar, although I pick up a subtle sweetness, a stronger bourbon flavor, and chocolate. It is rather light on the palate and is very satisfying. Would work well as a coffee alternative (for a more exciting work day...). I prefer this over the regular fouders breakfast stout. Note for 2009 batch: After tasting the latest release, I found that the flavors and aromas of coffee and the accompanying bitterness are much more pronounced, with less vanilla. It is still an excellent brew but I prefer the previous batch.