Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS)

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

Thanks to pantanap for the bottle acquired in a recent trade. Appearance: Pours a viscous-looking black body with a small, short-lived tan head. Smell: Heavy aroma hits with strong notes of roasted malt, dark chocolate, caramel, vanilla beans, fine pipe tobacco, charred wood, and a smooth, well-aged bourbon. Taste: Ah, the hearty, robust taste of roasted malts, dark chocolate, and strong vanilla-flavored coffee hit you immediately. A ripple of dark caramel follows. Distinct, yet subtle bourbon flavor with tastes of wood and dark brown sugar. Hint of dark fruit. Just a perfect amount of subdued sugary sweetness. Dash of coarse ground black pepper. Perhaps some mild hops along the way upon warming. Sweetish bourbon, roasty taste on the slightly warming finish. A lingering woody bourbon aftertaste. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Mild carbonation. Pleasingly smooth mouthfeel. Drinkability: Remarkably drinkable for being such a powerhouse of a beer. This beer is SO GOOD that it can be hard not to just go on and on about how awesome it is.

The beer pours to a dark brown/black body with a tan head. The aroma is a nice coffee and bourbon. Very nicely balanced and not over powered. The flavor is very smooth. Nice coffee and subtle bourbon. Nice, perfect palate.

12oz bottle from ughsmash. Aromas of oats, sweet malted rich chocolate and coffee. Black body with just a dusting of darktan cover for head. Good sweet chocolate and roasted coffee flavor. Body seamed to be little thinner than couple of other impy stousts I’ve had. Good beer and thanks Jason for the trade.

Bottle for rating #1700: Blackened brown, opaque, moderate foamy brown head, falls quickly, leaving spots of lacing.   Huge nose of coffee and earth, slight charred wood, campfire.   Bourbon and vanilla notes are subtle as compared to what I would consider a charred barrel.   Rich malt sweetness... oh lordy... smooth as can be.   Amazingly clean too.   Much more Bourbon here, and vanilla too.   Remains coffee oriented, with a big sweet barrel aged finish.   Warming, but not very hot.   ABV is fairly well hidden, with only snippets appearing at the finish.   Slight hop presense appears as it warms.   Juicy stuff.   Thanks so much Jason for this wonderful brew!!!

Bottle shared with my wife - thanks to HogTownHarry for sparing one of his precious stash. Oily black with the faint wisp of a tan head. Lots of roasted coffee beans and bourbon on the nose. Nice full mouthfeel. Big flavours - coffee, chocolate, dark roasted malt, and of course, bourbon. Could do with a little less heat in the finish, but otherwise, this is some very nice stuff.

12oz bottle It is a little late for breakfast so this is more like lunch stout, but I did just wake up a couple of hours ago. Pours black with a nice dark tan head that settles quickly back to 1/8 of an inch and laces in thick layers. Aroma is full rich coffee, milk chocolate, and just a hint of bourbon. Quite pleasant and one of those brews that you just want to sniff for a while before you sip it. Flavor is just as divine as the aroma. Nice full coffee flavor, some rich milk chocolate up front as well but the back of each sip is where you find the nice sweet bourbon flavor and just a touch of oak and vanilla.. Nothing too extreme or overdone just full flavored and blended oh so well. Nice smooth palate without much carbonation. Feels almost slick and oily in the mouth. Nice smooth finish and the alcohol is nowhere to be found except in the warmth that this brings after a few sips. This is some really really good brew!!

Pours into my large Tripel Karmeliet tulip with an almost two-finger thick, cocoa stained, dark tan colored head. The beer is a thick black color that shows no light through it. Ample roasted grain notes of black coffee and charcoal are joined by a sort of chalky note that is almost musty (though not quite). Dark chocolate aromas couple with a rich nuttiness and a solid toasted bread crust note are found just behind the huge coffee character that even provides a touch of tartness to the aroma. Despite being such a huge stout, this actually seems to be dominated by the coffee aromatics, though it is offset at times by the nice chocolate aromatics. I don’t really get much in the way of Bourbon character in the aroma, which is actually a promising sign for me.

Thick and chewy up front, yet with such a huge roast malt and coffee character that it never becomes overly sweet. The beer finishes with a hit of Bourbon barrel flavors that provide a touch of vanilla and a deep buttery note that lingers for quite some time in the finish. Up front rich chocolate notes are quite noticeable (providing some balance to the roast character), these notes stick around some times through to the finish, where the Bourbon dominates, and are joined by a deep, toasted, nutty flavor. After the first sip, that initial wave of strong Bourbon notes seems to die down some; likely my palate just got used to it, but it becomes much more in balance with the rest of the beer. This definitely has a touch of tartness to it that is a result of both the ample burnt / roast notes (both coffee and grain) as well as some of the Bourbon influence. The finish also has a touch of hot Bourbon alcohol to it that is noticeable more as an aromatic oral nasal thing, but definitely makes me feel like I am exhaling alcohol.

At times a certain fruit character is noticeable that makes me think of sour prunes, figs and raisins; all of which have been left under the broiler to develop a bit of char. As the beer warms up and loses a bit of carbonation it becomes much more creamy textured and smooth, it also becomes much more mocha / chocolate flavored than it was previously, almost richly so.

I am not sure if my nose is not quite working tonight or what, but I am quite surprised how little of the Bourbon barrel influence is noticeable in the aroma. In the end the balance between roast character and smooth chocolate become really nice, the Bourbon barrel seems to meld into the background such that it supplies a nice complexity; so definitely serves this more towards 59°F / 15°C to get the best flavor balance. Much better and much more balanced than I was expecting; definitely a very good, moderate use of Bourbon Barrel character and coffee if drunk on the warm side.

Bottle from MaltOMeal at the December Houston tasting. Thanks! Pours deep black with a thin body and an aroma of used coffee grounds with a hint of bourbon oak. Flavor is bourbon-infused coffee, oak, and light caramel. Full mouthfeel. Nice, nice beer.