Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS)

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

Had this twice in one day at the Dark Lord Day party. The barrel aging was far less than the Dark Lord which IMHO made this a much better brew as I could still taste the Imperial Stout qualities. Vanilla and oaken bourbon yeah but still a shitload of complexity not droned out by the BA-ing.Molasses,bitter chocolate and coffee just all teamed up on the tongue to proclaim victory over the mighty Dark Lord.

Bottle. A gift from CMUBEERMAN. Andrew, you totally rock! Pours tar, tan head. Aroma is pretty intense: malt, chocolate, coffee, bourbon, oak, vanilla, pine. Flavor is similar and creamy. Pretty amazing and very well blended for the alcohol content. Aliendan says, "It doesn’t make you feel like you will to sink to the bottom of the ocean" as is the case with many imperial stouts. This is an excellent beer and my highest rated so far. This is pretty damn smooth and well, pretty.

12oz bottle thanks to Styles: Pours to a dark black, opaque body with a medium-sized dark tan head that lasts. The aroma is mild bourbon (not at all any alcoholic burn, much more flavorful), coffee, chocolate, with some sweet caramel in the background along with some roasted malt, barley, and toffee. Taste is coffee, charred wood, but very much in an aged and milder sort of way, bourbon (not burning and over-the-top, but a nice mild flavor that helps to cut through the coffee), chocolate, bakers chocolate, roasted malt, charred oak, some light tannins, vanilla, and milk chocolate with a bourbon center. There is a bit of pepper in the flavor as well. Full bodied, medium carbonation, finishes with some alcoholic bourbon notes (ok it finally comes out in the finish), roasted coffee, roasted malt, and oak.

ab fab appearance. dark dark brown with mocha ice cream colored head. head is thick and creamy that’s long lasting. aroma is burnt dark roast espresso and thick dark chocolate syrup. kinda smells like java chip starbucks ice cream if you’ve had it. flavor is very bourbon-y with dark espresso and dark and semi-sweet chocolates. the mouthfeel is unbelievably smooth considering the harshness of the aroma. like a bourbon flavored frappaccino with whipped cream and nutty roastedness. yummy.

Huge thanks to my Secret Santa (pantanap) for this treasure. It’s like draining my Xterra’s oil...a very still pitch black with the shyest of heads. Huge coffee nose with roasted malt, bourbon and vanilla oak. Wow...what a great beer. Wonderfully creamy body that showcases bourbon heat, roasted coffee, dark chocolate, charred oak and brandy on the finish. Lovely.

Bottle from franksnbeans -- thanks!

I’ve wanted to try this one for several years now, and tonight’s the night. Leo Smith’s Divine Love on the stereo, I settle in and crack open the bottle within a few degrees of room temperature. It pours out into my snifter dark and beautiful, thick with vast lacing and a small dark-tan head.

Huge smoky, ashy catches me by surprise. I was expecting more vanilla, less smoke. It recalls Peche Mortel in its ashiness, but somehow it wears that ashiness much better; here I get charred hardwood and pipe tobacco rather than soggy cigarette butts. That ashy aroma dominates the nose; underneath there’s a lot of interesting stuff going on, though you have to go looking for it: blackberries dipped in chocolate, peaty whisky.

Despite all of the ash I get a vinous, juicy flavor, tannic wine, berries, lots of bourbon. Bitter chocolate cake late. It’s acidic early, dry through the close; not a sweet imperial stout at all. Full, warming mouthfeel. only a hint of alcohol heat, that fascinating ashiness rising into the sinuses.

I’m not sure it’s right up there at the very peak of the genre -- and I don’t think I enjoy the flavors quite as much as I did with the bottle of the Abyss ’07 from a couple of nights ago -- but I freely admire this one as a fascinating and obviously well crafted beer.

What better way to top off Derby Day 2008 than with a KBS. Pours oil slick black with a dense one-finger brown head that dissipates almost immediately leaving very good lacing. Roasted coffee dominates the nose with a definite bourbon aroma that is underpinned by a faint malt aroma with a vanilla and dark fruit sweetness (very faint). Wow, the taste is massive! It starts with a huge roasted/burnt coffee flavor with a heavy dose of chocolately malts, bourbon and wood. Then there is all kind of other things bouncing around the taste buds - caramel, dark fruits, vanilla - tough to identify all of it. Bitterness of the coffee taste lingers for...days. Medium body yet very creamy and smooth mouthfeel. Despite the massive nature of this brew, I found it tough to put down. This is, without a doubt, one of the most unique beers I have tasted and I hope to get my hands on some more of it.

08 Bottle from educators’ BIF. Pours dark cola brown with a dark tan head. Nose is bourbon, vanilla, whiskey, dark chocolate, coffee, and some booziness. Flavor is roast, dark chocolate, whiskey, bourbon, milk chocolate, and some alcohol. Silky mouthfeel in this medium to full-bodied beer. Very good.