Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS)

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

Bottle from 1FastSTi. You know, some beers are all hype and don’t live up to expectations...This is NOT one of those beer. Black and oily with no head and minimal carbonation. Aroma is fantastic!! Coffee and roasted malts and slight bourbon notes. The mouthful is soooo smooooth. How do they do that???? Anyway, coffee, slight vanilla, some smoke,sweet mollasses, and roasted malts dominate the taste buds. This one of the best beers I’ve had in a long time. Thanks, Blake

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.

I am in generally, not a fan of barrel aged beers, but this is really remarkable. Pours a black to immensely dark dark brown (near motor oil) with a razor thin light brown to dark tan head. The nose is very woody. A little char. Some subdued vanilla underneath the coffee and slight hint of alcohol. A little floral fruity overtone. Not that big cloying sweet syrupy mess I find in most bourbon barrel aged imperial stouts. Thick and rich in the mouth. Great big viscosity, one could cut this beer with a knife. Nicely subdued carbonation. With every sip, I enjoy this beer more. Big and sweet rich malt. Vanilla, oak, char, really come through, but meet the rich dark chocolate and expresso halfway. None of this club you over the head with the barrel nonsense. Even the bit of diacetyl lends a nice buttery note that well compliments the bourbon. A bit sweet slightly buttery almost cherry-like finish with some more wood, a bit of smoke, char, and even some acidity coming in the later aftertaste. Then it’s all wood, but not tannic. Not too bourbon soaked either. Just appropriate. Man, for half the price, I’d buy a case. Maybe I’ll settle for another 4 pack. Chocolate really comes on in the nose as this warms up. I think I may have understated the smoke. Not that it was particularly strong, but it was there. Man there’s a lot in this here beer. Rerate: August 8, 2007. I’m just updating this after having sat on this for almost 6 months. Everything about this beer is very similar. The aroma is sweeter with a mocha coffee. Just so smooth, I couldn’t help but boost the aroma a point. I had this on tap at two festivals in the last two weekend, it was both times an absolute shadow of itself. I cannot justify allowing that to influence my rating, as this is truly a different beer.

wow, fantastic, absolutely fantastic. smells and tastes like giant chunks of chocolate. Subtle flavors of oak and bourbon that compliment this perfectly. if i didn’t have to pay $9 for it in PA i’d love it way more.

’07 bottle. pours like unrefined crude oil. about a quarter/finger head of reasonably large sized bubbles, pretty dark brown, not as nice as the regular breakfast in appearance but still beautiful. while the bottle smells of all bourbon the glass is more woody. more coffee than chocolate, but it’s like a mocha. surprising and welcome absence of a harsh smoke in the aroma. no alcohol, very appetizing. flavor actually doesn’t have much malt sweetness, seems like most of the sweetness comes from the barrel. there’s plenty of burnt coffee flavor under the tongue that sustain well into the finish. i think i remember the regular breakfast being a little astringent or chalky, not really getting that here. the barrel complements it really nicely without dominating it. for the style it’s actually surprisingly light on the flavor, which is strictly relative. i wouldn’t call the body thin, and in fact i actually kinda like the colossal drinkability. beers like this it’s hard to have more than maybe a snifter’s worth, but i could probably drink a couple of these.

Sampled with Stegosaurus, courtesy of trade with Ohio Dad. Another great one from founders. Great pour, great coffee/oak/roast aroma. Roast ,wood and coffee taste. Blended rather well, Really good. Thanks guys.

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.

Opens with no audible indicator of escaping carbonation. Pours placid reddish black like spent transmission fluid. Aroma is heavy coffee, with chocolate. Taste is heavy on the coffee, but quite pleasant. The character turns bourbon vanilla as it warms. Mouthfeel is thinner than expected, and carbonation is predictably low, which is good. $6/12oz