Hoosier Beer Geek: A Beer Blog for Indiana, from Indianapolis: Founders

Showing posts with label Founders. Show all posts

22 October 2012

Michigan trip continued

In continuation of my first post about my Michigan beer trip, we continued our journey to a place that I've been wanting to hit since I heard about their opening in 2010: Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids. Brewery Vivant is located in the East Hills neighborhood of Grand Rapids, which I found to be a very walkable and vibrant business area. The pub is located in part of a renovated (and LEED certified) building that was once a funeral home that contained a large chapel in it. Brewery Vivant focuses on a Belgian and French theme throughout the entire building, menu, and beer list. This is another brewery that caught me by surprise. I've heard nothing but good things about them, but actually getting to walk into the pub was the first delight to my senses. The pub was built in the old chapel. The room has buttresses, stained glass, wooden tables, and a certain ambiance that made me feel I was somewhere else. Vivant was just my kind of place. The food, the beer, and the atmosphere were all impeccable. I'm a huge fan of Belgian style beers, and I'm very happy to see their continued rise in production by breweries in the US. I love the saison style and a personal favorite was Vivant's French Hand Farmhouse Ale. It was lighter in ABV, but had a great flavor and paired very well with my meal. I am also a huge fan of smoke beers and they had a smoke beer on hand that reminded me of a beer from Schlenkerla. It was fantastically smokey and overpowering with smoke flavor. I really had a great experience from Vivant, and they are another place I'm already looking forward to trying again in the future.

Outside of Brewery Vivant

Another shot. The front entrance is through the Chapel doors at the bottom of the picture.

Looking at the top of the bar showing the wood and stone work

Interior shot of the bar and old Chapel. Here is the original look.

Tap handle shot

Beer flight

Tap list

A bowl of mussels

Interior shot of the stained glass window above the entrance door

The next morning we needed to have a solid base for another day of all things beer. Normally I would never post pictures of breakfast food on a beer blog, but Marie Catrib's, not far from Brewery Vivant, was the real deal for breakfast food. I would recommend this to anyone.

Rock the Hash-bah with spicy chorizo made with pork and mixed with diced potatoes, corn, onions, cayenne, cumin, peppers

Eggs, bacon, in-house made sausage, mushrooms, onions, cheese and potatoes. Homemade Rye bread with honey butter and mixed berry compote.

When in Grand Rapids, you must make the pilgrimage over to Founders. We didn't realize we chose the weekend of the Harvest Ale release party, but we hoped some special gems would be on tap that day. We got there when they opened up and were about 20 people or so deep in a line that had already formed. It was $10 bucks to get in that day, but for that $10 you got a pint glass and a glass of Harvest Ale. If you stuck around long enough it also covered the cost for live music later that evening. Founders has a pretty large space and I was surprised it was nearly at capacity by noon. Mostly it was the mug club members I saw pounding beers. I saw more of those than anything else.

Outside of Founders

Stained glass behind the bar

Beers for the day

Nitro oatmeal stout. 4.5% with plenty of flavor. It was one of my favorites at Founders.

Pint of Harvest Ale

I had to have a breakfast stout at the source.

The last stop on the beer adventure was just a short walk away to The Hopcat. They are continually ranked as one of the best beers bars in the world by beer geeks. The Hopcat has been well written about, but this place is a wonderful beer bar that has 48 taps and a large bottle list. 48 taps is too much for most places, but The Hopcat really turns their beer. This is another one of my favorite stops when in Grand Rapids.

Shot from the end of the bar

Tap towers

One of the best beers I had all weekend. Biere de Mars from Jolly Pumpkin.

Pint of something

It was another successful beer trip to SE Michigan. Breweries and bars keep multiplying like crazy up there, and we only really hit the tip of the iceberg when it comes to beer establishments. Many breweries we wanted to hit, but simply couldn't because we just didn't have enough time or enough cab money. I'm looking forward to my next trip that hopefully happens sooner than later.

26 October 2011

Beer Tourism: Michigan

On the weekend of October 16, Jess and I went up to Detroit for the Detroit Free Press Marathon. When I think of Detroit, I picture a Thunderdome-style apocalyptic world with overturned flaming cars and people fighting for gas. I'm pleased to report that this was not the case. The downtown area was fairly quiet, with a good variety of abandoned buildings, but it was also safe, walkable and full of good restaurants. Tons of different historic architectural styles made up the downtown area, which is cool if you're in to that (and we are). After Jess finished up her second full marathon, and beat her Chicago time from last year to set a new personal record, we checked out the two rival coney dog shops. Lafayette was our favorite, but both were great. For dinner, we celebrated at Michael Symon's Roast. Now before I go on,

Check out this beer list.

Yeah, that's right, a huge selection of beer with a focus on sours. Jolly Pumpkin La Purcela was on draft so of course we got that. Lots of clove and cinnamon with a bit of winter squash behind the tartness. That was followed up with a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin's iO Saison, which was a really stellar fruity saison that gained its fruit notes from hibiscus. The food was incredible as well, my New York Strip Steak was topped with an entire piece of bone marrow! For dessert we split a Guinness ice cream sundae topped with pretzels. Sure, it's not a cheap place, but Jolly Pumpkin was about the same price as it is in a liquor store here. The beer list does not lie!

On Monday we embarked our trek across Michigan. First up, Kuhnhenn! We had heard a lot about Kuhnhenn, first sampling their beers at GABF in 2008. The brewery has expanded and remodeled and one could hardly tell that it had once been an auto parts shop. The brewery had a large U shaped bar in the center and featured 32 taps all of their own beer, with a few beer/wine hybrids. Why wine? They also have a 6 page wine list of all their own wines. I had a glass of their Cherry Ode'bruine which weighed in at 12% ABV but had almost no detectable alcohol presence. Dangerous! Jess had a Creme Brûlée Java Stout which was hands down the best example of that sub-style either of us had ever tried. Decadent burnt sugars and coffee without being cloyingly sweet. We went through a sampler of some of their more standard styles (and a beer/wine hybrid) and were not disappointed. Food options are slim here, but the beers are top notch. This brewery is not to be missed.

Cherry Ode'bruine

Creme Brulee Java Stout

16 taps, on this side. 32 total. All Kuhnhenn.

The tap list - click for bigger

Sampler paddle, the one on the far end is Export Stout mixed with Blueberry wine

After Kuhnhenn, we set off for Ann Arbor, to visit the Jolly Pumpkin pub. We were first met with 1.40/hr parking meters (so quit your bitching, Indy) and then found ourselves in a wonderfully comfortable European-inspired pub. Tons of dark wood and decor that, while kitschy, felt like it had been there for decades. Given the age of Jolly Pumpkin, this was the product of good interior design and not time. Besides a selection of 6-8 Jolly Pumpkin beers on tap, they also had an equal number of other Michigan taps, weighted toward North Peak. I had the Weizen Bam, which was a really great Belgian Wit interpretation, and Jess had a La Purcela (same pumpkin beer we had at Roast). For our next round, I had the standard Bam Biere and Jess went with a Tortuga Chocolate Stout on hand pull. Seems that Tortuga is a Jolly Pumpkin brand that they apply to their non-sour styles. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here, I can't find much info on it. The food was mostly sandwiches and pizzas. We got two pizzas and both were very good and provided us with a ton of leftovers. The Jolly Pumpkin pub left us missing Jolly Pumpkin's presence in Indianapolis. Their beer is easily worth the $12+ price tag it carried when in the state.

Bam Biere in the foreground, Chocolate Stout in the background

Next on our list was Dark Horse. We've heard a lot of good things about this brewery, and no one let us down with their recommendations. The brewpub looks like an old shed, on the outside and inside. The ceiling is adorned with handmade clay mug club mugs. The bar was full of friendly regulars and AMC's monster movie marathon was on the TV (YES!). Jess immediately grabbed a Perkulator doppelbock, which she proclaimed to be even better and more heavy on the coffee when fresh, and I grabbed a High Street Bombers Kolsch. The Kolsch was more of a creamy amber brewed with Kolsch yeast, but I wouldn't expect anything normal from Dark Horse. It had a fairly heavy body but was supposedly between 5 and 6% ABV. Our bartender provided us a sample of their Carmel Apple Aley which we incorrectly assumed to be a cider. While it did have some apple flavor, it was more of a burnt sugar laced brown ale with a background of apple. We grabbed a growler of this one before we hit the road, both sad that we didn't have more time to spend here.

High Street Bombers Kolsch

A view of the bar

The outside of the pub

We finally arrived in Grand Rapids, our destination for the day, in the early evening. The hotel valet kindly informed us that it was pint night at Founders, but we had other plans. Brewery Vivant was our dinner destination and easily won the award for best atmosphere. The brewpub is located in an old, small renovated church. The bar is situated where the alter would have been. Brewery Vivant focuses on Belgian beers with an American flair and a side project of making ciders. Farmhouse ales, abbey ales and even a chocolate stout made up a few of the 9 beers on tap that night. One of the most interesting was a tart barrel-aged cider/beer hybrid. The chocolate stout with Belgian yeast was as tasty as you imagine it would be and their house-staple Farmhouse Ale was a good sessionable beer. Three of their varieties were available in 16oz cans. I would be shorting you if I didn't mention how good and decadent their food is. The escargot was served with a scoop of tomato sorbet that was added to the dish to create a tomato cream sauce. The butternut squash agnolotti had a super rich butter and cream sauce that, while heavy, still allowed the lime zest and caramelized onions to come through. At the end of dinner we decided that our bodies could absorb no more and we should resume our journey in the morning.

A view of the bar from our table.

Dimly lit, but these are the 10 beers/ciders we sampled. Very nice sampler tray.

On Tuesday, we had a couple stops before we started on our way home. First up was Founders, which was just starting to welcome the lunch crowd. We really lucked out, since all the beers from their Harvest Festival over the weekend were still on. I'm not sure why, but the Harvest Festival also welcome some barrel-aged chile beers. I started out with the more mild Barrel-aged Guajillo Spite which really carried an impressive balance between bourbon and heat. Jess had the standard Spite which was a chile beer with a blend of peppers. This one was spicy without being painful. Since we're both fans of chile beer, a growler of this came home with us. The Cascade Harvest Ale may not have had the variety of hops in the Harvest Ale, but it was a great example of a harvest ale, full of fresh, sticky hop goodness. It was the kind of beer that breweries would love to produce year-round. To finish things off, I tried the opposite end of the Barrel-aged Spite spectrum with the Habanero Spite. Holy crap this was just stupid. Insanely spicy and undrinkable, this beer would make a better chili base or glaze over grilled meat. I was fortunate enough to get a 4oz sample of the first Barrel-aged spite, but our second bartender felt that the Habanero could only be served as 8oz. Thanks bud.

Barrel-aged Guajillo Spite in the foreground, regular Spite in the background

The tap list, click for bigger

Cascade Harvest Ale

The Founders Bar - 16 taps wide

After Founders we headed over to the HopCat. For reference, parking in Grand Rapids is 1.50/hr. Who sets these prices in Michigan? The HopCat immediately felt like home. A well worn, dark wood bar, tons of vintage beer signage, an extensive beer list and big copper tap fixtures. The top of the bar was decorated with rare beer bottles that would make any Beer Advocate reader jealous. Jess ordered a really solid Oktoberfest from Short's and I had a chocolate stout from Odd Sides, which was also good but pretty much what you expect. We ordered a few appetizers and had a nice conversation with the bartender about local liquor stores and beer in Indiana.

The HopCat bar

Odd Sides Dutch Chocolate Stout

After we hit the road, we decided Bell's would be our last stop before heading home, just so we could get home at a reasonable hour. Driving through Kalamazoo gave me more of that Thunderdome feeling I was expecting in Detroit, but Bell's was a really well put together pub. Tons of wood and brick inside, tables, walls, everything. Custom stained glass windows and lots of vintage beer signs. Surprisingly enough, they had a huge collection of Terre Haute Brewing Co signage! I thought about mentioning that to our bartender, but she didn't look like she'd care. The tap list was fairly familiar and they were out of Cherry Stout, so we went with Le Batteur and Milk Stout. We had both previously, and they certainly did not disappoint. Le Batteur is a well-balanced farmhouse ale and the Milk Stout needs no explanation other than to say it wasn't overly sweet. It makes me feel like a beer snob to say I wish they had more wacky stuff on tap, when the reality is that they had 16 beers on that were all of great quality and very cheap.

Le Batteur

Ever-changing food menu

The tap list and a huge '76 Ale sign from Terre Haute Brewing Co.

A classic Kalamazoo Brewing Co. sign

Our trip to Michigan really just left us wishing we had more time to spend in Michigan. Of all the 1-state trips you could take, Michigan certainly tops the list for beer destinations. This is only one direction you could take your journey, as there are great breweries in all parts of Michigan. I feel like I owe it to Matt to let everyone know that the typical brewpub price for a pint of beer is 3.50-4.50, which means a brewery tour of Michigan can be very affordable as well.

I typed this epic on my cell phone and from memory, so there might be typos or sections where alcohol may have impaired my judgement. Feel free to correct me in the comments.

27 April 2011

Details on the Goose / Founders Event

Corrie from Goose the Market sent over a few last minute details about tomorrow's Founders event. I think most of our readers will find this quite interesting....

Our Founders Father
a beer BBQ to welcome John Host of Founders Brewing Co.
Thursday, April 28, 3pm (last call at 7:30pm)

No tickets or reservations needed; pay as you go with cash at each station.
Different beers and different food at each station.

Rain or shine!

Food

Porchetta Sandwiches - Chris and the crew will be roasting a whole hog porchetta-style in our new Mobile Smoke Stack for sandwiches of porchetta, horseradish kraut, and housemade Double Trouble mustard.
Beer-inspired charcuterie
Goose-style beer nuts
Beer & cheese pairings especially for Founders!

Beer

Draft Founders' Choice - We're pulling out all the stops...but which ones depends on what John brings with him!
We'll be pouring glasses of KBS! - It's an extremely limited and coveted seasonal release that Founders describes as... "What we've got here is an imperial stout brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates, then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year to make sure wonderful bourbon undertones come through in the finish. Makes your taste buds squeal with delight."
We'll also be pouring glasses of Old Curmudgeon - It's a sneak peek--this year's batch hasn't even been released yet! The official release of this seasonal ale hasn't even arrived yet, but thanks to John, we'll be pouring glasses for a sneak peak of what Founders describes as..."Think classic sea fairing ports, local pubs, and weathered old fishermen. This old ale is brewed with molasses and an insane focus on the malt bill, then oak-aged. The result is a strong, rich, malty delight that's deceptively smooth and drinkable."

13 March 2010

HBG Classics: KOTBR #70 - Founders Great Expectations

Today marks the official release of Founders KBS at their Grand Rapids brewery. After a cavalcade of fantastic regular Founders offerings made their way to Indiana shelves last year, we thought it might be time to ask the question: "Is KBS worth the hype?"

Of course it's not 2009 any more, and even with consistent recipes, beer does change from year to year and batch to batch. As always, we advise that it's always worth finding out for yourself.

This roundtable originally ran on April 18th, 2009.

KOTBR #70 was a special occasion. Special in that we gathered up (perhaps) more beer than we've ever reviewed in one sitting before. Special because we were joined by Cari, the Kahn's Beer Queen. And special because we're all fans of Founders Brewing, the Michigan powerhouse of tasty brewed treats.

The question I put forth to my fellow Knights was this (in many many more words):

"Is Founder's KBS (formerly Kentucky Breakfast Stout) really Founders' best beer?"

What I was really getting at was the question of hype versus taste. Is KBS' reputation built on the fact that it's not an easily acquired beer? How often does an obsessed-over beer reward that obsession?

We're probably as guilty as anyone at overhyping how good a beer can be - so in this review we ask the question - Do these beers meet expectations? And we'll admit that might be a snobby question to ask.

Thomas Jefferson once wrote:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all beers are not created equal, that they are endowed by their Brewer with certain unalienable qualities, that among these are malt, hops and the possible infusion of coffee, chocolate, bourbon, and other flavors.

Yes, he wrote that. It was part of the Declaration of Beer Dependence that he wrote when he was part of Colonial Beer Geek. He later adapted the text for some statement that was sent to the King of England.

Jefferson was a polymath. And like many of his contemporaries, one of his interests was the production and consumption of beer. Don't believe me? Here's proof.

While little is known about what sort of beers were brewed at Monticello, I think it is a safe bet that none of them were like any of the Founders beers that we sampled.

Porter – Exceeds expectations: Sometimes, I find porters to be lacking. Often, the mouthfeel is too watery to fully carry the flavors. This is not the case. The fullness and creaminess of this porter easily carries the chocolate and coffee maltiness.

Backwoods Bastard – Exceeds expectations: Bourbon and stouts have always played well together. But Wee Heavy ales and bourbon may end up being BFF’s. The caramel and buttery components of bourbon and the roasted caramel malts of the Wee Heavy create a wonderful concoction that is best described as butterscotch candy in inebriating liquid form.

Double Trouble – Does not meet expectations: With a name like Double Trouble, you really expect to get the hop-shit slapped out of you. And based on the smell, I was preparing myself for a punch. While it had a sweet taste and a clean mouth, it was too light for a double IPA. The only trouble I found was in the enjoyable bit of spice left in the back of my throat.

Curmudgeon – Does not meet expectations: 9.3% ABV. Old Ale. The name. All reasons why I had high hopes for this beer. But, I found this to be a weak beer in comparison to the other Founders beers I have consumed. Not a bad beer by any means, but left me wanting more.

Breakfast Stout – Exceeds expectations: The mouthfeel of the Breakfast Stout was lighter than expected, but this coffee stout is very enjoyable with its big coffee flavor highlighted by hints of bitter chocolate. A mocha frappucino in beer form.

Imperial Stout – Exceeds expectations: The words chocolate and coffee and caramel and malty have been thrown around a lot when talking about stouts. This one exceeds them all. It is a big, sugary explosion of a stout. In short: fantastic!

Kentucky Breakfast Stout – Does not meet expectations: It’s funny to say that a beer I rated at 4.7 mugs was disappointing. I like bourbon. A lot. And I feel that the latest KBS is not as bourbon-infused as last year’s. It is still, however, extremely tasty.

PORTER - Exceeds Expectations: This porter is incredibly robust with huge chocolate flavor with hints of coffee, molasses, and toasted almonds. The kind of flavors you'd expect to find in an Imperial Stout but with the body and ABV of a Porter. I would gladly order this at any bar.

BACKWOODS BASTARD - Exceeds Expectations: When this was fresh, it fell a bit short. The flavors were all right but it had a lot of alcohol burn in the nose and the swallow. Now that it's six months old, the alcohol has mellowed and the bourbon flavor is even better. If you like bourbon you HAVE to try this. The nose of oak, vanilla, caramelized banana, and toasted coconut alone is enough to sell me on this.

DOUBLE TROUBLE - Does Not Meet Expectations: You know, I really liked this beer. They shouldn't call it a double IPA, though. Maybe an Extra IPA (that's a hot trend currently). Devil Dancer is a tough suit to follow, and even though it was dubbed a "triple" IPA, it did set a precedent for any "double" IPAs coming out of Founders. The lighter body on this was refreshing, and the grapefruit and lemon zest from the hops had a nice bitterness, but this was a really good IPA, not a double IPA.

CURMUDGEON - Does Not Meet Expectations: I had high expectations for this one. Founders is great at bold flavors and barleywines are a perfect match for this. For some reason, Old Curmudgeon came across fairly light in this department. Easily drinkable, tasty, but not the barleywine I wanted it to be. I did appreciate the coconut notes in the flavor, though.

BREAKFAST STOUT - Meets Expectations: This beer has a huge following and a tremendous amount of praise. It's hard to exceed that, but it certainly lives up to all the positive things that are said about it. The coffee flavors are balanced by a nice sweetness and there's even some chocolate and smoke in there. This is the stuff that sets the high standards for all of Founders' beers.

IMPERIAL STOUT - Does Not Meet Expectations: With how impressive the Breakfast Stout and Porter are, I had really high hopes for this one. Unfortunately it came across as a standard Imperial Stout. Cacao nibs, molasses, and lactose are in there, and it's well-balanced, but when you slap the "Imperial" brand on a Founders beer, I'm expecting something so strongly flavored that I'm going to have to sip it. If they called this Founders Stout I would probably be a lot happier with it.

KBS - Does Not Meet Expectations: But just for the 2009 batch. I don't know what they did to this, but it's much lighter than previous years. The whiskey flavor is incredibly faint with flavors of chocolate, caramel, and even raisins coming out more prominently. This is more chocolate than whiskey. And that's about as mean as I can be here because despite my disappointment in the 2009 batch, it's still a damn good beer and I'm glad I got some this year.

Overall - I think Founders is probably slightly over-hyped in the beer world, but then again, most good breweries are. Founders is easily one of the best breweries in the Midwest and we are incredibly lucky to be able to buy all of their stuff with relative ease (obviously with the exception of KBS). They are a world-class brewery and are doing exactly the kind of thing that makes American craft beer so great. I hope they continue along these lines for many years to come.

Porter - Did not meet. It was chocolate and cherry with a frothy, creamy head. I was expecting this to have a little less of the chocolate and coffee notes and to be more of a brown ale.

Backwoods Bastard - Extremely Exceeded Expectations. This was bourbon-barrel-aged beer at its finest with hints of cherry vanilla and vanilla sugar. It was mellow and easy to drink. I also appreciate the coconut notes on the finish.

Double Trouble - Exceeded Expectations. The nose is pure hoppy goodness. It's yellow and golden (quite light in color) with acetone, floral, and herbs. It's citrusy and piney all in one beer. It's not a true DIPA, but I enjoy it for being a bold IPA that could get me in a lot of trouble the next morning.

Curmudgeon - Met Expectations. It had a big malty taste with lots of barleywine flavor. It also has a hop flavor that enhances the beer and gives it a little something extra to set it apart. I enjoyed the lighter flavor and how it was less syrupy than other barleywines.

Breakfast Stout - Met Expectations. This was quite delicious and reminded me of the Peppy Grill in a bottle. It had hints of chocolate, tobacco, coffee, and cigarette smoke. The only letdown was the weak mouthfeel. It felt quite light on the tongue and didn't coat the glass. I would recommend this to someone who is looking for that diner experience and they don't want to come home smelling like smoke.

Imperial Stout - Exceeded Expectations. I had sampled this at Shallos on tap and wasn't really looking forward to the bottle version. I was pleasantly surprised when I was met with roasted malt, chocolate syrup, and coffee notes all in the first sip. It was followed with that creamy, sugary milky stout taste and had a great heavy mouthfeel. This is a very soothing beer that I would recommend picking up without hesitation.

KBS - Did Not Meet. Now while I wouldn't hesitate to have my fair share of this rare beverage, it wasn't quite as good as what I remembered. It was a chocolaty, woody experience that had too much hot alcohol burn. I wished that it had more of the whiskey barrel taste that I had grown to love with previous KBS years and this disappointed. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, but it wasn't what I remembered. It was like waking up Christmas morning and finding out that there wasn't a Santa Claus but I still got presents. I do eagerly await next year's KBS - maybe they went back to the vanilla?

PORTER - Exceeds Expectations: One of my favorite examples of the style. It must be warmed to near cellar temp though because I always get a bit of a chalk flavor when this beer is too cold. Once it has warmed I get wonderful flavors of roasted coffee and chocolate with a silky smooth mouthfeel.

BACKWOODS BASTARD - Meets Expectations: I thought this beer was terrible when it first came out. The alcohol was very hot and the vanilla and bourbon flavors overtook everything, but put a little bit of age on this beer and it rounded itself out into a very nice beer. I get flavors of vanilla and pepper with a touch of oakiness and bourbon. I also get some sweet caramel coming in on the back of the palate.

DOUBLE TROUBLE - Meets Expectations: This is the clearest DIPA I've ever seen, but the flavor profile packs a big grapefruit punch with a a little bit of sticky pine as well. I would have liked more of a malt body on this beer, but there is a bit of malt that tries to compliment, but the hops are to powerful for it. I also don't think I would have more than one pint of this beer in a sitting.

CURMUDGEON - Neither Satisfied or Unsatisfied: Dark fruits and caramel render a flavor profile that is lacking of much of a "wow" factor. I am not offended by this beer, but I wouldn't seek it out either.

BREAKFAST STOUT - Exceeds Expectations: I just flat out love this beer, and am very happy that Indiana got what seems like a 1000% increase of it over last year. I get plenty of coffee, chocolate, and espresso in the flavor profile and a wonderful nose to match. The oatmeal in the grain bill also makes this have one of the most velvety smooth mouthfeels going down, but still has an thick and almost chewy mouthfeel.

IMPERIAL STOUT - Exceeds Expectations: I am always blown away with every bottle of this beer that I open, and I've been through at least six four-packs of this beer. I find it to be one of the best Russian Imperial stouts right out of the bottle. I hate that I have to age so many RIS's, but I don't have to with this beer. I love the blast of bitter hops upfront with an even stronger bitter roasted malt flavor that is filled with anise, smoke, dark fruit, and molasses. I also find this beer to have an amazing mouthfeel that coats the tongue and goes down very smoothly for a high ABV beer. Bless you Founders for making a RIS in a 12 oz. bottle!

KBS - Does Not Meet Expectations: I say that with a grain of salt. I was so looking forward to the 2009 KBS, but it didn't live up to how good previous versions were. They changed the recipe this year. The chocolate is very prominent in the flavor profile and takes away from the bourbon and vanilla flavors that I've loved so much in previous years. Having said that, I still really liked this beer. Had I never had any other year of this beer, I would have found it pretty amazing, but it was almost like an old friend wasn't there to greet me at the airport, but he sent a pretty good substitute instead.

Porter - Met expectations. Had one when Founders released it. Liked it then, and I like it now. Hint of berries and chocolate in the nose. Creamy mouthfeel, flavor full of chocolate and coffee and a touch of vanilla. An excellent representation of the Porter style, which is a style that I've grown to love over the last year.

Backwoods Bastard - Did not meet expectations. Bourbon nose, heavy bourbon flavor, watery mouthfeel. Bourbon is not my bag, yet I do enjoy many of the bourbon-barrel-aged beers that I've tried (e.g., BBC Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout). Still, I expected better from Founders with this beer. I prefer a hint of bourbon in the taste, not a full-on bourbon flavor like this beer had.

Double Trouble - Exceeded expectations. Very pale color for a DIPA. Looked like a lager. Pineapple nose, crisp and dry pineapple flavor. A nice, dry alternative to the malty sweet DIPAs offered by other brewers. You done good on this one, Founders.

Curmudgeon - Exceeded expectations. Old Ales and Barleywines don't trip my trigger, so I expected not to like this too much. Despite this, I appreciated what Founders is shooting for with this beer. Had a pleasant bready nose with a bit of bourbon in the back. Flavor followed suit, along with a touch of sweetness.

Breakfast Stout - Met expectations. Bought a four-pack when Founders released this year's batch, so I knew what I was getting into. This is a good coffee stout, but not my favorite (that honor belongs to Schlafly's Coffee Stout). What to say about it? Nose: coffee, coffee, coffee, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Taste: ultra-black coffee, along with a hint of sweetness and cream.

Imperial Stout - Exceeded expectations. Many Imperial Stouts are a little too heavy with the cherry profile in nose and flavor for my particular taste. This one was not in that category. Founders Imperial was tilted more toward the chocolate, vanilla, and cream realm. Some coffee character as well. On top of that, the mouthfeel on this beer was phenomenal.

KBS - Did not meet expectations. I expected this vaunted beer to completely blow away all of its Founders companions. It simply did not do that, primarily because I think it is too green at this point, as evidence by the alcohol burn it produced. Still, the bourbon, vanilla, coffee, and chocolate characteristics that you'd expect from a bourbon-barrel-aged stout were there in spades. An excellent bourbon-barrel-aged beer.

Porter - Met Expectations. A very nice porter. Probably would have rated this higher but just a little something odd was lingering in my mouth. Matt said "chalky" and I immediately knew that's what was hanging around.

Backwoods Bastard - Does Not Meet Expectations. I feel like I'm drinking bourbon. It burns. Bourbon, bourbon, bourbon. Either you like it or you don't. I don't.

Double Trouble - Exceeds Expectations. An absolutely amazing, crystal-clear DIPA. Had one bottle when this first came out, but it really GRABBED me this time. Surprisingly easy drinking, with a light body and great citrusy, grapefruity hopiness.

Curmudgeon - Does Not Meet Expectations. Actually, I'm not sure what my expectations were -- Old Ale is kind of an odd style. Very malty, but not dark and smokey like stout. Hopped, but not as much as barleywine. Lots of caramel sweetness and dark fruit with a touch of spice. I'd have it again, but I'm not running to the store.

Breakfast Stout - Exceeds Expectations. Creamy, chocolately, wonderful coating mouthfeel with huge coffee notes helping to provide some additional bitterness to balance out the malt. This is a great all-around stout.

Imperial Stout - Exceeds Expectations. Wow, I was not expecting to like this more than the Breakfast Stout. Very much exceeds expectations. Great chewy, slightly creamy mouthfeel with chocolate, coffee, and dark fruit notes. A relative bargain for the RIS style.

KBS - Does Not Meet Expectations. There is so much hype surrounding KBS that I'm not sure the beer could possibly live up to expectations. Compounding things, I think this is a little hot right now and needs to sit a while before it's really ready to drink. Still, it's an interesting, complex stout and one I'll look forward to trying again after some aging.