Founders Brewing 'KBS' Bourbon Barrel-Aged Chocolate Coffee Stout. 12.3% abv. Black color, dense, with thin mocha head that fast falls to a sustaining collar and scattered surface. Moderate retention, decent lacing. Nose of bourbon, charred oak, dark chocolate, vanilla. The bourbon aroma steps forward as the temp rises.

Front taste is bittersweet chocolate, black coffee, plum, with vanilla and wood notes on the back end. Aftertaste is tall bourbon, bitter cocoa, raisins, molasses, with a dry finish. Full body. Mouthfeel is warm-hot, round, creamy, sticky, viscous, astringent, boozy.

Two of my recent reviews were also Founders beers, with one being a surprisingly solid experimental wood-aged red, while the other turned out to be one of the worst beers I’ve had in years. Comparing notes with other beer enthusiasts, it would appear that Founders is one of those breweries that is bold and fearless to a fault, so daring that it affects their batting average. They’re hit-and-miss, particularly with their novelty offering. However, I went into today’s review unafraid, as it’s not only one of their classics, but one of THE classics of modern craft beer, a benchmark of its category.

Simply put, this is an extraordinary, big, rich, full beer, a true BBA stout, with a boozy aroma and flavor profile supported by chocolate and coffee, wrapped with a mouthfeel you can sink your teeth into. This is a sipping beer. A dessert beer. It’s meant to be a an occasional decadent treat with a complex taste, and it delivers on its promise.

Consistently ranked as one of the best beers in the world, this beer now has battalions of competitors who have met or exceeded its high standard. That being said, even in this day of bourbon-barrel aging mania, in a time when every brewery is experimenting with a barrel program, and mostly succeeding, KBS is still a knockout and a standout, still one of the best, with quality and craftsmanship evident in every sip and sniff. I’m sure you’ve had this famous brew before, but regardless, I highly encourage you to seek it out and let it warm you inside-out during a cold winter. Strongly recommended.

From the brewery:

"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."

[source: foundersbrewing.com]

Founders Brewing 'Mango Magnifico Con Calor' 2016. 10% abv. Honey-orange color. Hazy and dense with sediment. Thin off-white head that quickly falls to a sustaining collar. Moderate retention, little lacing. Nose of vanilla, mango rind, bitter greens, fruit pastry. As the temp rose, the aroma quickly became unpleasant, with a dominant scent of salty, buttery crackers, apricot jam, and Parmesan cheese.

Front taste is mango, butter, honey, black pepper, with apricot on the back end. Aftertaste is where the jalapeño finally emerges, with roasty chili pepper tones over a jammy, herbal expression. Ends on a sweet, if not vapory finish. Medium body. Mouthfeel is cool, round, tingly from the delayed spice, increasing heat.

This is a bizarre, disappointing, nearly offensive beer, a failed attempt at combining unlikely flavors to create something special. The promised mango and jalapeño tastes are delivered in spades, but that is not necessarily a good thing, at least not within this recipe. The combination here results in an odd, off-flavor, confused beer that starts with an aroma of Parmesan cheese mixed with a jar of apricot preserves and the rotted skin of a mango. Think of a stinky foot, smothered with spoiled jam. The spice notes from the jalapeño seem to only accentuate that odd smell and taste.

I haven't had a beer this bad in years. I ended up pouring the last third of it out. I got a headache from the sugar syrup in the beer. An overall unpleasant experience. Part of me wants to try this beer again, just in case I had an infected or turned bottle. That occasionally happens with every brewery. However, the experience was so bad that I don't think I could pick up another bottle of this. 

If you like fruit beers or hot pepper beers, there are many far better choices out there. Even if there weren’t, I’d still avoid buying this failed experiment again. Pass on this one.



From the brewery:

"Mango Magnifico is a high-gravity fruit beer brewed with mango and a touch of habaneros to add just the right amount of heat. The delicate flavors imparted by the sweet richness of the mango are punctuated perfectly by the subtle heat of the habaneros, proving that fruit beers do not have to be one-note. Each 750mL bottle of this 10% ABV ale is both sophisticated and refreshing, making it the perfect beer to share… or to keep all to yourself. Mango Magnifico is part of a long lineage of Founders’ fruit beers, including Rubaeus, Cerise, Blushing Monk and Big Lushious."

[source: foundersbrewing.com]

Founders Brewing 'Dankwood' Imperial Red IPA 2018. Aged in Bourbon Barrels. 12.2% abv. 65 IBU. Deep ruby color with two fingers of thick, frothy, off-white head. Outstanding retention and superb lacing that sticks to the glass all the way down. Nose of maple syrup, oak, bourbon, bright floral hops. The bourbon aroma stands tall at the temp rises.

Front taste is fruit pastry, vanilla, bourbon, roasted malt. Aftertaste is strong bourbon, herbal and citrus hops, wood and botanical notes sustain on the back end. Full body. Mouthfeel is hot, sticky, clingy, astringent, boozy, woodsy.

This is an excellent beer, a big, boozy, barrel brew that attempts to balance the hop forward profile of an IPA and the amber malty backbone of a red ale with a nearly piercing oak and whiskey expression. It is one of the most complex flavor profiles I've tasted in a long time. Take note that this is a unique taste that will surely put off fans of those individual categories, but will sure to please connoisseurs of experimental beers that grab you firmly by the tongue. This beer is unafraid to combine the towering strengths of three completely different beers in one glass. If you welcome huge, complex taste, this is for you. Strongly recommended.


From the brewery:

"What do you get when a big, bold imperial red IPA meets an oak bourbon barrel? A palate stunner that’ll send your senses spinning or, as we like to call it, Dankwood. Rich caramel notes emerge from the depths of the IPA, highlighting strong malt character while the bourbon barrel-aging develops the complexity. A dank, sticky and slightly sweet sipper, Dankwood is the perfect alchemy of wood and hops... Dankwood is the third release of 2018 in the Barrel-Aged Series, preceded by KBS and Backwoods Bastard, our newest year-round beer."

[source: foundersbrewing.com]

Founders 'Doom' Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial IPA. 12.4% abv. Hazy honey-copper color. Two fingers of foamy white head that gradually falls to a sustaining thick surface. Outstanding retention and superb lacing. Nose of bourbon, vanilla, herbal hops, with whiskey and oak emerging as the temp rises. 

Front taste of rich malt, bourbon, sweet bread, toffee. Aftertaste is caramel, sweet fruit, tall hops, whiskey expression rises at the end. Medium body. Mouthfeel is warm-hot, boozy, astringent, carby, round.

This is an outstanding little BBA, one that delivers on the usual promises of bourbon and wood, merging well with the malty backbone of a DIPA, but also plays well with the ample hop bundle of its base IPA. The everlasting head powerfully brings the aroma forth, especially once the temp rises to room, with lacing that clings without fade. The craftsmanship is clear and forward. Wonderful brew. Highly recommended.

From the brewery:

"Doom may be impending but that doesn’t mean you have to fear it. A collision of worlds, the intense hop character of our imperial IPA mingles with the warm vanilla and oak notes imparted from time spent in our favorite bourbon barrels. Like all good things, Doom comes to those who wait."
[source: foundersbrewing.com]

Founders Brewing 'Dirty Bastard' Scotch Style Ale. 8.5% abv. 50 IBU. Dark brown-ruby color with a thin tan head that recedes to a nice collar. Good retention, nice lacing. Nose of dark roasty malt, caramel, coffee notes on the back end. Aftertaste of toffee, smoke, herbal sustain, earthy sweet finish. Medium body. Mouthfeel is warm, carby, tangy.

This is a solid Scotch ale, one with plenty of earthy, malty flavors of caramel and nearly burnt malt. There's a bit more bite than you'd normally find in a Scotch ale, but not to the point of astringency. It feels like a bigger beer, yet I still place is as a medium-bodied brew. It rides that edge. It may be a challenging beer to review, but it's certainly easy to enjoy. Very good stuff. Highly recommended.

From the brewery:

"So good it’s almost wrong. Dark ruby in color and brewed with seven varieties of imported malts. Complex in finish, with hints of smoke and peat, paired with a malty richness and a right hook of hop power to give it the bad attitude that a beer named Dirty Bastard has to live up to. Ain’t for the wee lads."

[source: foundersbrewing.com]

My sister and I enjoyed this Scotch ale at Das Bierhaus in the Tower District, a bottle shop that is sadly now closed. This was our last time there together. Cheers until next time.