beer_name: Founders Breakfast Stout
text: So I'm actually sitting here drinking this right now, while I catch up on my other reviews. I popped it open cause, well, it's my birthday so I figured I'd kick things off with a Top 100 brew. I got a couple bottles of this from Skinnyelvis in the Secret Santa 2007 and have been waiting for an excuse to crack this one open. Things started off well - this beer looks fantastic. Dark, dark, dark, but that really nice looking obsidian-dark that makes you think "damn, this is going to be good." Aroma - very nice as well. More restrained than I expected (was anticipating chocolate/coffee explosion) but very nice. Reminds me of "kicked up" hot chocolate and for some reason, something in the aroma just connotes "thickness" to my nose. Stop the presses -- my first sip reveals an overly bitter, unbalanced stout with too much of the wrong kind of hops. I must say, it was quite a disappointment. I don't know if it's that I haven't had an RIS in a while, but I really had difficulty getting past the first half glass; the grapefruity hops just killed the rest of the flavour, which includes some very dark, gourmet coffee notes and hints of dry dark chocolate. I think the oatmeal in this also adds to the sourness of the beer, throwing it off more. I have to admit -- as it's warming, I'm getting more into it. But I can't say I'm enjoying it nearly as much as I expected. Back to the good -- the mouthfeel is really nice, and the aftertaste is like that of a freshly brewed cup of pressed dark roast coffee. Excellent body, although it's got so much "stuff" in it that it's almost overly sticky. Anyway... I've got one more bottle of this. I'm not sure whether to try it again in a month or two, or wait a year and see if it ages (I'm not sure if this is that type of brew). I might save it for next Christmas, or have it during the next Toronto snow storm. We'll see. Hopefully I can come back and change the "taste" and "drinkability" numbers, but for now I have to be honest and leave them the way they are.