Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)
12oz bottle into Duvel tulip. Bottled 2/25/11, drank on 4/24/11. Appearance: Free pour yields a one and a half inch frothy tan head that dissipates slowly leaving short-lived rings of lacing. Pours a viscous black with brown highlights. Leaves short-lived lacing walls and tight peaks and spots of lasting lacing. Smell: Bottle: like a bottle of bourbon. Glass: Sweet dark fruits, mild light coffee, some vanilla. Some booziness and unsweetened chocolate come out quickly. Chocolate chip cookie, raisin, mild breadiness. The smell is really nice. It's not busy, but constantly evolving; there's usually three or four discernible notes present, and each one is full of character. For example, halfway through some great molasses and savory aromas start to emerge (tempered by lingering vanilla), which soon give way to more raisin and bourbon. Taste: First sip is bourbon and coffee ice cream up front, segueing to a delicious and complex barrage of decadent liqueur flavors through to the oaky vanilla finish. Surprisingly smooth and clean finish, with the heat mainly showing up in the beginning. However, the heat builds up and becomes a constant background for the ultimately long and good aftertaste. Oak and bourbon influence all the (numerous) flavors here, but only occasionally stand out as a distinct bourbon note. The advertised 70 IBUs are apparently just enough, because the beer doesn't strike me as too rich or too sweet or too bitter. The flavor is strong but not harsh; there's sort of a coffee bean essence, chocolate chip highlights, lots of chocolate cake and even more (bourbon-influenced) liqueur flavors, marrying together perfectly. While the beer's aroma is a constantly evolving set of three or four notes, the taste is a symphony. It is the powerhouse people make it out to be (the flavors are all bold), but everything is sublimely palatable and complimentary. The brewers have extracted an unbelievable amount of (always balanced!) flavor from the ingredients and processes that went into making this beer. Mouthfeel: Full bodied. Smooth, but not quite creamy. Great bitter bite going into the hot finish. Finish occasionally clean, occasionally semi-dry. Overall: Flawless beer. Merits the hype surrounding it. One bottle of KBS is like getting the best of many other world class stouts in one glass. I'm not one to give points for hype or rarity either; I'm a practical man who would ideally be able to buy 5.0 beers whenever I go to the bottle shop--I don't like hassle. This beer is worth the trouble of finding it (though I, as usual in my life, just sort of happened upon it). The more Founders beers I have, the more I'm convinced that they're probably the most talented brewers in America today. KBS is a triumphant bourbon barrel aged imperial stout, and a further testament to the brewery's greatness... and I'm trying hard here to temper my gushing about how amazing this beer is.