Founders Imperial Stout
Appearance: Poured out of a 12 oz. bottle into a nonic glass. Bottle has no freshness date, but does have a cool crest on the front with a picture of a knight slaying a dragon with a lance. This beer pours an inky black color that is completely devoid of any highlights. It requires an extra vigorous pour to milk a head out of this beast, but when one forms it's about one finger in height with a dark cinnamon color and a soft, pillowy texture. The head fades pretty rapidly, but leaves a moderate amount of lace in concentric circles around the glass. Smell: The nose of this beer is dominated by dark chocolate and a generous amount of black and chocolate roasted malts. There are also notes of blackstrap molasses, freshly-ground espresso beans, and a little hint of alcohol. Overall, this beer possesses a fabulous nose, and I love beers in which King Chocolate reigns supreme. Taste: This beer starts off similarly to the aroma, with huge tastes of bittersweet chocolate and roasted malts. Surprisingly, the taste of licorice is also fairly prominent, and as the beer moves away from the chocolate and roasted malt flavors this, along with molasses, become present. The beer then moves to a hint of alcohol and a strong amount of hop bitterness, which isn't surprising because the bottle tells me this beer checks in at 90 IBU's. The dry, hoppy finish is pleasant and reminds me a lot of the Stone Imperial Russian Stout I had last night. If you like Stone's IRS, you'll love this beer. Mouthfeel: This beer, like the best Russian Imperial Stouts, has an incredibly thick, rich, and milkshake-like body. It has a wonderful chewy malt profile that feels heavenly smooth on the tongue. Overall this beer possesses a mouthfeel similar to that of North Coast's Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout and Stone Imperial Russian Stout, and since they both got fives from me for mouthfeel this beer will be awarded the same honor. Drinkability: A fabulously drinkable stout, I can easily see myself going for a couple of these in a night. It's delicious enough and smooth enough for this, but at 10.5% alcohol just make sure that someone else is driving. Notes: Another fabulous beer from Founders. I've been flooring at how adept they are at producing high quality "big beers", and their Imperial Stout is no exception. This definitely ranks as one of the top three Russian Imperial Stouts I've ever had, and it, Stone IRS, and North Coast Old Rasputin make a triumvirate of thick, delicious, and easily accessible stouts that are among the best in the world, bar none.