skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Founders Brewing Co.
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Kentucky Breakfast Stout
Style: Double/Imperial Stout
Availability: Limited - Ides of March Release
Format: 12oz - 4pk
ABV: 11.2%
IBUs: 70
Batch: bottled Feb. 8th, 2010
Bottle text & Info:
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. Make your taste buds squeal with delight.
Tasting Notes:
Hello KBS. I finally get a chance to try you. Not a lot of this around. we received 3 cases today at the store and that is considered a pretty high allocation so, get this while the gettin's good. Enough talk. Let's drink some beer. Pours a thick dense brown to black with a deep brown quarter inch head that quickly recedes to a ring around the top. An intense bouquet of malt notes burst forth. Some pretty significant coffee, cocoa nibs and flaked barley on the nose, followed by steel cut oatmeal, finishing with a touch of Bourbon. Silky smooth mouthfeel with some tingling hops and warming alcohol. Wow. I can definitely see why this is currently #4 on BeerAdvocates top 25 beers in the world. Worth the hype. A lot going on here. Bitter chocolate and coffee are most dominant on the front, fading away and leaving just straight bourbon. Think chocolate cake with grenache dipped in bourbon and you're in the ballpark. Unique thing with this guy is that its not necessarily real heavy on the barrel characteristics (I.e. butterscotch, vanilla). Don't get me wrong, you definitely get some subtle hints of both, but in real small amounts. This is a beer you definitely want to pay attention to because there is a lot going on and it changes at it warms. What a gem for aging. An unyielding explosion of big stout and bourbon flavor wrapped in a velvety mouthfeel. A scary 11%, you could get into real trouble with this. Another remarkable achievement in brewing from the boys at Founders, and a beer well worth the tag (up to $135 a case, $24 a 4pk) and the feverish hype.
Bell's Brewing Inc.
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Batch 9000
Style: American Strong Ale
Availability: Limited - One Time Brew
Format: 12oz - 6pk
ABV: 12.0%
Batch: 9000 (duh) packaged January 27th, 2010
Bottle text & Info:
"black, dense and rich, this is a great ale for aging"
Tasting Notes:
So this is one of Bell's most anticipated releases. Ever. Released every 1000 batches, this release never even hit the state this year due to packaging laws that require the ABV be on the label. Bell's sent a lengthy letter saying it was impossible to nail the ABV down and promise it be within the required .02 ABV that is required to be listed on the package. So...big beer karma and heaps of thank you's to a regular who picked this up in Virginia and dropped off a bottle at the store. Now, to the beer. Pours inky black with syrupy thickness. A quarter inch light brown head dissipates into a ring leaving behind spotted lacing floating adrift the top. Intensely complex nose. Chalk full of anise and molasses additions up front with dark fruits, booze, cane sugar, chocolate, lavender and some subtle hopping. Woooooweeeee. This thing is big. So soaked dark fruits including figs and plums with heavy amount of black licorice and bitter anise. This is a bit sweet and boozy. Brandy like heat that mellows as the ale warms. Malts dominate what little hopping has been done in an attempt to balance this. Frankly, the flavors and the complexity is enjoyable, but this should probably be laid up to mature a bit. Simply too cloying at this point. Good in apertif proportions. If you can get your paws on some - put it away and sample one every 6 months or so. A great night capper and an amiable companion to a nice cigar.
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Dexter, Michigan
Oro de Calabaza
Style: Biere de Garde
Availability: Year Round
Format: 750ml
ABV: 8.0%
Batch: 326
Bottle text & Info:
Aged in large oak casks and refermented in the bottle, Oro de Calabaza is brewed in the Franco-Belgian tradition of strong golden ales. Spicy and peppery with a gentle hop bouquet and the beguiling influence of wild yeast.
Tasting Notes:
Not a very common style done here. Here's a quick refresher on the style guidelines: "The Biere de Garde is golden to deep copper or light brown in color. They are moderate to medium in body. This style of beer is characterized by a toasted malt aroma, slight malt sweetness in flavor, and medium hop bitterness. Noble-type hop aromas and flavors should be low to medium. Fruity esters can be light to medium in intensity. Flavor of alcohol is evident. Earthy, cellar-like, musty aromas and flavors are okay. Diacetyl should not be perceived but chill haze is okay. Often bottle conditioned with some yeast character."
Pours a beautiful hazy deep golden color with a huge white top that retains for days. Smells of all the usual belgian yeast/estery notes. Some sugar, pears, lemon sherbet-like sweetness, vinegar and definite oak notes. Velvety smooth, mouthfeel with aggressive phenols and heavy souring. Surprisingly low acidity considering the amount of sour vinegar on the nose. Superb finesse, lots of subtleties layered over an dry oak backbone. A beautifully dangerous 8%. Not an aggressive power-driver of alcohol and yeast like so many strong goldens, but a soft, velvety, spice driven ale. I just found out that Jolly Pumpkin opened a secondary brewery in my hometown (Traverse City). Looks like it's time to take a trip back north...
thanks to xpdtn Grant for this link. And congrats to Jolly Pumpkin on winning the NY Times blind tasting.
Times Belgian tasting
Founder's Brewing Co.
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Nemesis: (2009) - Maple bourbon barrel aged wheat wine.
Style: Wheatwine
Availability: Limited - One Time Brew
Format: 12oz - 4pk
ABV: 12.0%
Batch: bottled Feb. 03, 2010
Bottle text & Info:
What you have here is a rarity. A special, one-of-a-kind ale that is only made once a year. Sometimes that’s all. Forever. No more. Nada. Limited-time only. You never know what you’re gonna get. But you can be sure that it’ll be damn tasty.
Tasting Notes:
Pretty cool concept here. Mystery ale, varies every year in alcohol and style. this year is a maple bourbon aged wheat wine. I f'n love founders. I'm pretty excited about this. Pours dark orange to light red with little to no head. only lace around the side. Rising carbonation - bubbles racing to the top at various speeds throughout the ale. Amazingly aromatic. I could wear this beer. I really just wanna pour this all over my shirt and sleep with my clothes on. Expressly bourbon on the front followed by some sweet candied pear ending with whole stick cinnamon. Sweet American bourbon on the front of this guy. So amazingly drinkable! 12%!?!?!?! really!? Medium to light body with some carmel and fig like notes. I absolutely heart this. It's not too figgy, it's not too sweet, it's got some spice, prickly carbonation and is so incredibly smooth. What's frightening is that this is gonna improve with age. Looks like I know where my birthday cash is going. This is the best beer i've had this year. Another incredible, incredible release from Founders. At 20$ a four pack, this is worth every penny. and i'm a cheap ass.
I would like to take a minute and say happy 50 days to the beer blog!
On a sadder note, i'd like to have a moment of silence and request you give a toast of your favorite beer for backstock Matt's and fam's beloved dog Harley, who's left us. Rest in peace 'ole girl. You are loved and will be forever missed! This one's for you...
Bell's Brewery Inc.
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Consecrator Doppelbock
Style: Doppelbock
Availability: Seasonal -Fat tuesday release - Feb 24th to Nov.
Format: 12oz - 6pk
ABV: 8.0%
Batch: #9433 - Packaged on Feb. 2, 2010
Bottle text & Info:
A traditional dopplebock fermented with a Bohemian lager yeast. Reddish brown in color, with a mild hop profile, Consecrator is a well balanced, full bodied beer with hints of caramel and molasses in its smooth, malty finish.
Tasting Notes:
Pours a vivid dark red with minimal off white lacing. Some grains and bready malts in the nose and a hint of something sweet. Drinks silky with a medium body and tart finish. The knock on this beer is that it lacks complexity. I'll have to politely disagree. Perhaps a touch too sweet for the style, this one has a lot going on. Sure, Munich malts dominate but there are also some nice notes protruding, most noticeably a dark tart cherry note coupled with peppery alcohol and some lavender and anise-like flavors. Overall, far from extraordinary but also far from ordinary. We do set the bar awfully high for Bell's, don't we?
Bell's Brewing Inc.
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Bell's Special Double Cream
Style: Milk Stout
Availability: Limited - Seasonal - November - March
Format: 12oz - 6pk
ABV: 6.1%
Batch: #9513 (packaged on Dec. 18th 2009)
Bottle text & Info:
Brewed with a blend of 10 different malts, Double Cream is an incredibly rich stout composed of dark, sweet and smooth tones intermingled with a soft, roasty finish.
Tasting Notes:
Pours a deep brown with a dark tan head that quickly settles to a quarter inch. Smells faintly of sweet malts. with a touch of lactose. Sorta like sweet cream. Mouthfeel is silky smooth but a bit thin. Sweet malt notes coupled with vanilla open and transition into a subtle roasted coffee note. Always good to see a solid entry into the Milk Stout category for those looking for something besides the run of the mill Guinness. I'd like to see just a little more body on this. Solid, but not the exceptional experience you expect from Bell's.
Bell's Brewing Inc.
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Hopslam
Style: American Double/Imperial India Pale Ale
Availability: Limited - January Release
Format: 12oz - 6pk
ABV: 10.0%
Bottle text & Info:
A biting, bitter, tongue bruiser of an ale. With a name like Hopslam, what did you expect.
Tasting Notes:
Only 150 cases currently in the state. 250 more to come. we sold all 12 cases allocated in a single day, so good luck trackin this down. If that's not a ringing endorsement i don't know what is. The holy grail of beer geeks and hop heads alike. Liquid gold. One of the best beers. ever.
