From Westy 12 to Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout…this is shaping up to be “Fantastic Beer Week” at The Captain’s Chair!
Until recently, Founders was one of those highly revered craft breweries that was unfortunately not distributed in the Twin Cities, along with the likes of Stone, DFH, Three Floyds, and Russian River. Beer geeks far and wide drove countless miles to more beer-friendly locales to get it (i.e. Hudson, Wisconsin), spending loads of money and savoring every last drop until their next venture out.
That all changed recently, and we now have ready access to what seems to be Founders’ entire line of year-round and seasonal offerings. I’ve been slowly procuring and sampling their stuff, and from what I’ve had to date, I’ve not been disappointed. A very solid brewery.
In that same vein, their entire line of Breakfast Stouts is amazing. To commemorate their launch in the Twin Cities, their local distributor held a handful of tasting events at Twin Cities bars, and I was fortunate to try the fairly rare Canadian Breakfast Stout over at The Muddy Pig. Over-the-top and aggressive with its intense aromas and massive ABV, but I completely admired it in an appreciative, beer geek kind of way. I’ve also had a few bottles of their original Breakfast Stout on my beer shelf for some time now, a very well-rounded beer. But their Kentucky Breakfast Stout, the most highly rated of the bunch (currently #8 on Beer Advocate’s “Top Beers on Planet Earth” list), has always eluded me.
I stumbled upon it, or should I say it stumbled upon me, down at Dark Lord Day in April when an extraordinarily soused woman came over to our little group camped out on the lawn in front of the brewery, looking to make some beer trades. Fortunately, I’d brought along a load of Surly stuff for just that reason, and after a quick conversation I convinced her to trade a bottle of KBS for a can of Surly Furious and Bitter Brewer. Quite a value for me, and she was clearly pleased with her end of the bargain considering she’d never had any Surly. I like when everyone walks away happy.
I popped KBS to see how it stacked up to some other imperial stouts I’ve been imbibing of late, including my own. Poured very thick with minimal head. The “Kentucky” in the name comes of course from the fact that they age the beer in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year. Big bourbon, vanilla and caramel in the nose, tempered by some chocolate and coffee. I love one reviewer’s comments on Beer Advocate — “Like getting beaten over the head with a sack of fresh Colombian coffee and then getting a swirly in a bourbon barrel.” The taste is silky smooth, expertly balanced considering the 11.2% ABV and 70 IBUs. Tons of dark, roasted coffee and chocolate. It’s basically everything in an imperial stout I look for…rich, warm and pleasing with infinite depth in complexity. The mouthfeel was the only surprising aspect, not as viscous as I would have expected up front.
You’d be a fool to miss this one.
Rating: A+
July 13, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Jealous! Glad to hear it’s good.
July 13, 2009 at 4:17 pm
When are you going to do a Dark Lord review?
July 13, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Don’t shoot the dissenting opinion. I’ve had this beer twice. Once at Dark Lord Day and once afterward. I personally find the coffee overbearing and somewhat stale in quality. Also, I feel that it could have actually used a little more Bourbon qualities (like Bourbon County Stout, for instance) and and thickness (in the form of sweetness). Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good beer, it’s just not my cup of coffee. I also have a proclivity not to like coffee stouts very much, so that’s my downfall when it comes to a beer like this.
July 13, 2009 at 7:28 pm
We like dissenting opinions.
I know what you’re saying about the “stale” quality, I can see both sides of that coin. And it certainly isn’t as bourbon-esque as Goose Island. What I enjoyed, and why I gave it an A+ rating, is how smooth it is overall, considering all that’s going on. As a homebrewer, that’s a tough thing to figure out, and I admire it when I get a masterfully crafted beer that pulls it off.
Not the same kind of beer, but I absolutely can’t stand Southern Tier Pumking…everyone thinks I’m nuts but if I never drink that beer again, it’ll be too soon.
July 13, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Stu – it’s on my radar. I’ve had about half my bottles at this point, so I have a pretty good idea of what the beer is all about. Although, I want to age the rest for the coming years.
July 13, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Yeah! There is no taking away the fact that KBS is recognizably well crafted. I know exactly what you mean about brewing something like that (I’m a home brewer, too). It is hard to know how, when, and where to use restraint. And I did like it enough that I’m sad I missed a chance to try their Canadian Breakfast Stout when I was in Indy…was in the process of moving. It is fairly smooth. I think you hit on something when you mentioned it not being as viscous at you thought it might be. I think that would have even give a bigger perception of smoothness.
I don’t know what you have cooking right now (a lambic…I thought you said that before) but I’ve got an English Best Bitter. I wouldn’t mind trading some home brews at some point but it’s so stinkin expensive to ship.
July 13, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Nate – I have six or seven homebrews ready to go at the moment including a dubbel, barleywine, imperial stout, port barrel-aged Belgian brown, and smoked porter. Yep, the lambic is fermenting (and will be for a year or so), but I just brewed the India Brown Ale, and will be brewing a kolsch this week as well. Those should be ready to go in the next month or so. I also have a raspberry imp stout ready to bottle soon too.
I’d love to trade, shoot me an email about it.
July 14, 2009 at 4:25 am
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