Founders Breakfast Stout - Founders Brewing Company

ElderPuma

Wisconsin

4.48/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance is black as a moonless night, very opaque. The slightest of all heads forms a rich brown color with small bubbles. A very small amount of lace forms on the way down but it is just barely noticeable.

For as big and bold as the appearance is the aroma is very faint but consists mostly of bitter tones, dark chocolate and coffee. Aroma leaves just a bit to be desired in volume but the overall smell is solid.

Taste is bold and complex. Starts with a roasted, bitter dark chocolate before switching over to a bold coffee flavor. Coffee can almost hide in the middle as the flavor wraps back around to leave the bitter dark chocolate on the tongue as it finishes. The more you "chew" the more coffee that comes out. All in all, about as perfect an example of the taste for the style as you can find.

Mouthfeel is slightly lighter bodied than you would expect based on the appearance and taste but still very rich and filling. Overall the amount of bitterness present in the taste works against the overall mouthfeel and takes away from the overall smoothness that is there at first. Finishes somewhat harsh but that is expected due to the level of bitter flavorings. There is room for improvement to balance the mouthfeel all the way through but I would not want to sacrifice on the overall taste in order to accomplish it.

Overall, Founders Breakfast Stout is an excellent example of the style and does it's best to highlight the best taste combinations. If I was going to introduce anyone to what I believe a coffee stout should be, this would be on the shortlist of top 3-5 examples.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2012 12:48:23 | More by ElderPuma

Gargamel92886

California

5/5  rDev +10.6%

05-25-2013 19:05:55 | More by Gargamel92886

ajzy

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev -0.4%

05-25-2013 16:49:08 | More by ajzy

jkeefe1800

Massachusetts

4.75/5  rDev +5.1%

05-25-2013 04:51:31 | More by jkeefe1800

dbfp210

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev -6%

05-24-2013 20:21:40 | More by dbfp210

hopluva1

Washington

4.25/5  rDev -6%

05-24-2013 18:26:06 | More by hopluva1

Bigtwin

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev -0.4%

05-24-2013 18:23:23 | More by Bigtwin

wezzul

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev -6%

05-24-2013 16:36:08 | More by wezzul

robertmitchum

North Carolina

4/5  rDev -11.5%

05-24-2013 09:16:43 | More by robertmitchum

SwG237

New York

4.5/5  rDev -0.4%

05-24-2013 03:52:14 | More by SwG237

WKole81

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev -0.4%

05-24-2013 03:02:33 | More by WKole81

Jeremy_H

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev -0.4%

05-24-2013 01:50:06 | More by Jeremy_H

berserka

Rhode Island

4.5/5  rDev -0.4%

05-24-2013 01:39:50 | More by berserka

tvl89

Texas

5/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Served from a bottle at around 55 degrees. This is my first founders breakfast stout so my expectations were really really high. Oh god I wasn't disappointed at all! The appearance is just like a typical imperial stout; pitch black with a decent head that dissipates in about 3 minutes. The smell is just awesome, coffee, heavy chocolate, roasted malts and more chocolate. The taste is just like the smell very delicious, very creamy. The first flavor you palate detects is the rich coffee, followed by tons and tones of dark chocolate, ending in a pleasant bitterness. This could be perhaps the best Russian stout out there. I highly recommend!

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2013 01:26:46 | More by tvl89

sjanowiak

Minnesota

4/5  rDev -11.5%

05-23-2013 19:55:00 | More by sjanowiak

Boston_Steve

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev -0.4%

05-23-2013 19:23:27 | More by Boston_Steve

ChrisMetcalfe

South Carolina

4.5/5  rDev -0.4%

05-23-2013 19:15:51 | More by ChrisMetcalfe

Busker

Connecticut

5/5  rDev +10.6%

05-23-2013 16:02:25 | More by Busker

AaronBricking

Kentucky

4/5  rDev -11.5%

05-23-2013 05:00:10 | More by AaronBricking

smccann

New Hampshire

5/5  rDev +10.6%

05-23-2013 01:00:38 | More by smccann

Stickler

Michigan

4.75/5  rDev +5.1%

05-23-2013 00:43:46 | More by Stickler

woostergooner

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev -0.4%

05-22-2013 21:11:26 | More by woostergooner

Rdc67

Kentucky

5/5  rDev +10.6%

05-22-2013 20:08:59 | More by Rdc67

velcrogrip

Florida

4.5/5  rDev -0.4%

05-22-2013 18:31:24 | More by velcrogrip

wogreen

Arkansas

5/5  rDev +10.6%

05-22-2013 17:43:00 | More by wogreen