Founders Breakfast Stout - Founders Brewing Company

brystmar

New York

4.55/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Re-reviewing this 1.5 years later with a more refined palate. Bottled 10/22/2011, and opened for a head-to-head comparison with Terrapin Wake-n-Bake.

Pours a viscous, jet black in my pint glass. More accurately, it "glugged" out of the bottle with an almost Zhukov-like pour consistency. Plenty of tan head, good retention, strong lace.

Huge aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans mingles with bittersweet chocolate. Smells just like ordering a coffee "black" with a touch of malty sweetness lurking closely behind. By contrast, the Terrapin's coffee aroma was reminiscent of a "blonde" roast with plenty of caramel & bittersweet chocolate alongside.

Deep, roasted coffee & chocolate blend perfectly with malty sweetness and traces of caramel, leaving a bittersweet coffee aftertaste behind in my throat. Perfect amount of alcoholic warmth lingers alongside the bitterness. FBS' taste is smooth and refined, showcasing an impressively crafted flavor profile that few can duplicate. For an inexpensive, off-the-shelf stout, it doesn't get better than this.

Body is another area where Breakfast Stout truly shines: oatmeal does wonders for this beer's mouthfeel. Huge, creamy, and smooth with minimal interference from carbonation. WnB feels medium-bodied by comparison.

All in all, Founders Breakfast Stout remains a home-run in my book. The Terrapin is a worthy adversary, but falls short of being considered its peer. FBS is simply on another level of craftsmanship (brewmanship?) when push comes to shove. And at $12.50 for a 4-pack (in NYC -- gets as cheap as $8 in the midwest!), Breakfast Stout is unquestionably one of the best values in beer today. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2012 02:26:52 | More by brystmar

cwelsh55

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +5.1%

05-26-2013 05:23:53 | More by cwelsh55

Waveoff

Pennsylvania

1.25/5  rDev -72.3%

05-26-2013 05:12:59 | More by Waveoff

fsck

Washington

4.75/5  rDev +5.1%

05-26-2013 04:33:24 | More by fsck

Rihup

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev -0.4%

05-26-2013 03:04:58 | More by Rihup

girlbrew

District of Columbia

5/5  rDev +10.6%

05-26-2013 01:49:13 | More by girlbrew

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