Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) - Founders Brewing Company

BrownNut

Florida

4.59/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2/17/12 bottling drunk on 10/16/12. Served barely cool in a tulip.
2/17/12 bottling drunk on 4/30/13. Served barely cool in a tulip.
Scores based on 2012 tasting.

A - 4.0 - Opaque dark brown in the glass yet not thick or inky on the pour. More dark tan head than expected (a finger), which still dissipates to a cap in a minute. A nice looking head while it lasts.

S - 4.5 - Straight up coffee, wood, a little pipe tobacco, nonspecific booze. Later in the glass the wood becomes more prominent. 2013 tasting - Slightly green wood blending into something savory on the edge of soy sauce but not quite, chocolate, just a hint of something like port or sherry, a little char, malty sweet caramel. The first three things I just listed come together almost like a Tootsie Roll, and also almost like the faded ghost of coffee taste. The coffee has really pretty much left it since six months ago.

T - 4.75 - Dark bitter chocolate balanced with some coffee. Those things border on a subdued char. Not very sweet. A nice bitterness coming from multiple elements - chocolate, coffee, char. Leaves a lingering tartness immediately upon swallowing, with coffee and and wood on the exhale. Aside from general booze fumes in the throat afterwards, I'm not really picking up a specific bourbon note like many others have. Maybe I'm immune from drinking too much bourbon over time. Later in the glass, the chocolate is sweeter, like the bottom of a glass of chocolate milk you've mixed yourself. Leaves me with coffee breath and for once I like it. 2013 tasting - Taste is similar to smell. The savory woody element, the chocolate, the mild char. Mild to moderate char aftertaste. The coffee has faded and the chocolate seems sweeter and less dark/bitter. I'd probably give it a 4.5 at this age rather than a 4.75.

M - 4.5 - Just shy of medium body. Very smooth. A little lingering sting on the tongue. 2013 tasting - Comes across closer to medium-heavy than 2012 tasting. A nice texture ending in a bit of stickiness. The previously noted sting comes across more like a faint numbness and abrasion at this point.

O - 4.5 - This is a mature beer, and no pun intended. It's a grown-up stout that doesn't lean heavily on syrupy sweetness. A number of the big stouts are like drinking pudding, which I like a lot, but which can make them seem more like rare, special occasion beers. And sometimes they really make you work, making you go slow lest you be punished with too much intensity. This one is robust and rich yet with a drinkable body. You still want to sip it because of how well it is made, but its body and balance put it more in the category of normal beer that you'd like to have anytime, not just when clearing out the schedule for a special occasion, even though it's definitely special. One of the top 5 beers I've had to date. 2013 tasting - Very nice, very enjoyable, very mature, very distinct, very memorable. It's one of the top beers for good reasons. The coffee fades over time and it seems to come across thicker with more age. Still one of the best and most memorable.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2012 00:01:29 | More by BrownNut

Hoozierdaddy

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev -3%

05-24-2013 05:18:54 | More by Hoozierdaddy

SwG237

New York

4.5/5  rDev -3%

05-24-2013 03:50:17 | More by SwG237

BeerGardener

Nebraska

5/5  rDev +7.8%

05-24-2013 03:42:32 | More by BeerGardener

WKole81

Illinois

5/5  rDev +7.8%

05-24-2013 03:05:15 | More by WKole81

Jeremy_H

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev -3%

05-24-2013 01:49:13 | More by Jeremy_H

berserka

Rhode Island

5/5  rDev +7.8%

05-24-2013 01:39:22 | More by berserka

BrendanTownsend

New Hampshire

5/5  rDev +7.8%

05-24-2013 01:27:16 | More by BrendanTownsend

ATXboozer

Texas

4.75/5  rDev +2.4%

05-23-2013 23:44:50 | More by ATXboozer

Billz187

Ohio

4.75/5  rDev +2.4%

05-23-2013 23:39:16 | More by Billz187

tipfortap

New York

4.84/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

5 words to describe it: Burnt Sugar, Fudgey, Chewy, Roasty, Smooth

Paired it with: CBS

Should have paired it with: Actual breakfast. Pancakes or French toast.

Drink it if you like: Silent killers; any oatmeal, coffee, or chocolate porter or stout.

A few other thoughts: KBS is by far my favorite of the Breakfasts. It was SO smooth and velvety, and hid its 11.2% ABV remarkably well. It’s sweeter and creamier than the CBS, and has none of that licorice funk that I found in its sibling. It’s just an amazingly balanced, practically perfect beer.

Serving type: on-tap

05-23-2013 19:30:30 | More by tipfortap

Boston_Steve

Massachusetts

4.75/5  rDev +2.4%

05-23-2013 19:13:10 | More by Boston_Steve

Dpayne

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev -3%

05-23-2013 00:54:00 | More by Dpayne

Stickler

Michigan

5/5  rDev +7.8%

05-23-2013 00:41:43 | More by Stickler

JoeStepOner

Michigan

4.75/5  rDev +2.4%

05-22-2013 22:48:21 | More by JoeStepOner

kizyle

Georgia

4/5  rDev -13.8%

05-22-2013 13:20:51 | More by kizyle

Pinche_Oso

California

4.5/5  rDev -3%

05-22-2013 06:04:46 | More by Pinche_Oso

stooge

Michigan

4.75/5  rDev +2.4%

05-22-2013 05:43:17 | More by stooge

bkonk10

Indiana

4.75/5  rDev +2.4%

05-22-2013 01:56:09 | More by bkonk10

Claytonbrewsby

Virginia

5/5  rDev +7.8%

05-22-2013 01:27:08 | More by Claytonbrewsby

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

4.25/5  rDev -8.4%

05-22-2013 01:00:48 | More by mikeincharleston

Lasering

Florida

4.5/5  rDev -3%

05-22-2013 00:19:00 | More by Lasering

msinger1002

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev -3%

05-21-2013 22:54:11 | More by msinger1002

smooth_aleing

Pennsylvania

4.91/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Was finally able to check out the bottle, and well-worth the wait (and hype!).

A= Pours a jet black color, with a one-finger, mocha colored head. Head is good and frothy, and settles down to nice layer of foam, with excellent lacing.

S= Immediately, dark chocolate and strong espresso. Notes of cherry, with underlying whiff of bourbon. Incredible.

T= Big, big chocolate notes. Espresso follows strongly, with notes of dark cherry, bourbon, and roasted malts. Just wonderful.

M= Great, molasses-like feel. Thicker than most stouts of tried, but not at all too heavy, despite of the high ABV. Flavor is excellently-layered on the palate.

O= Lives up to all the hype. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 22:38:33 | More by smooth_aleing

projektyle

New Hampshire

5/5  rDev +7.8%

05-21-2013 22:26:28 | More by projektyle