Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) - Founders Brewing Company

Pahn

New York

4.9/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

12oz bottle into Duvel tulip. Bottled 2/25/11, drank on 4/24/11.

Appearance: Free pour yields a one and a half inch frothy tan head that dissipates slowly leaving short-lived rings of lacing. Pours a viscous black with brown highlights. Leaves short-lived lacing walls and tight peaks and spots of lasting lacing.

Smell: Bottle: like a bottle of bourbon. Glass: Sweet dark fruits, mild light coffee, some vanilla. Some booziness and unsweetened chocolate come out quickly. Chocolate chip cookie, raisin, mild breadiness.

The smell is really nice. It's not busy, but constantly evolving; there's usually three or four discernible notes present, and each one is full of character. For example, halfway through some great molasses and savory aromas start to emerge (tempered by lingering vanilla), which soon give way to more raisin and bourbon.

Taste: First sip is bourbon and coffee ice cream up front, segueing to a delicious and complex barrage of decadent liqueur flavors through to the oaky vanilla finish. Surprisingly smooth and clean finish, with the heat mainly showing up in the beginning. However, the heat builds up and becomes a constant background for the ultimately long and good aftertaste.

Oak and bourbon influence all the (numerous) flavors here, but only occasionally stand out as a distinct bourbon note. The advertised 70 IBUs are apparently just enough, because the beer doesn't strike me as too rich or too sweet or too bitter. The flavor is strong but not harsh; there's sort of a coffee bean essence, chocolate chip highlights, lots of chocolate cake and even more (bourbon-influenced) liqueur flavors, marrying together perfectly.

While the beer's aroma is a constantly evolving set of three or four notes, the taste is a symphony. It is the powerhouse people make it out to be (the flavors are all bold), but everything is sublimely palatable and complimentary. The brewers have extracted an unbelievable amount of (always balanced!) flavor from the ingredients and processes that went into making this beer.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied. Smooth, but not quite creamy. Great bitter bite going into the hot finish. Finish occasionally clean, occasionally semi-dry.

Overall: Flawless beer. Merits the hype surrounding it. One bottle of KBS is like getting the best of many other world class stouts in one glass. I'm not one to give points for hype or rarity either; I'm a practical man who would ideally be able to buy 5.0 beers whenever I go to the bottle shop--I don't like hassle. This beer is worth the trouble of finding it (though I, as usual in my life, just sort of happened upon it).

The more Founders beers I have, the more I'm convinced that they're probably the most talented brewers in America today. KBS is a triumphant bourbon barrel aged imperial stout, and a further testament to the brewery's greatness... and I'm trying hard here to temper my gushing about how amazing this beer is.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2011 22:04:55 | More by Pahn

ha-sheem

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev -3%

06-19-2013 20:54:36 | More by ha-sheem

t_carterb

Georgia

4.75/5  rDev +2.4%

06-19-2013 15:43:20 | More by t_carterb

StlHopHead77

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +2.4%

06-19-2013 14:33:50 | More by StlHopHead77

vibhav

Georgia

4.5/5  rDev -3%

06-19-2013 04:32:53 | More by vibhav

SatlyMalty

Washington

5/5  rDev +7.8%

06-19-2013 04:26:49 | More by SatlyMalty

taylor714914

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev -3%

06-18-2013 23:02:46 | More by taylor714914

His_Royal_Hoppiness

United Kingdom (England)

4.25/5  rDev -8.4%

06-18-2013 20:53:24 | More by His_Royal_Hoppiness

Scalawags

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -8.4%

06-18-2013 16:06:03 | More by Scalawags

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

4.95/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

2013 Vintage. Poured from a bottle into mug, the beer is jet black, and pours heavy, with no head and only the slightest dark brown ring of film around the surface. It literally poured like motor oil, and it looks delicious. Aromas of wood and earth, with a backbone of rich chocolate and touches of smoke, highlighted by booze. Flavors are robust, with a smoky, woody forward flavor followed quickly by dark, bitter baker's chocolate and rich, full, roasted coffee. Wow, this one is layered, and it is unbelievably smooth. Smoke and roast fills the senses, as well as the palate, throughout each drink. Creamy vanilla highlights, with a warming sensation from the heightened ABV. This is tremendous. Smooth, full, and creamy in mouth, with an almost velvet feel. Roast and coffee on the aftertaste, with hints of booze. Dry, roasted finish, with a smoked and woody linger. This is a fantastic brew, and I can only imagine it would age very, very well.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2013 02:50:19 | More by GarthDanielson

phishbone23

New York

4.75/5  rDev +2.4%

06-18-2013 02:19:57 | More by phishbone23

SawyerMI

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev -3%

06-18-2013 00:56:10 | More by SawyerMI

KyleMA

California

4.5/5  rDev -3%

06-17-2013 23:49:40 | More by KyleMA

Danimal1101

New York

5/5  rDev +7.8%

06-17-2013 22:27:23 | More by Danimal1101

rlee1390

Indiana

4.65/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Had side by side with Parabola, blind and Parabola won

A-Dark, dark black. Some lacing is left.

S-Coffee chocolate, molasses and roasted malt, strong bourbon notes as well. Coffee becomes more present as it warms

T-So sweet! Chocolate, roasted malt and coffee. Some molasses and vanilla are apparent as well. Some bitterness in the finish. Great balance. When compared to Parabola the sweetness was a tad much, the coffee is much stronger than in other Imperial Stouts.

M-Thick and syrupy. Very smooth.

O-Wow. Going to DLD was worth it for this beer. I can't believe how easy drinking as smooth this great tasting beer is.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2013 20:18:23 | More by rlee1390

bird22

California

4.5/5  rDev -3%

06-17-2013 04:16:58 | More by bird22

dantsbeats

New York

3.25/5  rDev -30%

06-17-2013 00:41:05 | More by dantsbeats

MgoJohnStamos

Michigan

4.75/5  rDev +2.4%

06-16-2013 19:44:10 | More by MgoJohnStamos

Rocklobsterbrew

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev -8.4%

06-16-2013 18:18:39 | More by Rocklobsterbrew

ChrisYager39

Indiana

5/5  rDev +7.8%

06-16-2013 17:36:41 | More by ChrisYager39

BradleyR

Oklahoma

4.5/5  rDev -3%

06-16-2013 06:17:41 | More by BradleyR

IndyDad

New York

4.75/5  rDev +2.4%

06-16-2013 02:22:39 | More by IndyDad

horsecorosous

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev -3%

06-16-2013 01:17:33 | More by horsecorosous

stogirelli

Florida

4/5  rDev -13.8%

06-16-2013 01:06:26 | More by stogirelli

Brenden

Ohio

4.86/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Finally.

KBS is black with that "motor oil" viscosity present in such a big stout. The brown head is surprising; it's not huge, but it's actually pretty large. It's also thick, creamy, dense and a bit craggy, and it's got some stick to it, making itself known by way of heavy patching in good quantities.
The nose is big. The nose is robust. The nose is massively malty. A huge blending of powdered, creamy milk, and bittersweet chocolate, cold-brewed coffee, roast, barley, vanilla, and oak, with expressive but not overpoweringly boozy bourbon make for what had to be exactly what this beer was going for. The bourbon, in fact, doesn't show off just ethanol; it's the good stuff, and it's the right level for this beer. Perfect.
This stuff is stupidly complex, big rich, and delicious. Everything from the nose is here, from milky and bittersweet chocolate to fresh coffee to wood to vanilla to bourbon, along with something like a hint of cherry. Then, as if it's not enough, there's even a dose of hops; and the hops still let the malts dominate. Roast gives way to the slightest bit of char. it's just so close to perfect...I almost wonder if just the faintest hint more bourbon would do it.
Big, thick, rich, robust, creamy to the point of being like the even smoother love child of velvet and silk, this is everything you want when an imperial stout is making love to your mouth. Somehow it's this big, this viscous and hearty, without being overly filling. I wouldn't have thought it possible.

Jump on the hype train, because there's a reason it left the station.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 23:05:07 | More by Brenden