Founders Pale Ale - Founders Brewing Company

jwinship83

Illinois

4.33/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle picked up at the brewpub. drank from my samuel adams perfect pint glass.

A- the pour yields a translucent copper colored body under a small bright white head. the head takes its time falling, and leaves behind small spots of lacing.

S- the hops become apparent as soon as the beer is in my glass. lots of grapefruit and pine wafting from my glass. after that i pick up on a small amount of sweet caramel malts.

T- the taste stats out with some caramel malts which add a level of sweetness to this and tries to balance out the hops, which come next. grapefruit and pine in large amounts. lots of floral notes as well.

M- nicely bitter. the body is on the upper side of light. the carbonation is just where it should be.

O- one of the best pale ales out there. it gives sierra nevada a run for its money. check this out if you havnt yet.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2011 22:06:13 | More by jwinship83

deadliest

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +21%

05-25-2013 04:02:41 | More by deadliest

jaswilson2

South Carolina

2.5/5  rDev -32.8%

05-25-2013 01:58:34 | More by jaswilson2

goochpunch

Texas

3.75/5  rDev +0.8%

05-25-2013 01:05:23 | More by goochpunch

Pegasus

Texas

4/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Dark copper in color, with a massive, somewhat coarse, incredibly persistent off-white head, The carbonation is fine, profuse, and fast-rising. The lacing is utterly glass-coating.

Aroma: Massive burst of pine tar and grapefruit hops, and a good bit of toasted malt, quite pleasant.

Taste: Opens with juice citrus and to a lesser extent, pine tar hops, backed by a substantial toasted malt presence. As the taste progresses, the sweet malt is present, but the hops dominate throughout. Finishes with a long, moderate, but lingering hop note.

Mouth feel: Smooth, soft, very pleasant.

Drinkability/notes: A very rewarding example of the style.

Presentation: packaged in a stubby twelve-ounce brown glass bottle with a twist-off crown, served in a New Belgium Brewing chalice.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2013 00:47:14 | More by Pegasus

NickSMpls

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -5.9%

05-22-2013 23:26:11 | More by NickSMpls

Molson2000

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -5.9%

05-22-2013 22:17:30 | More by Molson2000

Envelopes

Ohio

3.25/5  rDev -12.6%

05-21-2013 05:40:50 | More by Envelopes

InspectorBob

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +0.8%

05-20-2013 14:26:50 | More by InspectorBob

touchmeimsac

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +0.8%

05-20-2013 13:26:34 | More by touchmeimsac

thampel09

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +0.8%

05-20-2013 03:57:24 | More by thampel09

stoney1031

Texas

4/5  rDev +7.5%

05-20-2013 00:50:34 | More by stoney1031

Dools9

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +7.5%

05-18-2013 16:02:32 | More by Dools9

Nyknick1

New York

3.5/5  rDev -5.9%

05-18-2013 10:18:27 | More by Nyknick1

bigbeers84

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +0.8%

05-18-2013 09:51:31 | More by bigbeers84

melisassy

Massachusetts

2/5  rDev -46.2%

05-18-2013 01:58:37 | More by melisassy

thaghost

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -5.9%

05-17-2013 17:34:49 | More by thaghost

capnamerica

Arkansas

3.75/5  rDev +0.8%

05-17-2013 15:04:48 | More by capnamerica

ZEB89

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +0.8%

05-17-2013 01:59:07 | More by ZEB89

magictacosinus

California

3.1/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Gotta say, I love the artwork on this bottle, although the name is slightly generic yet gets to the point. There's a label on the bottle that says this was bottled on "11/21/12," so it's quite old at this point.

Pours a cloudy, orange-amber color that leaves some bubbles and lacing temporarily at the side of the glass. Hardly any head, which quickly dissipates into nothing. Looks like it's on its way to getting past its prime, but nothing in presenting itself for what it is.

The aroma was what I feared based on the bottling date - while there is a faint, classic Cascade hop profile, filled with some earthiness, slight piney flavors, and a dash of citrus, it really seems to have faded quite drastically by now. There's a bit of caramel and honey from the malts, and a huge cracked grainy flavor, but by now I can only assume how much the hops have descended from their former glory. There's hardly any dry hopped astringency to speak of, in fact, and overall it smells pretty muted, almost to the point of being oxidized. Nothing smells wrong, just bland, almost like cardboard.

Right at the front, there's a classic hop citrus flavor from the Cascade, as well as touch of crisp graininess combined with malty faded toffee full-bodied flavors. If someone handed this to me in a blind tasting and told me that it was a SN pale ale, I would have instantly believed them, although I would said that it was a rather old batch. And while it holds up well, I believe age is a major factor here in deciding this beer's greatness. There's some slight lemon rind flavors, a bit of earthy grains that are astringent but not too long lasting, and decent carbonation, which is only hindered by the thinned body of the beer. Pine and floral flavors come in and out. Not bad, but nothing too great to write home about.

Even this old, this is a drinkable beer, although I can't tell where the dry hopping has really played a part here. Dry hopped pale ales are becoming my new favorite thing, so to see it so muted at this point is rather saddening. I bought this two weeks ago, and broke it from a six pack, but I've no clue why it was still sitting around. It still is crisp, and amazingly resemblant to the flagship West Coast PA flavor, but it has way too much lemon going in on in it, and not enough else other than the earthy grains. Not horrible, but not up to par on Founders' standards.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2013 07:40:18 | More by magictacosinus

JoyHelfrich

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -12.6%

05-15-2013 05:02:22 | More by JoyHelfrich

Omnium

Pennsylvania

3.71/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Bottle > Pint Glass

A - Pours super murky light orange, less than a half a finger of head, no signifigant lacing.
S - Faint aromas of sweet caramel malts, with some dry pine and earthy hop scents.
T - The sweet caramel and other malts in this are really off for a pale ale, especially a dry hopped one, but on that note it does finish with a nice dry pine bitterness.
M - Odd flavors linger, and its not well carbonated.
O - Weird brew that doesnt really match up to its label or class.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2013 04:35:56 | More by Omnium

chefhatt

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

I poured this into a glass, it has a orange amber colored body with a thin tan heas. The smell has sweet malt aroma with a hint of hops, The taste has a very nice malt up front then the hops come right after. the bitterness of the hops leave a nice resdue on the back of the tongue. Overall this is a good pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2013 01:46:27 | More by chefhatt

Bustersuess

New York

3.75/5  rDev +0.8%

05-14-2013 19:07:47 | More by Bustersuess

Mcvs1507

Indiana

3.5/5  rDev -5.9%

05-14-2013 03:56:40 | More by Mcvs1507