Founders Nemesis 2010 - Founders Brewing Company

1Adam12

Indiana

4.22/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

When I first poured this and held it to the light I actually said "woah". It's so dark! Trying to think of a darker barleywine, and I'm not sure any come to mind. Smells of lots n lots of malt, and dark fruits. Lots of fig, and..chocolate? Smells boozi as well. Obviously detection of hops. Huge nose. Taste is big as well. Very malty and figgy. Slightly hoppy. Very sweet. Red grapes, then the finishing layers are chocolate followed by coffee. Bourbon is noticeable, and well blended into the rest of the beer. Sipping isn't consistent. Some sips taste awesome, others taste like a hot mess, this is why I gave it a 4.0. Mouthfeel is medium-full bodied, smooth. Very enjoyable beer. Not sure I could drink a ton of it only because of how sweet it is, but very nice.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2011 20:54:14 | More by 1Adam12

Mike

New Hampshire

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

05-22-2013 02:08:58 | More by Mike

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

05-22-2013 00:57:02 | More by mikeincharleston

Gosox8787

New Hampshire

4.18/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 4.25

Presentation: 12 oz. stubby bottle I have kept in the cellar for a couple years. Decided to open this up recently so I chilled this down. Poured into my Kate the Great tulip glass.

Appearance: Pours almost zero head. Surprisingly lack of carbonation. Dark brown in color but some light does get through.

Aroma: Nice earthy pine tones from the hops. Definitely a pretty strong hop presence given the age. Chocolate and caramel backing with almost no oxidation.

Taste: Pine, light citrus and a strong earthiness really take hold and dominate. The malt comes through nicely and lends a slight cocoa bitterness. Lots of chocolate and brown sugar. Hides the ABV really well.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation is definitely noticably absent. Not flat persay but close. Medium bodied.

Overall, a really nice tasty black barleywine with some nice hop character. Nicely balanced. The lack of carbonation (not sure if it just this bottle?) does not hurt this too much at all.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 23:47:32 | More by Gosox8787

ackeeper

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

05-21-2013 02:02:13 | More by ackeeper

InspectorBob

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

05-20-2013 14:30:48 | More by InspectorBob

Photekut

Azerbaijan

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

05-19-2013 00:39:23 | More by Photekut

mscudder

Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

05-18-2013 17:41:11 | More by mscudder

EROCK75

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

05-13-2013 15:50:05 | More by EROCK75

kscaldef

Oregon

2.5/5  rDev -40.3%

05-09-2013 21:12:36 | More by kscaldef

2beerdogs

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

05-09-2013 05:53:53 | More by 2beerdogs

hilgart1

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

05-08-2013 00:22:43 | More by hilgart1

Pecafaced

Maryland

4/5  rDev -4.5%

04-30-2013 23:24:40 | More by Pecafaced

pmoney

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -16.5%

04-29-2013 19:24:23 | More by pmoney

zachattack555

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -4.5%

04-28-2013 20:18:24 | More by zachattack555

spycow

Illinois

4/5  rDev -4.5%

04-26-2013 22:51:21 | More by spycow

SaxmanRick

Minnesota

4.75/5  rDev +13.4%

04-26-2013 16:37:20 | More by SaxmanRick

skaboom420

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -10.5%

04-26-2013 11:00:21 | More by skaboom420

Steve_Oldrati

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -4.5%

04-26-2013 06:44:48 | More by Steve_Oldrati

phishbfm

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

04-26-2013 02:20:21 | More by phishbfm

szmnnl99

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

04-19-2013 01:28:16 | More by szmnnl99

JohnnieNepal

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

04-19-2013 01:26:53 | More by JohnnieNepal

cadaugherty

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

04-16-2013 18:57:52 | More by cadaugherty

KFBR392

Illinois

4.01/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A local micropub sat on their keg of this until today when they unleashed it.

Appearance: Very dark, almost pitch black. No head to speak of, beside a very thin lacing on the edges of the glass. Above average lacing on the edges of the glass with each drink.

Smell: Very subdued overall. A lot of strong booze/bourbon, vanilla, hops, and barley. The barley comes off very potent.

Taste: The front is a silky vanilla bourbon booze ride. The body evens out and shows off the strong accents of barley. Finish is medium dry alcohol bite. There is some decent complexity here but overall nothing outstanding.

Mouthfeel: Cleans off the palette, almost dangerously drinkable. Good thing my girlfriend was with me to drive, this one went down awfully quick.

Overall: I was so excited to hear about the Founder's take over which included this great brew. Definitely had the feel of a well aged barleywine. I will definitely be going back for some more.

Serving type: on-tap

04-16-2013 02:54:43 | More by KFBR392

Ego

New Jersey

4.08/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

happy to find this little gem hiding in my cellar... if I remember correctly I picked this up in the outer banks... ah, good times.

eyes...
a small head pops up but quickly quiets down to an o-ring, legs are apparent given the booze in this puppy, dark brown hue with some ruby highlights, a few columns of marching bubbles encircle the bottom of the glass, everything is in line for the style

nose...
hops in the distance, mellowed booze, wafts of subtle chocolate, sweetish prunes, that tangy barleywine thing is going on, hard to quantify it, I remember the first time I sniffed a Bigfoot (the beer, not a sasquatch ya putz), it reminds me of that minus the hop grenade shoved up my face snatch

taste etc...
smooth with subtle carbonation, not quite silky, the carbonation bites a touch too which is nice, the flavor is pretty subdued 3 years out but there is still a twinge of hop punch in there, mostly in the after glow, the alcohol is not hidden but is not harsh, you know it is there. there is a slight ashen flavor in there which makes me think this is not aging all that well, you get the sweet prune flavors, the hops, and a nice full mouthfeel.

verdict?
3 years out this is pretty mellow but still packs a punch, a quality beer that still holds up.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 04:35:47 | More by Ego