Founders Looking Glass - Founders Brewing Company

mcallister

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

02-19-2012 14:56:03 | More by mcallister

AndrewKroll

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

03-22-2013 02:21:27 | More by AndrewKroll

randylangford

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

02-11-2013 04:36:58 | More by randylangford

gratefulbeerhead

Indiana

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

12-24-2012 12:31:24 | More by gratefulbeerhead

Arandy05

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

12-04-2012 07:55:14 | More by Arandy05

strohme2

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

09-07-2012 01:44:52 | More by strohme2

ROBSTARR

Michigan

5/5  rDev +19.3%

07-21-2012 19:44:51 | More by ROBSTARR

monitorpop

Michigan

4/5  rDev -4.5%

07-12-2012 03:16:02 | More by monitorpop

brycevolk

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

06-28-2012 19:07:04 | More by brycevolk

ccozzi

Illinois

4/5  rDev -4.5%

05-29-2012 23:13:02 | More by ccozzi

Eriogonum

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -4.5%

02-21-2012 20:50:34 | More by Eriogonum

JDizzle

Indiana

4.83/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had on tap a while back at Founders.

My favorite beer to date at Founders. DT is my favorite DIPA and this adds a new dimension to it. Such a good barrel flavor comes through. A little more of an alcohol burn from the higher ABV, but easily tolerable. Not as bitter as DT either. I wish they would release this again.

Serving type: on-tap

02-18-2012 19:26:44 | More by JDizzle

SuperNova777

Indiana

4/5  rDev -4.5%

02-15-2012 00:42:28 | More by SuperNova777

amrozga

Michigan

4/5  rDev -4.5%

12-09-2011 20:38:52 | More by amrozga

PhatAtUT

Texas

5/5  rDev +19.3%

12-03-2011 03:07:55 | More by PhatAtUT

frisk

Texas

4/5  rDev -4.5%

12-02-2011 20:41:21 | More by frisk

Gtg642

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

11-16-2011 15:35:40 | More by Gtg642

THEOPTIMATOR88

Illinois

4/5  rDev -4.5%

11-16-2011 04:39:03 | More by THEOPTIMATOR88

surlytheduff

Michigan

4/5  rDev -4.5%

11-14-2011 18:23:44 | More by surlytheduff

klipper

Michigan

4/5  rDev -4.5%

11-14-2011 07:22:07 | More by klipper

cluth

Indiana

4.85/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Absurdly good. Crisp and deep. I was a bit hesitant with Kaiser Curmudgeon being the first pints we ordered, but I took a chance with this beer as it was one I'd never seen bottled. I was well rewarded. Founders has a way with beer that few breweries are able to match. The taste was distinct and good. From the first sip I wished I had ordered two as busy as the bar was. Definitely one that should be bottled for mass consumption.

Serving type: on-tap

05-22-2011 04:45:29 | More by cluth

alleykatking

Indiana

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

Came to me on tap at Fiddler's.

A- Pours a golden orange with light red hue when the light hits it. One finger white head shows great retention pretty much staying the entire time. Nice sheeting lace on the sides of the glass. A fantastic looking beer.

S- Citrus hops right off the get go with a caramel malt underbody that shines through a lot of aroma. Light wood notes mixes along with a honey and green apple scent. Alcohol isn't very apparent or at least as much as the other people have said. Light pine hops in the ending of the aroma seem to have faded a little while aging.

T- The hops do come out first with a nice citrus blast. The caramel malt underbody stays from the start to ending. The barrel aging comes out toward the middle of the beer with notes of wood, vanilla, and some sweet grape skins. The ending of the beer to me had some light alcohol at the ending that was a little on the sweet side...brandy forward for sure. Piney hops come out as well along with some more barrel notes...more oaky than anything else.

M- Medium mouthfeel. Carbonation was a little light for the style. Caramel malts, green apple, and oak left on the palate. Piney hops, sweet alcohol, oak, and caramel malts left in the aftertaste. Flavors are well balanced I thought for an aged beer. No off flavors at all in this beer. Medium drying on the palate from the alcohol.

D- This beer was very easy drinking and I had many glasses of it. I can see why people choose brandy barrels now after tasting this. The alcohol comes out a little sweeter and not so in your face like bourbon barrels. There was a higher ABV but it did not drink like that at all. A mellow version I thought of Double Trouble but it worked out very well. I will be looking for more brandy barrel aged beers.

Serving type: on-tap

01-27-2011 04:25:55 | More by alleykatking

zoso1967

Michigan

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

Served up at the taproom, this beer is a slightly hazy burnt orange color. It has a small parchment head that leaves surprisingly nice lace on the sides of the snifter, given that this is a barrel aged beer.

The aroma is boozy and sweet, spiked with citrus hops and a bit of spice. It also has a slight buttery character and plenty of caramel. This smells a lot like an old, but not too old, double IPA with some extra earth and heat.

The flavor is an interesting mix of sweet caramel malt, honey, grapefruit, pine, oak and brandy. Aging a double IPA in brandy actually makes a lot of sense now that I taste it. The sweetness from the beer shows through and mixes well with the sweetness of the brandy.

The mouthfeel is medium and, though it is a bit sticky, quite nice. The carbonation seems about right and though it is fairly sweet overall, the high hopping rate gives it a tingly dry finish.

Looking glass is quite smooth and despite the stickiness in the finish, I found it to be a very drinkable sipper of a beer. I can't say that this is the sort of beer I would go for time after time, but I think Founders accomplished a very nice marriage of malt, hops, brandy and wood in this beer. Definitely worth trying if you have the chance.

Serving type: on-tap

01-04-2011 15:48:46 | More by zoso1967

cadaugherty

Illinois

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

Brandy Barrel Double Trouble on tap at the Founders tasting room.

Appearance- Light gold with a small but lasting head. Good lacing.

Aroma- Sweet honey right up front. After a couple sniffs the hops come out with a light citrus note.

Taste- Oak, vanilla, honey, with a rather crisp light bitterness at the end. This is really sweet at first but it unfolds into a much more complex bunch of flavors after a minute.

Mouth/Drink- Perhaps a touch thick with not as much carbonation as I would like but overall pretty nice and smooth.

I think the brandy really makes this a completely different beer. If the bartender hadn't said it was Double Trouble aged in Brandy I would never have guessed.

Serving type: on-tap

12-31-2010 01:22:29 | More by cadaugherty

jampics2

Ohio

4.33/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Brewzilla, the grand tasting of Cleveland Beer Week 2010.

I took an informal poll and each and every person I asked at Brewzilla thought this beer was a reference to Alice in Wonderland. That means everyone was wrong. In order to really appreciate this beer, we need to take a trip. Not a trip down the rabbit hole, but a trip back in time.

Our destination? A time when life was simpler and music was music. August 26th, 1972. The end of the era of Freedom Rock. The week when 'Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)' by pop-rock quartet Looking Glass hit number one on the charts.

Just like the album cover of the 'Golden Classics' album, the beer posed and polished but still a bit rough around the edges. It is a hazy copper color with some gold and orange highlights. A nice head remains and some lacing is noted on the glass. But the haze and slightly dirty color stop this from certified platnum status.

Looking Glass suffered from a problem common to many groups. People came to Looking Glass concerts yearning for the same kind of New York pop sound they'd heard on "Brandy." They got bits and pieces of that sound, but they also had some gritty and dirty bar rock. Likewise, the aromas of Founders Looking Glass come close but don't live up to the billing. There's some hoppiness and some prominent barrel notes, stacked atop some subdued sweet malt and brandy. But the amazing thing is how these come together. Some vanilla and wood make the brandy and hops play nicely together. But the hops are past their prime and just miss the mark.

Everyone knew "Brandy". But fans had no insight into the band Looking Glass. In the end, these four men never quite established their own musical identity. That same problem stops the taste of Founders Looking Glass from making it to the hall of fame. The beer has some sweet malt and brandy with a touch of booziness and liquor sting. The barrel is mild and lets the hops shine through with pine and some grapefruit and mango. But nothing makes this identifiable or unique - the brandy just melts away and the signature hops of the base beer (Double Trouble) are faded and washed-up. It's nothing like Founders 'Hand of Doom' where the barrel treatment makes the beer an entirely different beast.

The beer's mouthfeel is creamy carbonation without too much pop. As for drinkability, this beer happened to be a one-hit wonder. But those who got to experience it live will always remember that simpler time. A time when Looking Glass topped the charts before fading into obscurity. And, as the song says:

"Brandy, you're a fine girl
What a good wife you would be
But my life, my lover, my lady
Is the sea"
(The CBS that is)

Serving type: on-tap

11-03-2010 16:17:45 | More by jampics2