Founders Porter - Founders Brewing Company

paco1029384756

Illinois

4.47/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a very dark brown color with one finger of short lived tan head.

Scent of chocolate, cream, roasted malts, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon. Full and rich, but not overpowering, this is one nice smelling Porter.

Taste of roasted malts, chocolate, hints of dark fruits, and some cream. Without being too strong, this beer has a nice robust flavor, but is light on the tongue.

Mouthfeel is light bodied and creamy smooth with some carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2009 05:10:44 | More by paco1029384756

antzman

Indiana

4.35/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle. Pours a deep brown with a thin medium brown head. The aroma is full of coffee, chocolate and malts. A very roasted malt flavor comes through with a hint of chocolate, coffee, and even some nuttiness. The hops are very muted, but come through at the very end of the sip. This drank almost like a stout, but had a tremendous flavor and body. A huge porter.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2009 19:54:24 | More by antzman

farrago

New Jersey

4.13/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours completely jet black with a dark brown head of mixed bubble size and above average lacing, pretty much looks like a stout. Big time roast to the nose, caramelized dark chocolate, cocoa bean slather the grape, raisin, date fruit scents, mixes in grilled nuts and oatmeal, very difficult to tease out any scent evocative of hops. Medium-bodied, quite firm and would be more so were it not for the in-your-face carbonation which continually churns things up. The toasty, roasty chocolate, cocoa, mocha still in effect, here there's a fried fresh butter element as well. The nuttiness more penetrating while the grape, cherry, fig flavors pull back a notch. Drying texture may be the reason for difference, tactile trumps the olfactory. The finish needs more of an exclamation point, not clean per se but has lifted off the palate by then.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2009 00:26:12 | More by farrago

atsprings

North Carolina

3.98/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle into a standard pint glass. Poured a nice almost opaque black with a thin diminishing head. Aroma was dark malts and slight cocoa. The taste was a blend of burnt dark malts and rich bitter chocolate. The beer was light bodied with smooth carbonation. This is a very enjoyable porter.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2009 16:36:15 | More by atsprings

DefenCorps

Oregon

4.05/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Grabbed the last bottle of this at Capone's the other day. Into my snifter

A: Pours a VERY impressive jet black with a dark brown head that recedes to a wispy disk rather quickly.

S: Oh, the smell of uninfected beer is awesome! Solid, roasted malt aromas with a hint of chocolate and some cream. The balance is leaning towards the burnt/heavily roasted malt, the way I like it. Excellent

T: Solid. Biggish in body with plenty of heavily roasted/burnt malt present (almost a touch too much?) with an excellent dark chocolate bitterness. The big body does push things a bit into stout territory but the burnt malt character is definitely porter-like. Finishes sweet with a bit too much roastiness for my liking

M: Uncharacteristically big (enjoyable, though) with soft carbonation and a burnt-bitter finish

D: The biggish body and the bitterness on the finish don't make this a session porter but neither does the 6.5% I will definitely drink this again, though

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2009 05:05:59 | More by DefenCorps

ndekke39

Ohio

4.43/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Drank a bottle of this, dated from December, decanted into my KBS glass (holla!). Pours an opaque brownish-black. The slightest hint of head. Head is off-white. Aromas of coffee and chocolate. Tastes of espresso, dark chocolate. Strong malty center with a bitter finish (again the dark chocolate). Medium thickness to it. This is an excellent drinkable porter. Dynamic aromas and flavors, without that hard, watery bitterness that comes with a lot of porters.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2009 02:03:34 | More by ndekke39

JDV

Texas

4.55/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Bottle in trade from ROBORB. Thanks man! Pours a rich dark black with a medium lived tan head. Smell is roasty malt, coffee and is quite nutty as well. Taste is very richly roasted, dark bitter chocolate, roasted coffee beans, bitter charred malt, and just really nice. A pretty substantial amount of bitterness either from the hops or the charred malt. Body is medium to full with medium carbonation. Damn tasty and easily one of the best porters I've had. How is this not a stout, and why is it not a year round beer?

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2009 04:11:54 | More by JDV

madtowndmb1

Wisconsin

4.25/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I'm not the biggest porter fan but this one is very good! It poured a dark magenta/brownish. The smell was almost all like a sweet coffee, and brown sugar? The taste was fabulous! I loved the coffee I got out of it finished by a sweet brown sugar, way back on the tongue. I could drink a bunch of thesewithout getting bored of them

I'd try this if you could get your hand son it!

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2009 03:45:30 | More by madtowndmb1

WakeandBake

Michigan

4.68/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A dark black color ,with some ruby tones if you hold it to a really strong light, thick lasting light brown head,with very nice lacing. Sweet aroma of coco powder,and fudge,very nice,a hint of the dark roasted barly as it warms.Flavor is awesome,like dark chocolate and good coffee in layers.A touch of the roast at the end ,and just slightly bitter. Medium body ,smooth creamy mouthfeel. The best Porter I have had to date and and maby the best beer. An honor to drink. Thank you Founders !

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2009 01:46:36 | More by WakeandBake

malty

Michigan

4.28/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This is from Founders first mass bottling since it went 'underground' a few years ago. The neck label reads 6.5% ABV. I'd say no more than 4 weeks old.

Pours as black as night with a dense 1/2" khaki head. No highlights or edges emerge from the body. Good thick rings of lace all the way down.

The nose is a perfect trifecta of milk chocolate, freshly chopped almonds and vanilla nougat. After a few swirls, a semi-charred dark malt base creeps-up as the chocolate spreads its loving arms to give you a hug.

At first quaff, the charred dark malts I smelled a few minutes ago translate into a roasty malty funfest of flavor. No hops were evident in the nose, but boy do they lend a beautiful dry & bitter counterbalance to the sweet & chocolaty foundation. The flavors are masterfully balanced and ultra fresh. There's a clean flavor running through the middle that gives the tongue a bit of a break from the full-on barrage of big, sweet & semi-bitter notes. Its almost like you can taste the brewer's water, but the flavor doesn't bottom out or diminish in the least.

Mouthfeel is velvety smooth, full bodied with a carbonation level that's moderate and fine.

Drinkablity is way high to the sky. Flavorful and balanced that's well suited for the cold weather.

I've been reacquainted with this wonderful beer that used to be readily available on store shelves until (around) 2005. It's everything I remember with just a bit more 'oomph'. If you know Founders, they never slack on bringing the full flavor, and this porter is no exception. I'm very glad I bought a sixer as I'll be back for more before spring arrives.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2009 01:24:24 | More by malty

astrasday

Massachusetts

4.55/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Bottle has a gothic style portrait of a pale white woman wearing all black with the words, "Dark, Rich & Sexy". Pretty hilarious if you ask me. 6.5% ABV and 45 IBUs clearly marked. No freshness date. Poured this one into a tulip glass. Utter darkness. A foamy, tan head quickly dissipates with a nice sticky lacing.

Smell of raisins and heavy, fresh baked bread come through first. Roasted malts, coffee and dark, over-ripe fruit fall are all present as well. The scent is balanced and almost wholesome.

Taste. Roasted malts, coffee, raisins, chocolate and just a touch of hop bitterness to round out it out. Finish is very similar to a sip of nice dark coffee. Lovely.

The mouthfeel. Rich, full and deep. Exactly what I want from a porter. I find myself utterly content with this portion of the beer. I am left wanting nothing.

Drinkability. Does this beer define this word? It might. It's just a pleasure sipping on this brew. Relaxing, enjoying the lovely taste and it goes down so agreeably. More, please.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2009 01:23:22 | More by astrasday

beachbum1975

Ohio

3.83/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

DrewOSU, newtonty and I decided to make an impulse beer run to Dayton, Ohio last Friday night. Among the gems we picked up, I snagged a couple singles of these. I never saw this beer from Founders, so needless to say - I must try it!

The 12 ounce brown bottle has a gorgeous, dark renaissance-style portrait of a woman wearing a feathered cap. No freshness date on the bottle, but I know it was a recent delivery at Belmont Party Supply.

Pours a cloudy dark brown with a ½ inch dark, mocha head with great, stringy lacing on the side of my imperial pint glass. The head has nice, creamy and textured craters.

Light nose with a mix of heavily roasted malts, caramel and hints of dry and unsweetened baker's chocolate. A slight, earthy hops presence exists, as well.

Medium bodied and medium flavor with high carbonation throughout. Predominant flavor is chocolate and heavily roasted malts. The same, dry/unsweetened baker's chocolate follows through. Finishes semi-dry with a floral hop, almost bitter finish.

This is a nice example of an American porter. Nothing fantastic or awe inspiring, but solid and enjoyable, none the less.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2009 23:57:49 | More by beachbum1975

Rainintheface

Massachusetts

4.47/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: dark brown, nearly black with a 0ne finger mocha head

S: dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malts and a hint of vanilla. awesome

T: espresso, some bitter chocolate and dark. roasted notes

M: rich. velvety smooth

D: great porter. Time to buy more.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2009 21:49:05 | More by Rainintheface

UA8

Washington

3.73/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A- Pours oily black with a huge Guinness esque head.

S- Scents of coffee and heavily roasted toffee malts. backed with a hint of coaled wood.

T- Leads and is dominated by a super smoky taste with a light charred malt backing.

M- Could be a bit heavier but meets the expectations of a solid porter.

D- I would only go for maybe one or two of these due to their very bold taste.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2009 01:43:17 | More by UA8

brewcrew76

Wisconsin

4.4/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A - Solid black with 2 fingers of creamy mocha head that eventually settles to a skim of foam with webbed lacing.

S - Dark chocolate, roasted malt, espresso, and hints of pipe tobacco.

T - Slightly sweet but quickly changing to a lingering bitterness, milk chocolate mixed with dark chocolate, roasty malts and burnt coffee.

M - Silky smooth and creamy, feeling rich at times (almost making it a bit heavy to drink several in a row) with a lingering dry bitterness.

D - The strong flavors with the big mouthfeel might make it tought to drink a 6 pack but this is up there with the best American porters I have tried.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2009 23:49:59 | More by brewcrew76

Patrick

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours pitch black with a thin molasses colored head. Some thin lacing is also left behind. This one looks like an RIS!!

S: Wow, loads of chocolate, coffee, espresso, roasted malts. This beer smells phenomenal!

T: Lots of chocolate and espresso again, big roasted notes in the middle along with a dark caramel sweetness, and the finish is full of dark bitter chocolate and espresso.

M: Smooth, well carbonated, crisp, dry.

D: Wow, this is one hell of a porter!

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2009 00:26:32 | More by Patrick

TheodorHerzl

Indiana

4.53/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Appearance: Pours a dark black color with two finders worth of dark tan head. The head collapsed fairly quickly, but left decent spotty lacing on the walls of my pint glass.
Smell: Dark roasted malt and black malt dominate with chocolate, sorghum, and coffee present as well.
Taste: The flavor profile is a rich combination of the things in the nose with plenty of roasted grain, a touch of grassy hops, dark chocolate, and coffee combine into a wonderful drinking experience.
Mouthfeel: Good carbonation with coats the mouth nicely, with the alcohol hidden quite well.
Drinkability: I will certainly be buying this beer again. This is pretty much everything I am looking for in a porter.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2009 18:51:11 | More by TheodorHerzl

roadhouse

Florida

4.63/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a pint glass.

Appears pitch black in color aside from a ring of mahogany highlighting at the bottom of the glass. Nice creamy looking one inch head that sinks down to a centimeter thick cap. It sinks down a bit more as the session goes on but is always present. Moderate lacing is left behind.

Aroma is nice and chocolaty, more so of the milk variety than dark. There's a bit of a charred wood and roasty coffee smell as well.

Taste is very chocolaty from the start with a nice caramelly sweetness to it as well. Midway through a bit of a wet wood character comes through followed by some light roasted coffee tones in the finish. The chocolaty flavor seems to be much more prominent though.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, and extremely creamy. It just floats on down your throat.

This is an excellent Porter, possibly the best I've had. It's almost like a cross between a Porter and Oatmeal Stout to me. That residual sweetness adds a nice dimension to it. I hope some of this stuff gets here soon so I can get more.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2009 04:34:13 | More by roadhouse

wedge

North Carolina

4.18/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a "holy shit" dark opaque black topped with a creamy brown head. Aromas of dark roasted semi-sweet chocolate, espresso, and nuts. Huge flavor...6.5% for real? A thick, dark malty wall of flavor. Dark chocolate sweetness, roasted coffee, some fruity hops lingering into the finish. Thick and creamy mouthfeel. A tangy, dry fruitiness adds another element that reminds me of a younger Duck Rabbit Baltic.

A very rich porter. Feels like a much bigger beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2009 02:00:25 | More by wedge

Riverwarrior

Texas

3.98/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

S = Coffee and chocolate.

T = Dark chocolate is upfront with caramel quickly following. Coffee flavor comes in near the end making for a very balanced beer. The finish was excellent with just enough chocolate and coffee bitterness to almost replicate a cafe mocha.

MF = Body was medium with carbonation being just below moderate. Rich, creamy, and smooth.

Overall, this was an incredibly easy to drink solid porter and one of the best that I've tasted.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2009 17:55:20 | More by Riverwarrior

DrDogbeer

Massachusetts

4.47/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from the botle into a pint glass. Pours a rich, dark black with a thin tan head. Smells of coffee, and good amount of chocolate along with a hint of burnt sugar. Taste is sublime. Lots of chocolate at first, the a bit syrupy. Slight bitter coffee finish. Huge full mouthfeel on this one. I love a rich porter and this may be the richest yet. Tons of flavor, not thin at all, yet very drinkable. One of the best porters, if not the best I have ever had.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2009 12:51:58 | More by DrDogbeer

DrJay

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Picked this up in Michigan over the holidays. Looks a little viscous during the pour. This is a black beer, no highlights, no appreciable edges. 1/2 inch brown cap of fine bubbles, good head retention, spotty lacing. The dark grains in the nose really hit you head on, a combination of roast and burnt with chocolate and malt further back. A bit nutty, some coffee. Really nice. Moderate hop bitterness, definitely some hop flavour up front, grassy and leafy, but the dark malts take over here too. More dark chocolate, milder roast than in the aroma, licorice, sour cherry and malted milk finish. The carbonation was creamy, very fine bubbles. Quite a full bodied porter. A bit of dry astringency from the dark grains. Really drinkable. It's a solid beer, very tasty, and I'm glad I picked up a 6-pack.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2009 01:40:44 | More by DrJay

IBUnit63

Massachusetts

4.28/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12 oz. into a Coronado Brewing Company pint glass...

Pours with a dark maple, root beer float-colored head - about 2 fingers thick but slims to 1 quickly with decent lacing. Body color is espresso dark with sparse carbonation at bottom. Enticing.

Slight bicarb and metallic tinge at first but it goes quickly and reveals a deep dark-roasted nuttiness - hazelnuts and peanuts mostly. Mild hoppiness of grass with a nuttier edge. Roasted malt really shines through.

Wow - nice slate-ish BBQ char up along with some mild licorice - bitter French roasted coffee brings about some nice cinnamon/brown sugar sweetness. Finish is very slatish with big chicory bitterness and hop grass.

There's a fair amount of cleanliness to this even though it's so damn robust. Smooth dark-roasted malt works well with the bitter coffee notes and quiet hop grass as well as the good slate an char. Slight alcohol sweetness - nice finish.

Some Porter examples feel too thin and metallic compared to a session stout. Not this one - this one can pee in the tall weeds with the big dogs - it stands well on its own with great flavor and depth, and it sessions up nicely.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2009 16:09:45 | More by IBUnit63

TexIndy

Texas

4/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Brought back from Indy during Xmas. Poured from a 12oz bottle into a pint glass. It had a notch on the bottom of the front label but no way of telling what that means. However, this one just got re-released so fresh. It was black in color with carb bubble fountain in center and slight lacing. It had a small to average dark brown head that quickly settled into a collar with a carb spot in center.

The aroma was coffee, roasted and chocolate malts. Really good. Was worried that the coffee would dominate but it blended into rather quickly after the initial hit of it upon pouring. The taste was really good as well. It was a bit on the bitter side for me so that keeps it down in my taste score a little. Here the coffee is too present for my taste. Mouthfeel had good carbonation but was a little dry.

Overall, a really good beer that I recommend. Not top tier porter for me but close. Would try again next time in an area that carries it.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2009 01:58:16 | More by TexIndy

emerge077

Illinois

4.38/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a 14 oz. tumbler and the head rose exactly to the rim. About a finger of dark tan mocha foam, with a sticky ringed web of lace. After a few minutes it settled to a skim with groups of larger bubbles here and there. The head could have used more staying power, but it wasn't a big deal. Light couldn't seem to penetrate the inky darkness of this Porter.

Warm roasty aroma, dark Belgian chocolate, dark roast coffee, and pipe tobacco. Rich and silky feel, mild bitterness, earthy char, layered espresso and dark chocolate that fans out in waves. Pretty rich, one or two should just about do it. Very tasty, and probably among the top 1-2 American Porters i've tasted.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2009 23:57:46 | More by emerge077