Founders Frangelic Mountain Brown - Founders Brewing Company

portia99

Massachusetts

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

750ml bottle courtesy of hoppymcgee (thanks Greg!) poured into a Founders CBS oversized snifter.

A - Pours a deep brown color, a bit muddy and blocks all light from passing through. A short finger of creamy tannish colored foam lingers for a minute or so and leaves rocky islands of foam on the surface and uneven webs of lacing on the glass.

S - Lots of coffee up front...some sweet creaminess, notes of hazelnuts, some mild vanilla, light malt backing, hints of caramel and sugar.

T - Flavor is definitely less subtle than the aroma. Lots of coffee, solid hazelnut flavor, milk chocolate, creamy and sweet vanilla. Very smooth drinking beer...9% alcohol is hidden almost completely. Quite dessert like in character.

M - A bit on the thin side, sweet, smooth, nutty. Creamy and smooth carbonation. Super smooth drinking beer. Wish there was a bit more body to thicken this up a touch. Extremely mild alcohol warmth noticed just after the swallow, but only if you are looking for it.

O - Overall, I'm enjoying this...very much a dessert beer. Almost like a low alcohol, thin bodied liqueur. Think this would be great with a pairing of creme brulee or a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2012 22:29:19 | More by portia99

palma

New York

3.8/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

appearance - poured into a tall tulip style glass. cloudy dark brown body. Small head. Decent whispy lacing.

nose - just a wonderful hazelnut aroma. Sweet, mellow, warm. Best hazelnut beer aroma out there. Excellent.

taste - somewhat astringent upfront. mellows in the middle. Black coffee, hazelnut flavors throughout. Slight grassiness can be found towards the end. Follows up with a lingering dry and coffee grinds finish. Astringent again. Toffee in the aftertaste as well.

mouthfeel - thin. A nice lingering oilyness at the end.

overall - I was hoping this beer wouldn’t be astringent. At 9% i know that’s very likely especially for a coffee brown. This beer would be excellent at 7% ABV. Breweries seem to be making more and more high alcohol beer just for the hype. I hate that. I think this beer would be much better a couple hundred bps lower in ABV. Would promote a less alcoholic brew where the coffee, toffee, hazelnut showcase better rather than stand behind the fusel and astringent alcohol. Still a good beer though. But I would most enjoy simply smelling this beer while drinking another brown.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2012 16:18:35 | More by palma

Brad007

Vermont

4.68/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This has been sitting in the fridge for a while and what with Sandy fever nearly in full force, might as well crack it open before the power goes out.

Pours a dark brown with a small head into my glass. How else could one describe it? It's brewed with hazelnut coffee so you could also note a coffee hue. 9%? Sounds like an absolute monster.

Smells like one too. Hazelnut, roasted coffee, brown sugar, molasses. All combine with a touch of alcohol warmth in the nose to form the perfect beer for a cold winter day. It's fall and not that cold out but you get the drift?

The flavors are amazing with a strong dose of hazelnut upfront that slams into the taste buds, followed by chocolate, molasses and strong coffee. Ironically, it's mellow enough to where I forget about the alcohol for a minute or two.

Of course, the alcohol creeps up at the back of the mouth, nearly stinging my throat in the process. It must have been a lot more hot when I first bought it a month or three back. Just a touch of hazelnut coffee remains.

Again, this would make the perfect sipper for a cold winter day. With Sandy nearly in our throes, I wonder if she'll bring some snow? I'll certainly regret not saving this beer for such an occasion. Well worth what I paid for it.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2012 15:19:18 | More by Brad007

shand

Florida

4.68/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This one's been a serious want of mine for a while - I love Rogue's Hazelnut Brown Nectar far more than most people, so this should be right up my alley. The first thing I've learned from my love affair with Hazelnut Brown Nectar is the importance of a warmer serving temperature. So, I let this bad boy warm in the glass for quite some time. After the proper temperature is reached, the hazelnut coffee rules the nose, but there's some chocolate and roasted malt providing a supporting role. An absolutely sublime aroma. The taste isn't quite as great as the smell, but follows up on the hazelnut, coffee and roasted malts notes that the nose promises. The roasty brown ale base is more apparent here, along with a touch of chocolate to round everything out. The mouthfeel is relatively light for the ABV, with a prickly front and a smooth back. The drinkability is great.

Overall, Frangelic Mountain Brown is an excellent hazelnut brown. It's just a tasty beer on every front. Is it better than the Rogue Hazelnut Nut Brown? I really can't call it that easily - they're both fantastic beers and good in their own right. I think I like the Rogue just a little bit more, but that's one of my favorite beers ever, so it's tough to beat.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2012 02:04:17 | More by shand

ngeunit1

California

4.43/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Pours a brown color with a bit of amber coming through around the edges and a finger of frothy khaki colored head. The head fades down at a normal pace leaving behind some nice lacing.

S - Aroma is a mix of sweet caramel malts with some brown sugar, roasted coffee, hazelnuts, and some earthy hops.

T - Starts off with a mix of sweet caramel malts with some hazelnuts and other nuttiness. Through the middle, some roasted coffee comes through with some earthy hops and some brown sugar. The finish is mix of sweet caramel malts with roasted coffee, hazelnuts, and a bit of earthy hop bitterness.

M - Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a dry, roasted, and sweet finish.

D - Very drinkable. Good imperial brown ale with the hazelnut coffee coming through very nicely.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2012 03:42:59 | More by ngeunit1

ummswimmin

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I was excited to run across this bottle at my local store specializing in BMC. I am a big fan of most Founder's releases.

I poured this brown into a snifter. The coloring is black with minimal foam. There isn't much brown in the coloring of this beer unless I hold it right up against the light.

The nose is a lot of hazlenut coffee. I also get a decent amount of malt in there.

The flavor is almost all coffee as well. There is some bitterness. The after-taste stays on the tongue for quite a while.

This is a good brown beer. I enjoyed having it tonight.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2012 00:38:33 | More by ummswimmin

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.08/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Served in a Dogfish Head snifter.

Straight to the big snifter goes each entry in the Backstage Series. If only I had a Founders snifter... Anyway, this stuff pours a deep garnet-sienna topped by a short finger of sweet tan foam. The nose comprises straight roasted hazelnut, a touch of toffee, light coffee, light vanilla, and a kiss of oak. The taste, though, focuses on those damn nuts. Normally, this wouldn't b such a big deal, but it's done to the absolute detriment of everything else. What's worse, not only is the hazelnut now a domineering totalitarian dictator, it is also showing itself to be purely artifice: This isn't real hazelnut, but rather a flavored mixture one would likely pour into one's coffee, were one so inclined one Winter's morn. Due to this, I'm left to mourn what could have been this evening, as I'm left with a kinda meek bit of nutty toffee, light caramel, light coffee, light vanilla, very light oak, and wispy maple syrup, all decked in shiny black leather, bound with ornamental chains, and left in a box in the basement, awaiting the lugubrious advances of the o'erwhelmingly fake hazelnut flavor. Now, it's not altogether offensive or anything, but it's so brazenly boring and artificial that I have trouble drinking this stuff. The body is a lithe medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a generally smooth feel. Overall, this has got to be the biggest disappointment of the Series thus far. Things are just too fake-hazelnut-y to be taken seriously or to be enjoyed in any full capacity. Possibly someone's bag, but certainly not mine, Jack.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2012 16:02:38 | More by TMoney2591

Chaney

District of Columbia

3.88/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured a lighter color brown than I was expecting as it poured into the glass. However, sitting in my Schlafly snifter, it appeared a VERY burnt brown.

S: Chestnut, Christmas scent for sure. What? This is hazelnut? Wow, don't mind if I do. I'm biased now since I'm a huge hazelnut fan.

T: Most certainly some coffee notes in this thing. Aside from that, this was the way it smelled, only LESS intense. This wasn't the dessert feature I was searching for. Not on a pedestal....

M: Not sugary... more nutty, and with a bit of coffee lingering. The lacing on the glass was ridiculous.

O: Man, I think it wasn't what I expected from Founders. It was good, but it wasn't.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2012 03:45:14 | More by Chaney

vonnegut21

New York

3.95/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a dark brown, with a finger of tan-white head that quickly dissipates. Smell is light, roasted hazelnut coffee with light caramel and vanilla notes. Lots of sweetness, with a touch of alcohol. The first sip is sweet, hazelnut coffee with a vanilla punch at the back. This tastes like a carbonated, alcoholic iced coffee. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, with little carbonation. Again, like drinking an iced coffee. Overall, this is a pretty tasty beer, but split a bottle two or three ways. It'll be plenty.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 23:51:11 | More by vonnegut21

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

4.13/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 ml bottle poured into a Founders snifter.
9% ABV, no date.

A - Light mocha colored specks dot the snifter above the thin skim of foam which used to tower over the beer. It's hard to see, but Frangelic Mountain Brown is actually clear through it's deep brown mahogany color. Very appealing!

S - As aromatic as a barrista-poured specialty drink, this beer must partially derive it's name from Frangelico, the original hazelnut liqueur because it's pungent with it's scent! Mildly roasted coffee beans follow through with a nice, freshly ground character that gives the brown ale a sense of sincerity. The toasted malt opens more with a nice swirl - forget about picking up hops here - beer or liqueur-like, Frangelic Mountain Brown smells damn good.

T - Frangelico continues in from the nose to really add quite a bit in flavor but, unlike the liqueur, this beer isn't loaded with sugary, creamer-like sweetness. Frangelic's coffee additions make sure of that and while they might not be of the richly roasted varieties, but there's certainly plenty to go around. The combination works wonders overlapping the toasted malt brown ale base where, once again, there are no hops to be found.

M - Frangelic Mountain Brown is an amalgam, coyly offering sweet hazelnut without coming across as creamer-like while balancing it, and the bold 9% alcohol level, with roasted coffee. It doesn't exactly reach a bitter level, but the beer is dry and finishes borderline cloying. Fall or winter would certainly be a good time to enjoy this medium-full bodied brown ale.

O - Pop some ice in a to-go coffee mug and pour this over the top - you might genuinely surprise someone! Seriously though, Founders Frangelic Mountain Brown is really one of the most unique beers I've ever experienced. Not only have I never had something with plenty of hazelnut, but I've never enjoyed a rich and full-flavor coffee experience in a beer such as this. It encompasses much while remaining rather straight forward; this isn't a deep beer - and for the alcohol level, it's damn drinkable too.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2012 00:52:55 | More by BeerFMAndy

socon67

New York

4.53/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Cracked this open with a buddy.

A - Dark brown pour with a brown foam that settles high. Laces in patches.

S - Incredible scent of hazelnut coffee. Wow, just as advertised. There is also scents of light malt, caramel, and cinnamon.

T - I liked the flavor. Impressive coffee notes and nutty flavor. Has a lingering sweetness of caramel. Finish has a sweet dulce de leche flavor.

M - Well balanced and smooth feel. Easy to finish the bottle, but the coffee flavors would be a bit overwhelming over time.

O - I have yet to find a backstage beer from Founders I didn't like. This was a real treat.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2012 23:09:52 | More by socon67

4DAloveofSTOUT

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

poured into pint glass.

reviewed from notes taken 10/6/12.

brown bodied beer with 2 fingers of light to medium brown head. Lacing is a little thicker than spotty.

Smell: This beer smells just like nutella, peanut butter and coffee. It really smells great!

Taste: This is a moderately sweet and nutty imperial brown ale. Peanut butter, fresh roasty coffee, brown sugar, and heavy cream. Finishes with a little more coffee notes and kind of a lactose note.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied beer with moderate carbonation. Creamy and smooth beer. ABV is well hidden.

Overall: have heard alot of people say that this beer tastes artifical, but i did not get that at all. I think that is a really tasty beer and Founders has done another great job with this backstage beer. Yeah it does not stack up to CBS, but its still quite enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2012 20:32:11 | More by 4DAloveofSTOUT

EgadBananas

Louisiana

3.73/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark brown, with maybe some red hues. A finger of creamy head adorns, leaving bits of lacing. This smells and reminds of coffee with hazelnut creamer. The sweet nutty aroma, backed by a hint of alcohol also reminds me of Frangelico Liquor. Tastes more like the hazelnut liquor than in the aroma cuz of the booze bite it has. It's not as sweet and nutty and less of a coffee taste. The feel is pretty good. It's not full or robust, but it's an upper medium body with a creamy, yet slightly slick feel.

It's not too sweet, though the makeup of the beer definitely gives that a possibility. It is good, though, I think I'd rank this last in the backstage series only slightly over the palate-testing Curmudgeon's Better Half. Maybe they should have exhausted all other Backstage beers before releasing CBS...save the best for first?

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2012 02:34:19 | More by EgadBananas

FeDUBBELFIST

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

$7.50 pour a 10oz pour. Served in a tulip.
Sampled 07AUG12

[A] Arrives with a 1 1/2 finger of creamy, compact light to medium light brown head. Retention is just below great but looks spectacular as it recedes leaving a complete sheet of foamy lace stuck to the glass. The body is a rich, chestnut-stained dark brown color. Hazy to the point of being completely opaque. Lacing stays consistent while varying sizes of holes emerge on the earlier deposits. Moderate transparency towards the end of the glass.

[S] While I'm not a fan of hazelnut in coffee, it works exceptionally well in this beer. Interestingly enough, the coffee component is weaker than advertised. Working in my favor, the chocolate seems to take over and pairs wonderfully with the robust hazelnut aroma. This nose is down right fantastic.

[T] Hazelnut, cocoa, rich rendered caramel. Balance and integration are damn near masterful but ... there is a little room for improvement here. I blame the mouthfeel for not carrying out the flavors as judiciously as it could have.

[M] Semi thick, luxuriously creamy body upfront (particularly at warmer temps) but, with stylistic consideration, a slightly aggressive carbonation from mid palate through the end damn near destroys the finish. Quite salvageable but a smoother finish would have taken this beer into another world.

[O] Fantastic brew for my tastes. Obviously most of BA isn't nearly as impressed. But, looking at the stats, this beer seems to do much better when served on tap rather than in the bottle.

Serving type: on-tap

10-06-2012 19:01:18 | More by FeDUBBELFIST

anth0ny

Michigan

3.8/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice firm pour gets me a couple finger's worth of light cream-brown head, which fades quickly. Nice rich brown color beer, little lacing, some unfiltered goodies. Looks good.

Smell is...hazlenut. I've never had the most keen of noses, but that's all I'm getting. Smells good, just doesn't smell like a beer.

I've actually had this beer fresh out of the tap, and I must say, aging this beer for a few months definitely does some good things to the flavor. In the taproom it was so full of hazelnut flavor that I couldn't even drink a full glass, literally gave the beer away. I wasn't very excited about them brewing this beer (why they chose this beer to bottle over the Frangelic Porter boggles me and probably always will), but I collect the bottles so naturally I picked one up. After some maturing the brown ale really makes its way back into the beer. The hazelnut is most certainly still up front in the mix, but underneath is a nicely balanced brown ale. The flavor hits sweet hazelnut, washed away but the robust brown with a hint of hops on the way out. Maybe even a pinch of heat at the very end, but at 9% the alcohol is almost undetectable. I can dig it.

Nicely carbonated with a solid body. Overall not as bad as I thought the second time around. As I mentioned previously, if you have a bottle, let it sit for awhile. You'll get more beer out of this....beer. I'm certain this isn't the peak of Founders capabilities, but I enjoyed the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2012 03:36:25 | More by anth0ny

philbe311

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - An active pour yields two fingers worth of cascading ultra lush ultra creamy light khaki colored head... The color is a medium to dark brown that is still rather translucent... A limited bit of fast paced carbonation can bee seen towards the top of the glass... Very solid looking brew...

S - The hazelnut as at the forefront and dominate the nose in a very flattering way... Brown sugar... Coffee... An additional layer of nuttiness lies beneath the surface... Perhaps even a slight bit chocolatey...

T - The palate is a carbon copy of the nose... The hazlenut is the dominate player and all of the other flavors compete to be second fiddle... There are also some lightly charred notes on the finish with the faintest of hop kicks... I love hazelnut coffee, but this one may be a bit too overpowering...

M - Medium bodied... Velvety smooth to start... Light but assertive carbonation... The finish turns a bit chalky and is slightly dry...

D - A very nice beer from Founders... The certainly nailed their objective and created a hazelnut coffee beer... Assertive and pronounced as most other Founder's offerings... There is nothing off putting about this beer and it is rather quite enjoyable, but I'm not sure I would indulge in this one on a regular basis, but I'm quite happy that I had the chance to try...

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2012 01:31:43 | More by philbe311

CloudStrife

New York

4.05/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750ml bottle split and poured into snifters.

A: Pours a slightly hazy ruby brown with a 1 finger whiter than expected head.

S: Hits you with hazelnut and coffee right off the bat. Has some sweetness to it, almost a milk like quality. Dark fruitiness from the roasted malt.

T: Well balanced mix of coffee, hazelnut and chocolate. Even a little bit of hops in the background. Alcohol is well hidden.

M: Velvety smooth silky body with medium/low carbonation. Nice full body. Certainly a warming presence.

Overall a beer I could enjoy everyday, would love to be able to get this more often. Blows away most of the American brown ale category.

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2012 00:41:40 | More by CloudStrife

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.43/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Blue Dog durin their wealth of riches event.

The beer pours a fairly dark brown color with good head retention and lacing. The nose is attractive in this beer, as I pick up vanilla, light coffee and chocolate, and some frangelica liquer (which I guess is to be expected). The beer smells rich and sweet, but at least for me, I found that the combination of aromas really worked for me. The flavor profile replicates the nose, with the beer also showcasing a roasty malt quality and light bitterness that I thought blended in well with the vanilla, mocha and frangelica. Mouthfeel was fairly full, with a long, roasty sweet finish. Alcohol was nicely integrated into the flavor profile, which I felt enhanced this beers drinkability.

Had this side by side with the Better Half, and found that I preferred this beer. It was bit less sweet and boozy than the BH, which probably explains why I preferred it. Clearly one of the best brown ales I've ever tasted.

Serving type: on-tap

10-02-2012 13:48:45 | More by johnmichaelsen

bound4er

Wisconsin

3.18/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A. Dark amber with crimson highlights and a light tan head of three fingers. Laces like the dickens.

S. Hazelnut, hints of hazelnut coffee creamer and not not much else w/o making stuff up.

T. Wow. Nothing special here. Hazelnut to start things off followed by some coffee-like bitterness that lingers and has a spritz-like quality to it.

M. Thin, almost watery with below average carbonation.

O. Glad I only purchased one bottle.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2012 20:56:52 | More by bound4er

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

This poured out as a light murky brown colored beer... Might have been one of the first samples out of the keg. There wasn't much head on top or lacing at all on this one. The smell of the beer was loaded with Hazelnut and some other sugary aromas. The taste of the beer is a little malty upfront but quickly fades into a pure Hazelnut finish, no bitterness but sweet candy-like Hazelnut. The mouthfeel was decent, not overly carbonated and medium bodied. Overall I was glad I got to try it. I would probably enjoy a bottle of it around the holidays or something but other than that this one wouldn't be something I would seek out too often.

Serving type: on-tap

09-30-2012 06:45:34 | More by Knapp85

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On Tap at The Blue Dog

Frangelic Mountain Brown casts off a deep brown look almost like dirty pond water with a nice amount of firm mocha colored bubbles leaving a firm cap up top. The cap does not cling to the glass at all and eventually goes away.

The smell on this is fairly simple, hazelnut aroma seeps out and hits the nose buds. It's pretty much all you get through most of the temp flucs some brown malt appears with some caramel, toffee scent and sweet sugars. Not picking up on the 9% here. Founders sort of nailed the nose if this is what they were going for.

Taste wise, this is a big brown ale with no alcohol intrusion and a large amount of hazelnut and toffee thrown in the mix. Some grain and light plain coffee come through with a smidge of vanilla, but the hazelnut wins the race. It's not the most complex beer on the market, but it's a step up from some of the boring browns I've had over the past decade, Frangelic offers something different.

Feel is sturdy bodied with a build that is a bit larger than medium. Not super thick and not hot at all. The sweetness builds up after a while on the tounge and could get 'enough' over some time. Carb is subtle but there leaving a non dead beer with life.

Glad I had a portion of this. A 25oz bottle would of been a chore. I suspect that this could be used to some degree baking some fine cakes, or bread. I dug the simpleness of a big brown with a twist of hazelnut.

Serving type: on-tap

09-29-2012 22:44:56 | More by onix1agr

suspect

New York

4.13/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750ml bottle into a Dogfish Head Snifter.

A: Pours a clear dark brown color. Mildly aggressive pour leads to a thick, frothy one-finger head that dissipates slowly leaving a nice ring and nice lacing.

S: Holy hazelnut Batman! Full nose of hazelnut, strong coffee, vanilla and not a ton else. I pick up some chocolate malts and other malts but not much else.

T: Ahh, the flavor tones down from the nose in that it's not all hazelnut. But it didn't disappear, no no. It's still the most prevalent flavor, it's just given way to some other really nice flavors such as toffee other nutty flavors. Overall, an excellently complex brew.

M: Very creamy feel with a nice bitter finish. Perfectly carbonated.

O: A very delicious beer yet again from Founders. Highly drinkable and wonderfully complex.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2012 01:34:43 | More by suspect

Tschnab

New York

3.98/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

This one pours a murky dark brown with a nice khaki colored head that has very good retention. The smell is very coffee forward as well as a toasted hazelnut aroma that comes through very strong. The taste follows through here; a very nutty roasted coffee with some caramel and chocolate. The mouthfeel is pretty thin. Love this brown ale, really love it when brewers bump up the standard brown ale, founders did a great job here.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2012 01:20:07 | More by Tschnab

siradmiralnelson

Iowa

3.9/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 750ml capped bottle into Tulip.

A. Pours a 2 finger off white head. Moderate lacing. Good retention. Color is a dark amber brown.

S. Nutty malt, hazelnut, vanilla, strong earthy malt smell. Not the most interesting aroma. Most of the smell I get seems faded.

T. Strong hazelnut flavor. Not a lot of coffee other than some bitterness on the back of the tongue. Fairly sweet. If your a fan of hazelnut, which I am you will like this beer. Flavor is pretty one dimensional.

M. Medium bodied. Medium carbonation. Finishes with some hazelnut sweetness.

O. This beer is different for sure. Not a whole lot of depth of aroma or flavor. If you like hazelnut, this is something you should try. A 750ml is probably all I will need of this beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2012 23:10:54 | More by siradmiralnelson

sweemzander

Illinois

3.65/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

750mL bottled poured into a tulip.

(A)- Pours a deep chestnut brown color. Some tan froth & lace.

(S)- A nice almond/hazelnut-like coffee liqueur smell to it. Bits of cocoa too.

(T)- Similar to the smell, but drier and not nearly as rich as expected.

(M)- It has a good carbonation level to it. Overall, its really just a basic brown ale with some fun flavors, but kinda falls apart at the finish. Much much thinner mouthfeel than expected considering how rich and decadent the aroma was.

(O)- Not bad, but a huge difference from how good this smells like. Not one of Founders' best.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 16:03:57 | More by sweemzander