Founders Bolt Cutter - Founders Brewing Company

harrymel

Washington

1.96/5  rDev -51.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

Alright, let's see what's going on here.

Pours a fiery orange with loose soapy light tan foam scattered over a brilliantly clarified beer. Cherry, alcohol, burning alcohol, sugar, light crystal malts, some pithy hops. Not an impressive nose whatsoever. Flavor is simply sweet. Booze, malt, sugar, brown sugar, absolutely overly boozy. Medium bodied with low carb and a wet finish that actually makes me feel like I just took a shot of cheap liquor, probably one of the least desirable mouthfeels I've had in quite some time. I tried, but this became a drainpour for me.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2013 04:16:12 | More by harrymel

yeahnatenelson

Illinois

2.08/5  rDev -48.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

It's been a while since I've bothered to review, but this one seemed worth my time...

Appearance -- Bright orange with high clarity and a quarter-inch sudsy white head. Its appearance in the glass is more akin to a DIPA.

Aroma -- WHOA hops. Resinous hop dankness with overtones of tangerine and stone fruit, along with a base of caramel malt sweetness. DIPA?

Taste -- Again, VERY hoppy, akin to Devil Dancer. In fact, I'd swear this WAS Devil Dancer if it weren't so much sweeter and boozier. Assertively hoppy, but very focused in aromatics and flavor, and not enough in bitterness. Lots of simple caramel malt sweetness that, instead of lending balance to the massive hop presence, tends to make the flavor profile messier. As far as barrel character, there's really none to be found. Maybe underneath all of those hops somewhere, or maybe it's adding to the saccharine malt sweetness? Simple

Mouthfeel -- Fuller-bodied with firm carbonation. Too much carbonation for the style, but like everything else with this beer, it fits more snugly in the American Double/Imperial IPA category.

Overall -- This is my first real letdown from Founders. I consider them to be one of the best breweries in the business, but this falls way short. This is essentially Imperial Devil Dancer with a touch of maple. Really lacking in depth or the bones to make me believe this will benefit at all with age, in my super-duper humble opinion. Your mileage may vary, of course, since I don't like vintage 120 Minute, Double Crooked Tree or Devil Dancer. Maybe those are your bag?

Looking for a nuanced, complex barrel-aged barleywine with personality? LOOK ELSEWHERE.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2012 19:00:00 | More by yeahnatenelson

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

2.09/5  rDev -48.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Shared by Paul.

Thanks...sorta. The beer appears a who cares irrelevant hue with a it doesn’t matter head. The aroma brings a please don’t scent with a shitload of unnecessary hops and huge boozy sweetness. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Tons of malt and hops thrown together with no sensitivity or balance. Overwhelming alcohol and sweetness. What a disappoinment. No thanks.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2013 07:30:33 | More by Huhzubendah

kscaldef

Oregon

2.18/5  rDev -46.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

The creation of a new style? Possibly the first quintuple IPA. Very hoppy and very strong, and little else to be said about it. Medium amber color, with no head. The body is fairly thin, which exposes the high alcohol content in a harsh and unenjoyable way. No barrel character to be found. Not actually a drinkable beer. Maybe it'll mellow with time, but I don't have high hopes.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2012 21:46:17 | More by kscaldef

jegross2

Illinois

2.28/5  rDev -43.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.25

Reviewing the Bolt Cutter from Founders Brewing Company out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. This American-style barleywine was brewed in honor of Founders' 15th anniversary, and is a blend of the base beer unaged, aged in maple syrup barrels and aged in bourbon barrels.
Score: 40

November 2012 vintage bottle served in a Surly Darkness snifter and enjoyed on 01/11/13.

Appearance: Pours a bourbon color with a finger and a half of seafoam colored seafoam-like head that slowly settles to a thin layer. Awesome lacing ad retention. 4.5/5

Smell: Boozy caramel, an earthy spiciness, stale hops and tons of sweet, bready malt. Brown sugar, maple and light lemon too. 2/5

Taste: Tastes like a boozy, bready malt-forward stale IPA with a maple character and light spiciness. Another reviewer likened this to barrel aged Devil Dancer -- spot on! There is some caramel too. This beer is almost undrinkable, and this is only 2 months old. This beer was much tastier, albeit still disappointing, fresh, but even then it was nothing special. It has since fallen off entirely, and collapsed into a sweet malt bomb of a mess. 2/5

Mouthfeel: Full bodied, minimal carbonation. Malty sweet and juicy. 3/5

Overall: Founders beers are very rarely duds, but this one is an imperial stinker. When I had this beer fresh the night before FOBAB, it reminded me of a less-hoppy New Glarus Thumbprint Barleywine with a little maple mixed in. Tasty, but certainly not worth the hype. Just under two months later, it's fallen off a cliff, the hops have become completely stale, and the boozy malt has taken over entirely. Considering that this bottle sat in my fridge for the duration of its "shelf life," and considering it was not even "stored" for two months, I doubt my experience had anything to do with storage conditions (though if Founders' maple aging program has taught us anything, this may be the byproduct of bottle variation). If you have not opened your bottles yet, I advise you sit on them longer -- this beer cannot get much worse and time can only serve to mellow out the booziness.

Recommendation: Avoid this one, though I presume this advice comes too little too late.

Pairings: The sink drain.

Cost: $25 for a 750 ml bottle.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 18:41:54 | More by jegross2

Arbitrator

California

2.71/5  rDev -33.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

My allergies were acting up last night; my eyes felt inflamed and itchy, my vision blurred. From across the room, I spotted what appeared to be Goatse on a bottle label. Goatse?!?! Did White Birch make a non-ironic beer for once? I listened to the weirdos watching the Niners game and sidled over to the bottle. Oh... huh. My vision really is bad today. It's a bolt cutter. FOUNDERS!? Sweet. I love Founders. Thanks, Jason.

A: Pours a crystal clear copper-orange body with a half-pinky finger of tan head. Seems nice.

S: Boozy, raisiny caramel, brown sugar. Oxidized hops and vanilla. Not much in the way of bourbon or oak.

T: Bolt Cutter? More like Sweet Fucker. Brown sugar, caramel, toffee, even a touch of maple. Vanilla -- and there's the bourbon, a little more present on the taste than in the nose. Oak presents a light astringency in the finish. It's not enough to cut the sweetness. Nor are the hops; they have a stale, oxidized earthiness and melon flavor. Really... odd.

M: It's harsh; the one-two combination of booze and slight sugary burn are irritating to the palate. It's not super-syrupy, but it's on the sweet end and is cloying in some sips. The carbonation doesn't offset said sweetness enough.

O: I might be a little more lenient on this one considering it's Founders... Or maybe I'm being harsher because I initially thought it was a Goatse beer. Whatever the case, I'm glad I don't have a bottle.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2013 03:41:14 | More by Arbitrator

SteelersX

New York

2.88/5  rDev -29.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Copper/orange in color. white head that dissipates.

Smell - sweet with noticeable alcohol. mixture of fruits. Noticeable hop aroma but not as hoppy smelling as I was expecting which is a good thing.

Taste - MEH. Hits the roof of my mouth with a sticky sweet fruit bomb and stays there for minutes after a sip. A fair amount of pineappley hop flavor. Bourbon barrels? No. Maple? Maybe due to the overpowering sweetness. Some bitterness at the very end.
Mouth feel is sticky. coats my lips and doesn't go away.

Overall not worth my sobriety. If this beer was 10% I would be happier. The price tag is ridiculous for what this is. So many better beers out there for the money. A fail from Founders in my opinion.
Hey - you can't bat 1000

The high ratings has to be the hype talking. No Rare flavor here.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2012 23:19:04 | More by SteelersX

Treebs

Illinois

2.98/5  rDev -26.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

750 ml bottle served in a Hofbrau tulip.

A: Semi hazy dark cherry color. A light tan head forms on the pour with great retention. Sticky webbings of lace are left down the glass. Looks a lot like Devil Dancer.

S: A little pine with some citrus zest. Some candied sugar with a hefty dose of bready malts. I'm not picking up any barrel notes and it doesn't smell anything like a barleywine. More like a big and boozy DIPA.

T: A little melon up front with some candy sugar and a ton of alcohol. A little maple with some citrus and bitter pine. Bready malts with a hot and boozy finish.

M: Medium bodied with a medium carbonation. Pretty hot with a ton of booze on the finish.

O: This isn't close to a barleywine. Too big and boozy and not really well made. The barrel is non-existent. A bigger let down than Frangelic Mountain Brown.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2013 04:20:19 | More by Treebs

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.05/5  rDev -24.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Poured a golden amber color with a small tannish cap ich quickly reseds leaving a minimal lacing and minor lacing clinging to the glass.

S: Booze soaked toffee, light vanilla and honestly...that is about it sadly.

T: The flavor is boozey and sweet upfront with a load of toffee, some btterscotch, faint maple, lighter fruits with a modest Earthiness. The finish is rather hot, sweet, thin and dry yet slightly sticky.

M: Medium-bodied,hot, slightly sticky feel. This beer needed more body. Th alcohol can sometimes give the appearance of thinness and this is also my major complaint against Mother of All Storms.

O: This beer has great potential., While I think the booze sting will subside leaning toward fuller a body and mouthfeel in the future I feel this beer was just to much to soon and to young.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2012 19:32:54 | More by barleywinefiend

homebrew311

Illinois

3.1/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance is bright orange with minimal head. Spotty lacing present. Nose is a solvent infused Devil Dancer character, a bit of earth, tons of earthy hops, a touch of maple and vanilla. Taste is vegetal spicy character with heavy onion hop character and solventy alcohol burn. Not a big fan. Mouthfeel is heavy with mild carbonation and plenty of burn. Overall, big disappointment here. Things are out of balance and very overpriced.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2012 03:35:07 | More by homebrew311

effyeaAB

New York

3.15/5  rDev -22.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

I'm not one to review often but this is a beer that I feel inclined to review for a couple of reasons. 1)It's a very hyped up release 2) I had to have people in different parts of New York go around to pick some up for me and 3) The price. So here we go...

A - Normal. It's a burnt orange copper-ish type color, zero head which was to be expected but nice alcohol legs which isn't really that important.

S - Hella boozy, I LOVE big boozy beers, hell my favorite beer is BCBS so go figure but this is just raw booze and you can definitely tell they dry-hopped the day lights out of it. I'm getting zero bourbon barrel here. And maybe, MAYBE some of the maple barrel character but could very well just be the caramel coming through. Citrus and pineapple are quite prevalent too which is kind of awesome to be smelling in a English BW.

T - More of the raw booziness, it literally dries your mouth out and I know it isn't the hoppiness either, it's just a booze-fest. Intense sweetness that's to be expected up front but again that dryness, it's just not hitting the mark for me in regards to what was advertised and what was delivered. Maybe they should re-classify it as an American BW???

M - Thin! Too darn thin.

O - It's a smart beer, 15% for their 15th Anniversary and they aged it in everything that you need to age it in to get beer nerds to prick up their ears. I mean if you read the beginning of the review I fought to get my hands on this stuff I was terribly excited but frankly and I know that this may be looked down upon but for the price it's just not worth pursuing. I'm very excited to have 3 more bottles of this to age and I'm hoping and praying that the hops die down and that the booziness kind of mellows itself out but for right now it's average at most.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2012 15:16:05 | More by effyeaAB

bobhits

Kentucky

3.15/5  rDev -22.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Pours a dense protein and yeast infused body with dark ruby and orange coloring. Given a good forced pour it produces a nice inch or so of head in my founder snifter, but it doesn't last or provide lacing. There are some huge alcohol legs that show what is left of the carbonation. Given the alcohol none of this is surprising.

Given the size of this beer the aroma is a bit subtle. There's a tone of caramel sugars with nice American hop aromas (I get a stone like centennial (SP?) hope aroma though there's something else that leads me to believe I might be off on this or there's another hop I should be picking up). Finishing out there's a good bit of sweet sugars with vanilla notes that are coming from the oak aging. I don't get straight bourbon here, but the oak and vanilla are there.

Deep caramel malt is accented by vanilla notes from oak aging. Bolt Cutter mixes the sugary flavor with a nice bit of a bittering hops and a hint of an alcohol finish. Given the 15% abv. there is far less of a bite from alcohol than I had expected. Founders has for some reason decided that anything in a 750 ml should be as sweet and sugary as possible. This one is a lot less over the top than their others (fake sugar infused hazel nut coffee, maple syrup mixed in coffee and bourbon, over the top sugary barely wine aged in sugar infused maple barrels, or a super sugary fruit beer), but make no mistake this is a sugary sweet beer. While there is a good effort to balance the beer with hops it doesn't make it there. This beer is much like their standard barley wine with oak and vanilla added in.

I'm not sure how to score this. 15% is rather subtle. The carbonation is very good for the alcohol levels and there's still a bit of an alcohol bite left here. This beer is not overly dense or thick so don't expect the thick syrupy smooth mouth feel of some of the great English Barely Wines (JW Lee I'm talking about you). The final verdict is this is good, but not great in this regard.

Bolt Cutter comes in at nearly 23 a bottle here in Kentucky after tax. I have a bottle to age and see if this one ages well (what 3-5 years? Really let me know how long I should age this one, PM me darn it!). Ultimately this is very good beer, but it is sold in the wrong format (nobody needs 750 ml of this and it is hard to review with company) and it never really mixes into a full beer. There's too much sugar to go with the bite. It isn't clean flavored and it is so freaking big. This beer just doesn't come together in the end. Don't get me wrong, this isn't bad, it isn't something to be insulted, but it isn't worth the money and if I didn't have another bottle I'd not even consider buying it again.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 11:14:31 | More by bobhits

mfavoino

Washington

3.29/5  rDev -19%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

750 ml bottle shared with Treebs.

A: Bright ruby color with a small head that retained well. Sticky lacing along the sides of the glass.

S: Some pine and citrus hops on the nose. Booze definitely comes through in the nose and is dominant.

T: Initially I got some piney hop flavors, candied sugar and caramel malts, but then the booze just took over. Hot and detracted from the rest of the beer. I had to ask my buddy if this was a barrel aged beer because I wasn't getting any of the barrel that I would expect.

M: Medium body, syrupy, and too much booze heat.

O: The booze took away from a lot of potential. I'm not even sure I would characterize this as a barleywine.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2013 18:55:48 | More by mfavoino

Florida9

Illinois

3.3/5  rDev -18.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: A fine looking beer. Clear, light chestnut brown. Forms a moderate sized white head that reduces to a very large, very bubbly ring around the edge. Leaves some large clumps of lacing on the way down.

S: Fairly hoppy, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Mostly orange and other citrus with some citrus rind, a small bit of pine, and a lot of caramel malts, and even more pungent alcohol.

T: Taste is sweet. Very sweet. Lots of caramel malt, but there's a lot of hops as well. Citrus and citrus pith. There is some very light barrel character on the back end, with some light notes of oak and vanilla, but they are most overpowered by the hops and the strong pungent boozy character.

M: On the heavier side with a mild viscosity. Lower-medium carbonation. Mild to moderate bitterness.

O: This one really reminded me of an "Imperial Devil Dancer" if there was such a thing. Sweet, hoppy, and boozy this one was more like a triple IPA than a barleywine, offering up very little barrel character, but lots of sugar and lots of alcohol. A good beer, but far from "exceptional."

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2012 03:07:48 | More by Florida9

stakem

Pennsylvania

3.33/5  rDev -18%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Aawwweee shit. Another fouders big bottle series. As luck would have it, local advocate of beer Orangesol tipped me off to a place that had bottles for sale. This was my first time purchasing one of these "backstage?" 750's with no bottle limit or secret handshake at the door granting me access to such a privilege.

I opened this at a tasting I hosted this past weekend that was stout themed. (Im a douche like that.) Color me excited for this: wearing my bold cutter hat, founders shirt, bolt cutter boobie tassels and matching underoos. Ok, none of that is true except for the tasting and opening part. Poured into a tulip, the brew appears a hazed copper orange with 2 fingers of frothy yellowish tan head. Patchy webs of lace stick to the glass and display solid powers of retention. There is ruby clarity noted when held to the light along with a lighter yellowish coloring around the edges.

The nose has fruity, citrus, floral and pine aromatics primarily centric to hop charcter. This is pretty much what the entire focus of the nose is about with hints of herbs and a bit of catty appeal. There is some solvent alcohol cutting through with a mild tingle of accenting caramel sticky candy sweetness.

The taste is all about the hops with a huge solvent to fusel alcohol inclusion. Focusing on the hop character it is fruity, floral, pine-like, herbal and a bit catty. Did I mention solvent booze is readily apparent numbing the tongue more with each sip? Hints of caramel grain attempt to poke through but with no residual sweetness. Ample to excessive bitterness with alcohol running rampant. Almost like mandrin oranges and tannic dry woodiness are the last things noted.

This is medium bodied with a modest amount of carbonation. It has a big alcohol impact and hoppiness. This is like vodka with a splash of resinous DIPA added. Aging would be wonderful to tone the booze down but having the hops fade would leave this pretty boring and lifeless. It will be interesting to see how this developes but you wont catch me buying any more of this.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2012 20:06:32 | More by stakem

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.35/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served in an Illinois State shaker pint glass.

Fifteen great years from Founders. Cheers! This celebration pours a mostly clear auburn topped by a finger of light khaki foam. The nose comprises grapefruit zest, sweet caramel, a hint of vanilla, pine resin, and a decent dose of booze. The taste brings in more of the same, with the alcohol merging with the citrusy hops, boosting them to the heavens. The sweetness of the caramel (joined by what may or may not be a kiss of bourbon/maple) remains intact, but it's beginning to clash a bit with the boozy hops, which leave a chlorophyll-laden aftertaste that lingers for a bit. The body is a hefty medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, a decent anniversary b-wine, but one that's clearly way too hot at the moment, and one whose overly-expressive hops kill any real sense of the barrels and of balance. It's not really all that bad, but there are plenty better barleywines out there, especially for the money.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2012 19:29:57 | More by TMoney2591

Gmann

New York

3.43/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a pretty caramel/deep copper color. The cream colored head is short but frothy, dense bubbled and settles inot a sparse cap.

The aroma is very sweet and is dominated by a candied fruit malt presence and a strong tropical fruit hop presence. Very English barleywine aroma. Candied orange and apricot to go along with an overall toffee scent. This is coupled with a pineapple and mango hop aroma. Too sweet for my liking.

The taste starts off very much like the aroma. Big candied fruit and toffee presence. Overripe apple and pear provide some fruity flavor, some raisin as well. The hops have an apricot flavor but also a peppery and grassy bitterness. Though there is an array of flavor it doesn't have much depth to it. Not very complex in the malt profile. Some alcohol flavor in the end.

The feel is light, almost watery, with prickly carbonation. Some slight stickiness but nothing compared to the style. Very sweet on the palate but has some peppery bitterness to offset. Plenty of noticable alcohol presense, big belly burn with this one.

Disappointed in this beer. Has more of an english profile and lacks depth in the body. I am also not a big fan of the toffee malt/tropical fruit combination.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2012 00:25:50 | More by Gmann

Alextricity

Michigan

3.45/5  rDev -15%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

To my surprise, I saw this at the World Expo of Beer in Frankenmuth, Michigan and decided to try it out. I hope you're all ready to roll your eyes at this review and spit on your screen!

Appearance: A nice ruby-like color. No head to speak of, and no lacing either .... which I guess is to be expected.

Smell: Honestly smelled like a chlorine pool to me, for the most part ... after awhile that note seemed to fade and I just got a really odd mix of super sweet malt with hops. Unusual.

Taste: It's a barleywine. It's 15%. In the words of Ralph Wiggum, "It tastes like burning." The beer isn't overly bitter, but it burns quite a lot with a lot of alcohol in the flavor. I found that I was mainly concentrating on getting all of it down, rather than trying to pick up on flavors. I could finish my 4oz sample, but I'm not convinced I could have much more.

It's too big for me. Sweet, heavy, and copious amounts of alcohol in the flavor. Could definitely benefit by mellowing out over the course of a year or so.

Serving type: on-tap

05-19-2013 16:50:01 | More by Alextricity

DocJitsu

California

3.46/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a vibrant, clear, golden amber color, with a small, short-lived light tan colored head. Aromas consist of sorghum and boiling barley wort. There's a candied presence on the nose as well. A bit of alcohol wafts off the top of the glass. The mouthfeel is chewy, a bit oily, and has a slight carbonation scrub on the back of the tongue. The carbonation burns a little more when the alcohol emerges. Sorghum and toffee flavors up front, but the alcohol bitters the flavor too quickly and continues to invade the palate after the finish. The alcohol is just too much. I'm really quite disappointed.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2013 21:45:08 | More by DocJitsu

mjtiernan

New York

3.46/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

750ml bottle poured into an oversized snifter.

A: Ruby red with some shades of brown haze. Small cap of foam that disappeared quickly leaving just a ring around the edge. Significant alcohol legs.

S: Big aroma! Malty sweetness, some boozy alcohol, and a solid dose of pine/citrus hops.

T: Big flavor too! Super sweet, lots of oak, pretty boozy and a high dose of hop bitterness for a BA barleywine.

M: Thick and syrupy. Too sweet and boozy to be drinkable. Some alcohol burn in the finish.

O: Not enjoying this. The hops characteristics remind me of FFF Behemoth but overall it’s not nearly as good.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2013 02:58:31 | More by mjtiernan

axeman9182

New Jersey

3.53/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

10 oz pour in a wine glass at Barcade for their Founders blowout.

Bolt Cutter pours a murky amber, with no visibility through to the other side of the glass. What flimsy bits of foam that are actually present disappear quickly. The nose has some mice malt and barrel components, with aromas of caramel, maple, and brown sugar all commingling. A little bit of a pine hop note shines through as well. While the bourbon is a little more present in the flavor profile, I have to say it's still remarkably smooth for being a 15% beer. Besides, the maple, caramel, and brown sugar all still trump the booziness in terms of intensity. Right at the end though a brash bitterness and a flash of piney hops crash the party. It just doesn't fit, it's akin to a harsh, jangling chord ringing out against an otherwise nice piece of music. The carbonation is nicely muted, but the body is noticeably syrupy, just a bit too much. As is, Bolt Cutter is an alright beer (though not up to Founders' usual standards). I think some time to let the out of place dry hop portion that was shoehorned into the blend mellow will do it some good though.

Serving type: on-tap

11-29-2012 21:59:00 | More by axeman9182

Etan

Illinois

3.53/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

750ml into a snifter.

A: Nice bright amber with a decent off-white head.

S: Smells of slightly aged hops, caramel, a bit herbal, strong alcohol.

T: Bitter citrus and pine, dank earthiness, mild cidery sweetness, faint maple, palpable booze.

M: Medium-bodied, moderate carbonation.

O: Honestly, this tastes like an overly bitter, overly boozy American barleywine to me. Not much barrel character to speak of, and the hops and alcohol together give the beer a slightly astringent feel. I don't think aging this will improve it, but who knows.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2012 06:02:04 | More by Etan

dbc5

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

750 ml poured into Duchesse De Bourgogne wine glass. I had this beer on tap at the Founders 15th Anniversary party, but this is my first serving from a bottle. Thought the serving temperature at Founders was a bit too low, so I'm interested to see what I pick up with this tasting.

A: Pours an attractive amber with a 1.5 finger, off white head off a moderately aggressive pour. The head slowly recedes, but leaves a nicely, off white coating across the top of the beer.

S: Picking up a ton of caramel and toffee, as well as a present booziness. There is apparent sweetness in the nose as well. Maybe some vanilla. Hop spiciness is noticeable. Not picking up much bourbon presence.

T: Buttery caramel, booze, and a pretty strong hop presence. The alcohol is fairly present, although the sweetness offsets it somewhat. A slow sipper; I imagine it will take me awhile to work through the bottle. Some vanilla notes in the back end. As the beer warms, I'm getting some faint character from the bourbon maple barrels. Its far more muted than in CBS, but I am tasting a similar character. It definitely isn't a major player in this one, more a minor, background presence.

M: Thick and sticky. Almost an oily character after swallowing, which I attribute to the strong alcohol presence. Fairly low carbonation.

O: Being honest, this one is a bit of a letdown, as I had extremely high expectations when it was announced. I hoped the maple bourbon barrels would have a strong presence and contribute a unique character to the beer. In the end, the barrel plays a minor role in the overall drinking experience. The beer ends up primarily being a big, boozy, hoppy American barleywine. While that isn't necessarily a bad thing, it leaves me wanting a bit more. Will be interesting to see what some time in the cellar does to my remaining 2 bottles.

I do think this is one of the beers that needs to be drank at room temperature. Because some of the unique aspects of the beer are fairly subtle, they get somewhat lost when it is served too cold.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2013 01:57:55 | More by dbc5

tut2528

Illinois

3.61/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

thanks to sleuthdog for opening this at the tasting!

A: pours more like an Irish Red Ale, with a deep red-orange color with about a 1/2 fingers worth of head formation that is slight beige in color. This looks like an IPA. There is even some transparency.

S:There is a huge hop note, strong sweet fruit punch, bread, biscuit, alcohol burn, grass. This really isn't what i was expecting...

T: This is such a weird tasting brew, and the complexity is very straightforward. Its got a sweet caramel, with big grassy hop note, some orange-peel with a ass load of creaminess in the finish.

M: medium bodied, alcohol definitely felt on the lips along with the creaminess

O: very nice brew, and definitely grassy hop forward. definitely would be interesting to see how this develops. the most intriguing part is the huge creaminess in the the finish which allows to mask the 15%. overall, a solid brew, but not the best of the style. I honestly feel this falls in between an American BW and a English BW.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2012 00:37:41 | More by tut2528

Gobzilla

California

3.63/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: poured a pale amber brown in color with pale yellow highlights and a thin head that left very little lacing sticking to the glass.

S: lots of malty sweetness upfront in the aroma with grassy earthy notes, booze heat, plenty of hop character and mild caramel but with slight brown sugar presence.

T: caramel sweetness was more noticeable on the palate with a good hoppy profile that was accompanied by grassy earthiness, plenty of bready malts, the booze was all up in your grill with a touch of underlying brown sugar.

M: the brew was medium in body with a moderate amount of carbonation which had a sweet, malty, hoppy, boozy and crisp finish.

O: I honestly was a little let down from all the hype but then again it's just hype after all. It can be that I've had some AMAZING barelywines lately too. I was just decent and nothing more

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 00:53:59 | More by Gobzilla