Friday, February 3, 2012

Founders Imperial Stout - Craft Beer Review #163

Here is what the Brewer says: Brewed with ten varieties of malted barley, this stout is smooth as silk, yet complex and rich in body. Serve this guy at cellar temperature. Put another log on the fire, sit back, and enjoy the friendship of this ultimate winter warmer.  10.5% ABV  90 IBU


My Thoughts
Look:  This brew poured very dark brown,  nearly black in color.  It sort of reminded me of the color of dark motor oil with very little head to speak of when poured into a large snifter.  The head that was present was dark brown. When swirled, this brew has thick lacing that was very sticky.  You can tell just by all of these attributes that this is one full bodied stout.

Smell:  The smell is everything I want in an imperial stout.  Dark chocolate mixed with ground coffee both mix with a sweet almost burnt malt smell.  I also detect a hoppy presence along with a hint of booze.  Again, this beer smells as good as any other imperial stout I've smelled.

Taste:  The taste of this beer is quite complex.  At first, I get a dark chocolate and rich dark roasted coffee flavor.  These flavors are quickly followed by a shot of dark malt sweetness and then a quick hit of the coffee's bitterness.  To me the bitterness that lingers in the end is what brings this imperial stout up another level.  It takes this rich and bold stout and gives it another layer.  It is these layers of flavor that I found so pleasing, even though the booze is clearly detectable from first sip to last.

Mouthfeel:  There are many words I could use to describe how this beer feels on my palate...here are a few: Rich, Dark, Sticky, Creamy, Warm...as you can see this beer has it all.  The mouthfeel is very complex, yet is never stumbles over itself.  The booze is present, but only in what feels like a bit of a warming sensation.  Simply put, the mouthfeel is top notch.

Drinkability:  As you can tell by the first four criteria I love this beer.  I find is very drinkable and it is one of my favorite stouts that I've tried and reviewed.  I look forward to aging a few of these, and then comparing against a few 2010 bottles that I have aging as well.

Serving Type: 12oz bottle
My Rating: Overall 97.8/100
Look:5 | Smell:5 | Taste:4.8 | MouthFeel:4.9 | Drinkability:4.9

1 comment:

  1. Finally got around to reading this review. You described this perfectly. Very jealous of your cellar'd 2010 stock. I had that vintage at the Lolita Beer Week Founders dinner and it was delicious.

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