Founders Dirty Bastard Review

Name: Founders Dirty Bastard
Style: Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy
ABV: 8.5%
IBUs: 50

Today I have a beer that is considered to be one of the most widely known Scotch Ales in the craft beer marketplace. I'm talking about Dirty Bastard from Founders Brewing Company. Why is it called such? Who knows, maybe the brewer is a fan of Ol' Dirty Bastard? Or maybe they named it so Jon Snow can have a bottle for himself (I've been reading too much Game of Thrones as of late.)

Appearance - Dark & very hazy crimson red color with no visible carbonation to speak of. The head is thin and khaki-colored with some creamy retention. The lacing however is quite plentiful/sparse.

Aroma - Very strong peated scotch and caramel maltiness in the front of the nose. I'm also getting some roasted barley, & mild smokiness paired with light floral hoppiness. There is also maybe just a hint of chocolate in here too.

Taste - The peated scotch, caramel malts, smokiness, and roasted barley rush to the front of the palate with each flavor complementing one another. As for the rest of the flavor, it's made up of roasted barley, some strong bitter hoppiness and a light but lingering smokiness which makes up the aftertaste.

This is a beer that is worthy of its reputation and is an exemplary Scotch Ale. I'm not well versed as to how widely available this beer is but if you can get your hands on this, you'll be in for a treat!

Founders Dirty Bastard - 9/10

Founders Imperial Stout Review

Name: Founders Imperial Stout
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.5%

Originally I was going to continue with reviewing my sampler pack from Blue Moon but the realization dawned upon me that all of those beers tasted remarkably similar to one another and I felt that each review was going to be similar.

So I'm back to craft beer and I'll mark this occasion with Founders Imperial Stout. To my knowledge, this is a winter release, and it also has the courtesy to let us know it's a Russian Imperial Stout by adorning the label with the Russian Double-Headed Eagle.

The beer pours a pitch black color with no visible carbonation. The head takes on a dark brown color look and the lacing is quite good.

The aroma has a some chocolate maltiness and strong vanilla sweetness. There is also a strong cherry fruitness in here with some light citrus hoppiness. For an Imperial Stout, it's really fruity smelling.

The flavor has some strong bitter hoppiness upfront with some equally strong roasted barley and chocolate malts notes. The cherry sweetness is a bit more subdued here along with the vanilla notes. As for the aftertaste, it's quite bitter and roasty and it lingers for a long time.

This Imperial Stout is a lot more bitter than the nose leads one to believe; It is 90 IBUs after all. However it's still a pretty good Imperial Stout. On top of that, the price is pretty good for what I paid for it so check this out if you're able to.

Founders Imperial Stout - 9/10

Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) Review

Name: Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 11.2%

Today's review is somewhat special to me, as you can see from the title. That's right, I bring to you my review of Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout or KBS for short. For as long as I have been into craft beer, this has been an Imperial Stout with a holy grail-like reputation.

For the past couple of years, this beer has always seemed to elude me because I'm either not looking in the right places or I get in when all the bottles have been sold out. That all changed a couple of weeks ago when I went down to my local store to grab a growler fill. As I made my way towards the growler fill station, I noticed there were four bottles left of KBS sitting in the cooler. Without a second thought I grabbed a bottle for myself and just after I did, some guy grabbed the last three; Talk about lucky!

KBS pour a pitch black color with a pretty fizzy dark brown head. While I'm not picking up on any visible carbonation; Interestingly enough, I'm not catching any lacing along the sides of the glass either.

The aroma starts out with a fairly typical chocolate malt profile & vanilla sweetness profile; Then it gets a little off of the beaten path because I'm picking up on a marshmallow scent, black coffee, and a distinct oakiness. Even though I've never been there before, I would imagine this is what the backwoods of Kentucky would smell like.

The flavor starts out fairly oak forward with notes of vanilla, marshmallows, roasted barley and black coffee. Each flavor is very vibrant and the chocolate malts provide an excellent foundation for the flavors overall. It's got a mildly roasty aftertaste with a light but sweet vanilla flavor. There also is no boozy flavors in here to speak of.

The palate is definitely a heavyweight when it comes to the body but the texture is quite smooth with only some minor carbonation, giving it a mild creamy feeling that allows you to savor the flavors.

Would I say that KBS is worth the hype and reputation? I would say for the most part, it is. It's got a vibrant flavor that is both complex yet enjoyable. On top of that, it's very easy to drink both in terms of texture and palate. If you so happen to stumble upon this beer by shear luck, pick it up before the guy/girl behind you does!


Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) - 9.5/10

Founders Curmudgeon Review

Founders Brewing is a pretty well known brewery based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan (which was also named Beer City USA by Travel & Leisure.) They are also known for their KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout), Regular Breakfast Stout and a variety of other beers.

Curmudgeon (Kur-mud-gee-un) is an interesting beer. Aside from the old man leering back at you on the label, it is also classified as an Old Ale; Which is, as the name suggests, an old style of brewing from hundreds of years ago.

It pours a dark hazy orange color with a minute filmy head and leaves some lacing along the sides.

My first impression of the nose is a strong oak scent followed by some chocolate, caramel and citrus hops. It reminds me of an Oaked Arrogant Bastard from Stone Brewing. The flavor has some strong oak, caramel chocolate, raisin and citrus hop notes with a fairly strong malty backbone.

Thanks to the molasses used in the brewing process, the body is very very thick but it goes down incredibly easy because of it's light carbonation and smooth palate. There were a couple of lines of molasses floating around in the glass, which is probably left over from the brewing process; Not a deal breaker, but worth mentioning. The alcohol is very well masked here, impressive considering it's 9.8% ABV.

It may be hard to say, but Curmudgeon is a very good beer. The molasses could be a turn-off to some as this beer has it in spades and it's pretty evident in the palate. Aside from that you have an excellent beer!

Founders Curmudgeon - 9.25/10