KBS and more bourbon beer barrel goodness

In the realm of craft beer, barrel aged beers specifically from bourbon barrels seems to be all the rage. Many are made, much of them seasonal and come out with much anticipation. Sometimes though, a beer will be released with a limited production and high demand, but also touted by many as the best ever. Often the production of how that beer is made seems to give it more mystique, and one beer that seems to be wrapped up in it is from Founders, called Kentucky Breakfast Stout, or KBS for short.

KBS, is a 2 year aged imperial stout, made to rest in bourbon barrels. Besides the fact that it sits for 2 years, the brewery mentions that the beer is actually "cave aged", because the barrels are actually stored in an old abandoned gypsum mine. Does that make a difference? Does that impart a certain flavor? A sort of I dunno what? Regardless, whatever Founders is doing they are doing A) something right B) making some dam good beer while doing it.

Watch the video review to see more:

Cheers!

Acquiring one of the most desired American Doubles, Pliny the Elder and Double Trouble Founders imbibing fun!

In beer land, there is an American Double IPA that many try to seek it out. It is available year round, but only available mostly in California. If you live like I do on the East coast, your chances of finding the beer on store shelves are slim to none.

The beer is called "Pliny the Elder" from Russian River brewery. It comes in a very non descriptive bottle with a basic red dot logo which doesn't seem to leave a lot to imagination. However, it is the contents inside that are what is really important.

I put Pliny in comparison with another favorite brewery of mine, Founders and tried Double Trouble side by side. To have even more fun with this tasting, I slept on this and awoke the next morning and cracked open both bottles at 10:00 AM with a very rested palate having nothing to eat or drink for at least 14 hours. How did this turn out? Well check out below.

CHEERS!

Who is the bigger beer bastard one could ask?

In the realm of beer nothing feels better then when you grab something for the first time and it blows your mind. Nothing is more satisfactory when rumor and raves that you hear and read about a certain beer come to hit with full force and fruition, as all your dreams are realized and you hit what is essentially paydirt.

This is how I felt when I first had a beer from Founders brewery called Backwoods Bastard some time ago. I had it after discovering it on the shelf and loving to death their Breakfast Oatmeal Stout. It turns out this is a seasonal creation and very popular. A crazy ass bearded woodsman was on the bottle staring at me giving me the evil eye, as if to even dare me to consider the glory of this bottles contents. I grabbed a 4 pack, and then just for kicks I came back to the place 4-5 hours later to discovered that all of the bottles were gone. This is a brew that was desired.

However, I was also aware that Backwoods had another Scotch Ale called Dirty Bastard. Dirty is around all year where as Backwoods is a special limited release that comes only during November. My mind thought of the perfect thing to do. It was time to taste both these beers together and find out who was the bigger bastard! This was no contest... see below to find out

Founders Brewery Scotch Ale Bigger Better Bastard Battle!

Beer for breakfast! And not just because of oatmeal!

I had been drinking quite a few Imperial stouts of late and was really enjoying them. I came across something that sort of caught my attention many times when imbibing beer. I saw many stouts listed as containing oats, and calling themselves Oatmeal Stouts. It was time... to become acquainted with such drink...

I settled in on Founders and a curious item that was called a Breakfast stout. I thought this was an odd product but if my love of espresso and beer was good this should be a match made in heaven.

The other item that I had to try for comparison and highly recommended to me was Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout from Anderson Valley. A large bottle consisting of a label picturing an idyllic mountain background, western lettering, and California produced roots even equipped with a sunny yellow bottle cap with the adoring words "Solar Powered Brewery".

So what's the verdict? Well they are both two fantastic beers but they are also dramatically different from each other. The Founders is one of the only "coffee-like" beers I have had thus far that I really REALLY enjoy. This is a coffee lovers beer, and ironically with the malt and hop profile on it, it feels like fresh HOT brewed coffee. This is no joke... a breakfast beer, you could have this first thing in the morning. The bitterness from hops, that Founders uses in all their beers, is used to balance the sweetness of the malts and also used as a natural preservative, so mentioned to me by Head Brewer Jeremy Kosmicki.

I was wondering if hops were really what I detected in Founders, but I was correct in thinking so. I emailed Founders about their great product and discovered that they put hops in ALL their beers.

Barney Flats is very different. Big sweet Ovaltine like nose, coming in with a big fruit berry finish, well balanced. Highly drinkable.

Don't take my word for it, see the video review below. CHEERS!