Hello again guys.  Thanks for checking in on another craft beer review.  For today’s craft beer review I have the infamous Founders KBS brewed by the Founders Brewing Company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.This beer needs no introduction within the craft beer world, so let’s get to the website, foundersbrewing.com, and read the commercial description regarding this beverage.

What we’ve got here is an imperial stout brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates, then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year to make sure wonderful bourbon undertones come through in the finish. Makes your taste buds squeal with delight.

My mouth is watering already.

The KBS comes in a 12 oz. bottle with a very cool “Western” styled label and it has an ABV of 11.2%.

This beer poured darn near black.  Absolutely no highlights were visible when held toward a light source.  The head was dark khaki in color, creamy and thick from a fairly aggressive pour.  The retention time was sufficient and the lacing was good and “clingy”.  Alcohol legs were very present and once the held settled I was able to regenerate a little bit of foam from quick swirls.

The nose started with sturdy whiffs of Bourbon Whisky.  It smelled quite oaky, woody and earthy.  Fine hints of freshly stripped tobacco integrated with the slightly charred notes from the barrels.  A sweet fragrance of vanilla meshed well with tones of chocolate and ground coffee beans.  Everything was balanced and harmonized to a “t”.  Truly, a “world class” aroma with this brew.

The taste brought forth wonderful flavors of oak and charred wood.  The Bourbon Whisky was melded to near perfection.  It was so smooth and non-distracting.  Sure, it was easily noticed, but it never stood above any of the other characteristics, which consisted of further aspects of vanilla, chocolate, coffee and tobacco.  A touch of bitterness danced on the tongue to tickle the tastes buds and complete the savor.  The taste was congruent and spectacular to say the least.

The mouthfeel was medium bodied.  It was very smooth, dry, slightly chewy, oily and slick.  The carbonation was very nice too considering the year of age.  An awesome amount of warmth was felt across the palate, at the back of the throat, into the chest and finally settling into the belly.  A splendid amount of flavor adhered to the palate long after the sip had passed to let me enjoy a nice consistency until the next sampling.  I was expecting the mouthfeel to be a tad bit fuller, but it was still very nice and worthwhile.

What a magnificent beer.  It’s totally worthy of all the hype it receives.  The only thing is that it’s just so dang hard for me to get.  I didn’t want to rush through this brew at all.  I really took my time to savor ever last drop.  That was somewhat difficult because the ease of drinkability with the KBS is very good.  Too bad I don’t have any more.  I usually try to procure a bottle every year and try not to drink it until about one year from the date of bottling.  For me, that’s about when it reaches its prime.  A fresh bottle can sometimes be a bit “green”, but with a little age it smooths out splendidly.  If you can get a bottle of Founders KBS, I would highly suggest that you pick it up, sip and enjoy because it’s one of the best and most highly sought beers in the entire world.

Thanks for reading and commenting everyone.  I really appreciate it.

Remember to look me up on Twitter (@BeerApprentice) or Google+ (Beer Apprentice) if you wish.  I’m more than happy to engage in conversation about craft beer at any time of the day.

Until next time.  Cheers.

Score:  4.85 out of 5
Grade:  A+