Founders has been one of my favorite brewery’s from the very beginning. I have really enjoyed everything they have produced.
Let’s get to the website, foundersbrewing.com, and see what kind of info we can find out about this brew.
Old Ale brewed with molasses and aged in Maple Syrup Bourbon Barrels.
Straight to the point. I like that.
This brew has an ABV of 11.9% and it comes in a 25.4 oz. bottle.
It poured a hazy caramel/brown color with a slightly off white head. The texture was smooth and mostly creamy. It was sized pretty well and the retention time was satisfactory. Solid lacing for such a high ABV beer too. Plenty of clear alcohol was shown clinging to the sides of the snifter.
The aroma was sweet and sugary. Brown sugar actually. A ton of caramel and toffee malt along with a wee bit of bourbon/alcohol. Accents of maple syrup for sure. A slight hint of vanilla and a touch of woodiness. Super well balanced, harmonized and complex. A beautiful, world class bouquet in my opinion.
The taste let the bourbon come through quite a bit more than in the aroma. Further hints of wood and vanilla. Still quite sweet, sugary, bold and rich with the addition of the maple syrup and caramel malt.
The mouthfeel was medium to full bodied. Smooth, sticky, chewy, slick and dry. Decent carbonation for such a big beer and a good deal of warmth was felt from the alcohol. A very nice bit of flavor was left behind on the palate for enjoyment after each sip.
Overall, this is a great beer. There is no denying that. However, due to the high ABV and the significantly sweet, rich taste it became somewhat of a task to finish the bottle all by myself. This brew is definitely best enjoyed when it can be shared or taken is small doses. Don’t get me wrong, I really, really liked it. I wish I could have obtained another bottle for storage that’s for sure. A bit of age may pull some of that sweetness off. I do believe that I would like to have this during the Fall/Winter months, but it is a pleasure to get to drink it regardless of the season. With that being said, I would recommend trying the Founders Curmudgeon’s Better Half if you can get your hands on a bottle. I hope they brew this again sometime soon.
Thanks for reading and commenting everyone. I really appreciate it.
Until next time. Cheers.
Score: 4.3 out of 5
Grade: A
Beer Apprentice - Craft Beer News, Reviews, Interviews and Info. 
clueless_brewer
September 19, 2012 at 5:35 pm
Definitely a bottle to be shared. But it is one amazing brew. I believe Founders has one of, if not THE best barrel aging programs in the world. If it comes out of Founders' barrel cellar, chances are it's a home run.
Cheers!
clueless_brewer
September 19, 2012 at 5:35 pm
Definitely a bottle to be shared. But it is one amazing brew. I believe Founders has one of, if not THE best barrel aging programs in the world. If it comes out of Founders' barrel cellar, chances are it's a home run.
Cheers!
Scott Shrewsberry
September 19, 2012 at 6:53 pm
clueless_brewer,
I believe they have an excellent barrel aging program as well. Is it the best? Well I haven't tried them all to know for sure, but one thing I do know is that every beer they put in barrels turns out to be a treat.
Cheers,
Scott
Scott Shrewsberry
September 19, 2012 at 6:53 pm
clueless_brewer,
I believe they have an excellent barrel aging program as well. Is it the best? Well I haven't tried them all to know for sure, but one thing I do know is that every beer they put in barrels turns out to be a treat.
Cheers,
Scott
Unsystematic
September 20, 2012 at 9:18 pm
Oh man, so jealous you got to try this one. It sucks not getting Founders out here. If you should come across any more and want to trade, I would definitely be down.
Unsystematic
September 20, 2012 at 9:18 pm
Oh man, so jealous you got to try this one. It sucks not getting Founders out here. If you should come across any more and want to trade, I would definitely be down.
Scott Shrewsberry
September 21, 2012 at 2:40 pm
Unsystematic,
Man, I got real lucky in obtaining this bottle. I had the guy hold it for me for about a month before I could drive down to get it. If I see another bottle I'd be happy to pick it up, but I doubt that many are left floating around. I'll keep an eye out though.
Cheers,
Scott
Scott Shrewsberry
September 21, 2012 at 2:40 pm
Unsystematic,
Man, I got real lucky in obtaining this bottle. I had the guy hold it for me for about a month before I could drive down to get it. If I see another bottle I'd be happy to pick it up, but I doubt that many are left floating around. I'll keep an eye out though.
Cheers,
Scott
Unsystematic
September 21, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Yeah, from what I've heard, this and CBS were pretty impossible to come by. Really glad you were able to try it though. Sounds pretty amazing.
Unsystematic
September 21, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Yeah, from what I've heard, this and CBS were pretty impossible to come by. Really glad you were able to try it though. Sounds pretty amazing.
Scott Shrewsberry
September 26, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Unsystematic,
I wasn't able to get a bottle of CBS. I wish I could've though because it seemed like everyone was raving about that beer. It was just so dang expensive to try to buy on-line, so I passed.
Cheers,
Scott
Scott Shrewsberry
September 26, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Unsystematic,
I wasn't able to get a bottle of CBS. I wish I could've though because it seemed like everyone was raving about that beer. It was just so dang expensive to try to buy on-line, so I passed.
Cheers,
Scott