Founders Breakfast Stout: Beer, it’s not just for dinner!
I’m going to cut straight to the chase here – Founders Breakfast Stout quite possibly is the very best brew I have had. A best-in-show of sorts across all styles I’ve tried. The fact that I am labeling what is really a kicked-up Imperial Stout as my potential favorite surprises me a bit because I don’t generally go for sweet stouts. Still, there is not one single thing I can fault here. This one hits all marks dead on target.
This brew is created by adding some dark malts and flaked oats to an imperial stout, along with some uncommon additions: a couple coffee styles are included, along with some actual chocolate. We’re not talking about chocolate malt that is included in many beer ingredient lists, but actual chocolate. Somehow these unorthodox ingredients integrate with the beer perfectly without standing out against it. An alcohol content of 8.3% is carried solidly on this beer’s big shoulders, with barely a hint that this is an imperial style. Careful with this one. The smooth palate and caffeine might convince you that you aren’t handling such a high-gravity beer.
Enjoy this beer a bit warm – 45 degrees minimum. It will pour into the glass as pitch black with a very low caramel-colored head that lasts as long as the glass will, which is not very long in my case. Balanced from start to finish, this complex melody of flavors is almost guaranteed to entertain. I’ll stop writing now so you can go buy some. It is available through fall and winter, so you still have time to give it a try. I fact, I need to pick up a few; somebody drank my last one. Cheers!
Kevin
