Founders CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout)

Brewed by Founders Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

Serve in Snifter

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Rating number 100 for the beer. How special. On tap at the beer Engine 8-2-09. From the aroma I couldn’t much tell the two apart (Kentucky Breakfast) being the other. But holy fuck this one has a sweet side to it. The maple flavor is very subtle, but that is partially due to the very sweet nature of the beer, and partially due to the high ABV of the brew. Now when I say sweet, that seems like a loaded term for beers. This doesn’t taste like a big beer that is still loaded with residual sugars, this is more like some Willy Wonka Voodoo. As it warms up the maple flavor seep into the beer and mingle wonderfully with the slight woody flavorings.

I have had a few times out of the bottle 2011 version. Pours a black with a tan head. Coffee, chocolate and maple syrup on the nose. Add some nice vanilla on the taste and this is a nice beer.

750ml bottle from SS 2011 (kmeyers8807), thank Kyle
Appearance: Pours black with a medium sized tan head and good lacing
Aroma: Roast malts, chocolate and vanilla
Tasted: Roasted malts, chocolate, vanilla and coffee
Very nice and easy to drink, smooth.

750mL bottle courtesy of JMRSN. Pure black, 1/2" mocha head which lasts the entire pour. Good legs. Nose of chocolate, smoke, brown sugar, molasses and espresso. Very pleasant. Not terribly thrilled with the taste, though. Milk chocolate, maple, touches of vanilla and caramel. Heavy on the coconut which is where this goes wrong for me. The maple and coconut clash. Some leafy earthiness and toasted malt. Complex, but I wouldn’t call it great. Mouthfeel is full and excellent, and I’ve no complaints. I can see why people like this, but of the Founders stouts, RIS is the only one I’ll continue to seek out again and again.

Black, tan head. Aroma: chocolate, coffee, very light chili pepper note. Flavor: chewy malt, toffee, chocolate, light coffee, nutty note. Full bodied. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle for rating #4100:   Black, large frothy beige head, nice lacing.   Looks decent enough.   Nose of chocolate, cocoa, and sweetened coffee.   Smells inviting!   Up front its chocolate graham cracker, cocoa, some sweetened coffee, touch of hops, and some warming alcohol notes.   As it warms I pick up more subtle notes of bourbon and vanilla.   However, chocolate graham cracker, cocoa, and hopped up coffee notes dominate.   Thankfully not overdone on the barrel aging, but I wouldnt mind a bit more bourbon flavors.   Fairly smooth, but not yet silky.   Moderate to full body and mouthfeel.   Slight chalkiness at the finish, warming, with lingering hopped up coffee notes.   Dunno that I get much Maple syrup out of this.   Regardless, a very easy and tastefully done Imperial stout.   Thanks Kevin for the bottle!

Draft at RT. no head black as night. Nice lacing. Very chocolate and coffee with the alcohol burn in your face. Better than the regular breakfast but not as good as KBS. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

FOOOOK! Pours black with a dark brown head. Aroma is fruity coffee, sweet dark fruits, dried dark fruits, brown sugar, you get the maple syrup, chocolate, vanilla, coconut, cocoa, espresso, fudge, ashy burned note and some light smoke at the end. Really complex and interesting! Taste is maple syrup, espresso, weak savory, liquorice, caramel, hard roasted malts, weak minerals, dark fruits, wood, vanilla, chocolate, brownies and some bourbon aswell. This beer is just so mellow and the barrel really does it here! Why is this rare? I want more.

750 ml bottle. An opaque black beer, with an average sized, frothy, lacing, mostly lasting, brown head. The aroma is heavily malty (coffee, roasted/burnt grain, chocolate, molasses), with notes of vanilla, maple, alcohol, bourbon. The flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic. lightly bitter. Medium to full body, velvety/syrupy texture, soft carbonation, very long finish with moderate bitterness, moderately to heavily alcoholic. Funnier to smell than to drink. The taste of coffee is a bit acrid/pungent, very lightly though, and the maple. which is perfectly balanced in the aroma, is too much evident in the flavor, which makes the beer more fatiguing to drink. Lovely look. Approximately at the same level of KBS and the regular Breakfast. That means, in few words, that they did a very good job, but not enough considering the hype.

Rating #800, massive thanks to RasmusOtt for poppin the cap on this one. Pours black with a small head. Aroma is surprisingly coffee forward, earthy and fruitiness from the coffee, lots of roastiness, tarmac, also notes of dark chocolate, dark syrup, vanilla, chocolate ganache, a bit of buttery bourbon quality. Wow, amazing. Taste still shows a lot of the earthy coffee, though over all not as roasted as the aroma. Dark chocolate, brownie, bourbon and maple syruo which is well melded together and well integrated, exceptional chocolate feeling, almost like Nutella. Silky smooth mouthfeel, lovely bitterness, superb palate. Definitely worth it’s high score.

UPDATED: MAY 5, 2012 A - pours super deep dark almost pitch black mahogany. High fluffy coffee head that last. S - aromas of bourbon, coffee and vanilla up front. Silky smooth and rich. Notes of molasses, oak, and alcohol as well. Fantastic. M - very nice rich full bodied full strong complex. Each flavor and tone floats right to the next. Complex and subtle. Strong flavors that don’t ever over power. A great beer. A smooth rich end that lasts. T - honey, molasses, rich oaky burbon, and maple up front, these slowly meld to very slightly bitter burned malts, coffee grounds, rich chocolate and dry oak barrel on the palate. Long lingering toasted coconut, slight marshmallow, coffee and strong vanilla to end. O - an amazing beer. Complex, subtle, rich ( perhaps a bit richer would help) and so well composed. 9