Founders Backwoods Bastard

Brewed by Founders Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

I don’t know what it was, but for some reason, the flavors in this one just did not meld well at all. I had a lot of trouble just finishing it. :(

on tap @Capones–pours a thin retaining white head and amber color. Aroma is oak, medium malt-peat, bourbon. Taste is oak, medium malt-peat, bourbon/boozy, some earthy hops. Mild carbonation.

Easy to like and easy to enjoy, but not a good idea to study it too hard. Backwoods bastards wouldn’t anyway. A simple enough brown ale, I think, but who can tell, really? The bourbon barrel, vanilla and tannins from the oak dominate everything. That’s not unpleasant. It’s nice, actually, in a sweet and uncomplicated way. Average mouth, average appearance, hazy brown, small head. I liked it more than the numbers show. Hell, you could drink this instead of macro beer forever. But it would get boring fast.// OK, bump the rating up a bit. It is enjoyable.

12 oz bottle: Thin, short lived head with a murky chestnut brown body. Alcohol cut the water in the glass immediately upon the pour. Yeast was poured with the rest of the beer. The aroma starts with a freshly crushed pale malt and roasty (roasted malt), light bourbon and wood aromas (oddly cherry). Slight alcohol; Vanilla and spicy (alcohol). Hints of smokiness. Toasty malt as it warms. Flavor is well balanced, slightly sweet in the finish and aftertaste, but to be expected from a "wee heavy". Caramel, toasty malt, again freshly crushed pale malt, clean flavor. Light bourbony character. Very light vanilla flavor. Aftertaste is light bourbon, vanilla, and toasty malt. Lighter medium CO2, fuller body, but lightly dry in the mouth. Relatively well hidden alcohol. There are a few beer styles that work well with barrel aging IMHO, and this is one of them! I was expecting a beer with a sweeter finish, but maybe the barrel aging has helped to dry it out a bit?

aroma is tons of whiskey and spice. some vanilla and oaky sweetness come through. drank fairly fresh and was still hot at 10.2abv. great drink with a nice warming following. pick one up

330 mL from the AEPi inaugural tasting. Pours a deep mahogany with a small, yellow head. Is this a barleywine? Aroma is 100% Johnny Walker Black Label. Nothing else. Taste is watered down Johnny Walker with some caramel malt struggling to come through. Aftertaste is charred oak. This is bourbon barrel aged but is just too much for me. I would rather take a shot of bourbon than suffer all night trying to finish this.

bottle. Bottle art alone is worth the price on this one. Pours a dark opaque brown with some deep amber highlights around the edges. little to no head. Smells mostly of boozy bourbon wood, without much else going on in the nose. Flavor tends towards being a bit one-dimensional, but not bad. Flavor is dominated by the wood and bourbon notes. Booze is contained, but the woody notes run wild in the flavor. Beneath that, some notes of tart apples and belgian quad-ish dark fruits. Decent on the palate/finish- nothing especially impressive, good or bad.

Holy smoke was this good. Great caramel, smoke and bourbon flavors throughout. Pours deep amber-brown with very little head. Would drink again.