Founders Backwoods Bastard

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

Serve in Thistle

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UPDATED: NOV 2, 2007 12oz, recently bottled. pours clear dense mahogany with small fizzy tan head around the rim. nose is big with vanilla, oak, bourbon, not much else, lots of vanilla. flavor has loads of sweet caramel and bourbon, lots of vanilla here, licorice, slight hint of chocolate. alcohol is well hidden but some sips are harsh and others just warming the throat. the nose and taste leads me to believe it is going to burn but it finishes quite smooth. body is a bit watery, carbonation is surprisingly low, as it looks fizzy at first. in the end the flavor just isn’t that complex for a BA beer sort of leaving the palate with a huh, is that it? feeling. tasty though.

This was a good scotch ale but a little overwhelming in the bourbon area.I like my BA beers but this was a little to bourbany for me.CHEERS!

12oz bottle poured in a shaker. FBB pours ruby mahogany with little to no head. It is neither atractive nor ugly. The nose is mostly bourbon, wood, molasses and an unfortuate reminesce of a bad camping trip involving too much Southern Comfort. I’m not a bourbon fan by any means. It tastes like bourbon, and thus is not my cup of tea. I can’t fairly rate this beer due to my dislike of bourbon. The beer seems a bit flat. Maybe some more hops would be good. Putting the bourbon aside there is a definite butterscotch taste as well.

UPDATED: DEC 25, 2011
Date: February 09, 2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Extreme Beer
Vintage: 2007
Appearance: muddy brown
Aroma: rich woody malt aroma
Overall: rich sweet whiskey covers up most everything else, still a bit of the rich malt left to fight through, woody bitterness in the finish

Date: December 21, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: trade
Vintage: 2007
Score: 3.4 to 3.6
Appearance: clear dark ruby red, fine tan head, drippy lace
Aroma: sweet bourbon and vanilla aroma balanced by oak with a hint of the underlying dark caramel malt
Flavor: rich caramel malt flavor with lots of bourbon character, nice vanilla sweetness, earthyness blended with the oaky character, the oak continues to grow and offers lots of balance to the sweet caramel and vanilla

Date: November 01, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar tasting
Vintage: 2007
Aroma: sweet dark caramel aroma with lots of oaky earthyness
Flavor: caramel and bourbon sweetness in the flavor is well tempered by the earthyness and oak
Overall: much drier and earthier than the 2008 in a side by side comparision

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *** /4

Date: November 01, 2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, cellar
Vintage: 2008
Aroma: sweet dark caramel aroma with a touch of vanilla for extra sweetness
Flavor: lots of sweet caramel and bourbon flavor, vanilla adds to the sweetness
Overall: much sweeter than the 2007 in a side by side comparision

Date: December 15, 2009
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Vintage: 2008
Score: 3.8 to 4.1
after a year the sweetness remains in both the aroma and flavor with the caramel and bourbon still going strong, nice brown sugar sweetness, keeps getting better,

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.1/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***+ /4

Date: January 15, 2010
Mode: Draft
Source: Brick Store Pub
Vintage: 2009
Appearance: clear dark ruby red, creamy beige head, thick drippy lace
Aroma: sweet bourbon and chocolate aroma with a nice touch of smokey peat
Flavor: big sweet caramel and bourbon flavor, chocolate adds depth, little to no bitterness, touch of hot caramel alcohol in the finish

Date: February 25, 2010
Mode: bottle
Source: bullock’s
Vintage: 2009
Score: 3.9
a bit more subtle in the bottle with the sweetness giving way to the earthyness, alcohol is subdued as well,

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.1/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: ***+ /4

Date: November 19, 2010
Mode: Draft
Source: Brick Store Pub
Vintage: 2010
Appearance: opaque brown, fine beige head, layers of lace
Aroma: dry and earthy chocolate aroma with a caramel and vanilla sweetness
Flavor: sweet caramel and vanilla flavor, touch of fruity character, light chocolate
Overall: great rich bourbon character with a touch of beer

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***+ /4

Date: October 27, 2011
Mode: Bottle
Source: Hop City, Atlanta
Vintage: 2011
Appearance: clear dark red, fine tan head, streaks of drippy lace
Aroma: sweet caramel and vanilla aroma, sweet chocolate and bourbon, dark caramel, light earthyness
Flavor: sweet caramel and chocolate flavor, bourbon sweetness, light earthyness
Overall: rich and sweet, bourbon neat

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **** /4

Translucent with a mahogany amber color and a sudsy tan head that’s pocked on top. Pencil shavings and rubber erasures reach the nose shaft first, followed more enthusiastically by bourbon, talc and a chocolate toffee powder composite. Flavor livens up to the bourbon delivery and leaves a fair share to the imagination. Rye and toffee get infused with graham crackers to produce a scotchy substance. Toasted rye flakes, butterscotch and candied pecan pie are spritsed with a little bourbon. Medium-to-fuller bodied and balanced, with a traditionally enjoyable finish of bourbon, butterscotch and rye.

GTMW. My one and only Scotch Ale of the festival, and my this was a treat. My second beer of the day, and only at the Great Taste do you know that even when starting with a beer of this quality, things can only get better for the rest of the festival. Notes of toffee on the nose lead into cinnamon, clove, English toffee, hazelnut, and a touch of orange and chipolte lead into a lasting finish. Excellent stuff, poured by Mr. Stevens himself.

GTMW 07. Poured a slightly hazy, dark orange color. Head was soapy and light tan. Smelled of oak, vanilla, toffee, and a good dash of alcohol. Sweet and very thick on the tongue. Delicious oak, vanilla, and caramel drown out any peated malt flavor that might be hiding in there. Yum.

Great Taste on tap. Brownish color. Smell of vanillia, bourbon, coco, malt, hops, nuts, wood and caramel. Taste of bourbon, oak, vanillia, wood, hops, malt, chcolate, caramel/toffee, nuts, minor smoke and minor fruit. Very nice and smooth.

MiBGF 07: A beautiful ruby highlight copper hue with a small lasting head. The aroma has notes of apricot, plum, hazelnut, vanilla, wood, earthy and tobacco esters, and some grassy hops (dry-hopped?). WOW, do I find hops in here? Completely unexpected yet I am digging it! Balanced with a heavy layer of fruity and malty goodness with lots of caramel coming forth. The finish has a bit of a nutty and earthy tone. The mouth feel is smooth and warming with a slight bite upon the finish. This is really a solid brew and different than the basic Bastard, MIKEY LIKEY!

UPDATED: DEC 1, 2007 On tap: Fruity aroma with some caramel, vanilla, and faint chocolate. However, I’m also getting some piney hops which really seems strange considering the base beer isn’t hoppy at all. It’s a transparent orangish-brown with a minimal thin off-white ring for a head. The flavor starts with moderate caramel and faint chocolate. Very mild vanilla and bourbon notes in the background. Again I’m getting some unexpected pine notes in the finish. Medium bodied with a somewhat sticky mouthfeel. 8-3-7-4-14

Bottle: The aroma consists of caramel, fruit, vanilla, and bourbon. It pours a transparent reddish-brown with a small beige head. The flavor starts with moderate caramel and light fruit and finishes with a big bourbon and buttery vanilla finish. Medium bodied with light carbonation. 7-4-7-4-15