Founders Breakfast Stout

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

Serve in Snifter

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Pours black with a small brown head. Big coffee aroma. Taste is black coffee with hints of chocolate trying to sneak through. Very bitter, almost too much. If the coffee was toned down a bit and the chocolate came out a little more this beer would be awesome. Still very enjoyable.

UPDATED: NOV 21, 2005 12 oz bottle. This one poured a most certain black with light wisps and a ring of medium-brown head. Heavily-roasted aroma of rich milk and dark chocolates and an awesome fresh coffee presence. Both the roasted coffee and chocolate were ever-present on the tastebuds, and there was a bit of nutmeg around the edges. Mouthfeel was extra smooth and coating, and the alcohol was very well hidden. Finish was long and full of burnt chocolate and espresso malts, with an accompanying bitterness. Went down extra smoothly. Great brew!

UPDATED: OCT 24, 2005 My first reaction to this was a visceral stream of obscenities. Black body with a thin but lasting head the color of coal slag. Aroma is huge fresh espresso. Flavor is massive coffee, sticky sweet malt, roasted grains. Not a big fan of real chocolate in stout, but the coffee and bitterness are tough enough to make it work here. Makes me want to add a bit of vodka and cream and call it a white russian. Hey, that’s not a bad idea. Note: doesn’t age particularly well.

Aroma is like someone dumped Hershey’s chocolate syrup into a cup of expresso, taste is rich chocolate mocha with a little bitterness in aftertaste. Agreed by my entire group, that it was the best beer we had the the Milwaukee Beer Baron’s festival. It made all the other stouts taste thin. So far Founder’s is my favorite newbrewery for 2005. Just wish I could find their Devil Dancer in Wisconsin

Just a spectacular stout...rich roasted vanilla/coffee/caramel/chocolate/espresso/oatmeal/ fruit....and on and on and on...The mouthfeel is a little thin surprisingly, yet that works for me...I’m not so overwhelmed and sated by one of these babies...Thank God, because I’ve got three more waiting to follow the way the first one went. I am beginning to really keep my eyes on this brewery...so many of their entries are worthwhile. (Ratebeer message me, guys, and I’ll let you know where to send my "Thank You")

Pours dark black and thick with a thin chocolate brown head. Aromas of oatmeal bread, chocolate, coffee and raisins, not overpowering. Bready chocolate flavor with a great roasty taste that rises into your nose from the back of your throat. Strong coffee-bitter finish coats the back of your tounge. Full, oily body. Not sure I’d want it for breakfast, but was perfect for an after dinner dessert. Thanks to EyedrinkAle for the in-person trade.

Space black, thick mocha colored head. As this neared room temp, a rich nose of chocolate covered espresso beans and caramel waft from my snifter. Additional notes of charred roasted coffee grounds follow closely behind. Flavor is all about coffee ground bitterness, dark chocolate, and ashy hops. Medium to full bodied, light carbonation, super dry, bitter coffee finish. Fantastic brew from these guys....

UPDATED: JUL 25, 2012 It’s what I’ve always wanted. A coffee infused stout fit for a morning drink... honestly, there are times when I wanted to crack a Shakespeare or Chocolate stout in the morning for a pick-me-up. For someone who can only drink high octane dark roast coffees, I love them thick, black, bitter and hearty. Founders Breakfast Stout is everything I love about coffee put inside a great stout. Hearty, thick nose of espresso beans and dark chocolate... some light toffee notes hidden away deep, and to be honest I can’t find much else behind the montrous nose of dark roast coffee beans. Not that it’s a problem, the aroma is well formulated and soothing on the senses. Initially a little biting bitterness on the lips, then milky thick and creamy sweet bakers chocolate and rich, sticky fudge cake, before a medium potency explosion of aggresive, bitter black coffee flavor over the tongue. Finished out with a moderate coating of coffee beans, toffee, cream, chocolate pastries and a kick of ultrasour butterscotch and high octance java. It certainly is unique. What would make it one of the best stouts in the world? How about a slightly higher gravity with some alcohol and smoky, burnt malts showing up. I guess that is what I find so appealing and addicting about Speedway. This one is not far off, however.

Twist off cap...cool. I would definetly drink this in the morning if I had a hangover. I’m probably one of the only ones not to rate the aroma very high but it does smell exactly like an old coffeee filter that you throw out when your done with the pot. In fairness to the bottle I am drinking, it is extremely fresh, I had my local wine store order a case and I just picked it up a few hours ago. Also I have no choice but to compare this to Bells Java Stout which I just had and rated a full blown 5 because of how much I loved it. On to the beer. Black, opaque pour with a thick brown head into a dirty glass. Mmmmm. Heavy black coffee taste, super smooth and full bodied. Not complex, but like I said this is pretty fresh, and also I understand that nuance was probably not what they were going for in brewing this beer. Decent alcohol warming but I was able to chug a bottle and then savor a second. I don’t drink coffee by itself but I love it in my beer. Excellent stout but if I could only buy one between this and the Bells, it’s Java Stout almost every time.

Poured and let to sit out for about 15 minuted before I actually took my first smell or taste, just to see how it looked. It poured jet-black with only a slight head at first so I poured a little more vigorously at the end and it almost looked like nitrogen bubbles coming down the side of the glass but there was no nitro in the bottle obviously. After letting sit for 15 min the head decreased from a little more than an inch to about 1/4 inch but is still there in a tight knit pattern. Also left a perfect unbroken curtain of tiny bubbled dark lace around the rim of the shaker. Aroma is initially roasted coffee beans, almost more ground coffee aroma then a brewed coffee. Which reminds me that this smells exactly like the homebrew I made by throwing 1/2 lb of lightly ground dark coffee beans right into the secondary. However, as this warms the coffee aroma blends nicely with rich dark and bittersweet chocolate, a hint of hazelnut and a nice amount of roasted malt. Very low carbonation which allows for the smoothness of this beer to come through nicely as well as allowing the full rich and complex flavors to develop. The first thing you notice as you take your first sip, besides the low carbonation, is the fact that this beer is overwhelmingly thick and extremely full bodied. Coats the entire mouth and stays for a while leaving all the powerfull flavors to linger. Freshly brewed strong black coffee is the initial flavor but a strong roasted malt character soon follows and blends nicely with the coffee. Chocolate is in there as well to create a nice balance. The oatmeal is used in just the right amount to create an exceptionally smooth beer, but also not too much as to destroy the beautiful head and lace due to its oils (Think Sam Smiths Oatmeal Stout). Some burnt black malts are noticed towards the end and adds to a slight acrid feel to the end that is actually very welcome. No doubt this adds that dark as night black appearance and it really goes nice with all the coffee in here. Low to medium hopping as the finish is just rightly balanced to give a good finish and not to become cloying. In fact it might actually come out tad harsh in the finish and create a slight sensation in the back of my throat now that I think about it. Still one of the best overall stouts in the world. Many thanks to Eyedrinkale for the trade!