Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

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

Bottle. Pours cherry red and orange. Peaty, marmalade orange aroma with a hint of bubble gum. Flavor has spicy, grainy notes to begin, then some interesting scotch characteristics and a warming finish. Body is buttery, smooth, and satisfyingly rich, with a sticky finish. Flavor has a musty quality, I hope the name of this brew is not influencing me so much.

This is different one. Has a nice hazy brownish color. Smells of malts with hints of coconut, barley and figs among other sweeter things. Tastes to me mainly of malts and, as weird as it seems, coconuts. Not much carbonation in this one. This was an absolute pleasant experience.

12oz brown glass twist-top. No date. Appearance: Tawny orange/brown. No head to speak of, and somewhat cloudy (no sediment though). Nose: Sweet raisin bread, apricots, toasted cashews, deep caramel, milk chocolate, dried figs. Palate: Medium- to full-bodied with loads of sugar up front. Dried fruits (figs, raisons, prunes) mingle with a layer of light milk chocolate (low cocoa %), and some flavors that remind me of tawny/colheita ports and malmsey madeiras. Rich and somewhat thick, there is a moderate edge from the hop bitterness. Notes: A well made Old Ale, will improve over short-term ageing, but I don’t think it’s made to go for more than 3 years with improvement. I would like to see more hop character for longer ageing. The hops show themselves and try to contain the HUGE sweetness, but it’s just bursting at the brim with sugar. A little more contained than the Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog, though.

Pours a deep red amber, fairly clear, small off white head. Aroma is caramel malt, brown sugar, vanilla, and alcohol. Falvor is sweet caramel and brown sugar as well, with a strong alcohol presence, moderate amount of bitter hops in the finish. Nice barley wine, will likely mellow with age hopefully.

Sweet and though I often don’t like sweet/malty beers, this just rises above. While many or most beers diminish with oxidation, there’s something in this that makes me think it would survive. Old ale indeed. Guess I should get one and see if I’m right or not, but I can at least say that I really enjoyed this one fully.

Bottle. Pours a dark caramel color with a small white head. Aroma of caramel, dark fruit, vanilla, bourbon and some toffee. Flavor was very sweet with caramel, toffee, oaky bourbon, raisins and notes of dark fruit with a medium to full body and has a sweet warming finish. Excellent brew

Pours a deep amber/mahogany with very little head. Smelled like oak or bourbon aging malty goodness. Taste was the same with a surprising bitterness which I learned afterward was due to blending e.s.b. type beer and barleywine. Thick beer but very drinkable. Yum.

cedar vanilla cream and big malt and distilate aroma. sweet thick and creamy but viscus. fantastic complexity with wod cream and alcho notes.