Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

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

guessing 06 vintage, 12 oz bottle via trade with I’m not sure who, but I’ve wanted to try this for a while as founders never ever lets me down. Pours dark murky brown with a head that quickly becomes a thin line of white around the ring. The nose is very bourbony with a lot sweetness that is muted in some ways by a lot molasses. The taste is sweet and full of bourbon and a nice big mouth feel warming the throat nicely. This is certainly a great old ale, and I’d expect nothing less from the geniuses at Founders.

Bottle. Vintage 2006. I got pretty sick of bourbon aged beers there for a while so I’ve sat on this for several months until I got the urge for one of these again. Good thing I did, there’s lots of bourbon in this. Pours a bubbly dark ruby-brown with lots of little floaties and a lasting average size tan head. Aroma is sweet and malty with lots of oaky bourbon along with some dark fruit and hops. Flavour has lots of bourbon (almost too much in my opinion) along with sweet malt and some hops in the finish. Medium to full bodied, syrupy mouthfeel. Alcohol’s pretty well hidden for the most part. This is pretty good and well done, and if bourbon aged beers weren’t so overdone right now I’d probably like it even more.

Again, thanks to Dave from Founders and Chuck the owner of the Dilly Deli in Cincy for hosting the Founders tasting event. A: Nice, a little darker than amber color. No head and little lacing to speak of. S: Nice smell of citrus and figs. Can pick up a little alcohol in the nose as well. T: A little more of a kick than the bottle offers. The flavors are a little more pronounced in the tap offering. A stronger spiced coconut rum is noticeable. A very good offering on draft. M: Very smooth and good. A little bit more harsh than the bottle due to the pronounced strength of the flavoring. D: A very sessionable beer. Very smooth and tastes light. The alcohol is sure to catch up with you, but the trip to get there is well worth it. What can I say, another great brew from Founders that I’ve gotten to experience on draft.

From a 12oz Bottle. Transparent, golden honey colored pour with shades of ripened peach flesh and blood orange skins, topped with a thin layer of creamy caramel head. Big, fruity aroma of fresh strawberries and drizzled caramel sauce over the top of some fresh vanilla ice cream. Some pecan pralines and chewy raisins add further complexity. Tantalizing. A hint of alcohol is the only detractant in the bouquet, mild mannered, but noticeable in that its a sharp contrast to the soft nature of the other aromatics. Full bodied, but filled with a light carbonation that really makes this one melt across the palate like a tingly dessert foam. A little bit of black cherry, complete with pit tannins, and some caramelized, peaty suggestions of a single malt scotch. Some broken leather and brandy touches as well. A bit dryer in flavor, the oakiness from the barrel comes across more strongly in the mouth than in the nose, lingering especially strong in the finish. Warming, bourbony finish. I get the feeling that if this was aged properly, some fruity oxidation notes would really help open this one up a bit, as the fruity character in the nose is quite marvelous; the dryness and heat on the palate is a bit of a let down after such a pleasant olfactory introduction. A nice treat, and certainly offers enough complexity to ponder. Thanks, Tom!

This bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a small sized head of foamy finely sized tan colored bubbles that were and left behind a hazy with fine particulate dark brown colored body and a poor lacing. The aroma was malty. The mouth feel was tingly at the start with a mellow finish. The weird yucky flavor wasa way off the mark for me with notes of weird maltiness. A horrible one that I would not buy again. So against the grain it looks like a rerate is in store for this one.

Bottle: Murky brown, thin spritzy light beige head, sparce lacing.   Oaken nose, Bourbon, slight vanilla.   Sweet Bourbony start, alcohol is slightly noticeable.   Soft tart dark pitted fruit, black cherries, candied walnuts, all make for a pretty damn fine treat.   Fairly smooth, yet not overly rich.   Moderate to full body and mouthfeel.   Not sure what to make of the underlying beer as the Oak/Bourbon dominate.   Remains fairly malty and warming.   Soft alcoholic Bourbon kick at the finish.   This would have been better suited for a Porter or Stout, but its still fairly tasty as is.   Thanks Matt for this one!

Bottle. Cognac scent. Rose, muddish hints. Earthy. Similar in taste. Evaporates very quickly off the tongue. Exquisite though not appreciated fully by me since this is not my favorite style.

Cloudy amber with light head / Big, sweet, winey nose of coconut, caramel, and bourbon / Full body, thick and moderately syrupy, with superb balance and finish / Flavors of coconut, bourbon, caramel, milk chocolate, vanilla, and oak / One hell of a brew - almost flawless.