Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

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

Thanks to ucusty for this one. Pours muddy orange with lots of sediment. it has a small disappearing orange head. Caramel and toffee in the aroma along with orange, plum, and raisins. The flavor is thick, sweet and alcoholic. Caramel, toffee, orange, and plum make for a pretty sweet and syrupy beer.

Well oaked aroma of whiskey, with marzipan underneath. Cloudy rust colored, full of floaties, completely headless. Flavor is dominated by bourbon, but dates and candied peaches emerge at midpalate. It is a bit like Southern Comfort (one of the few liquors I can stand) but more bitter and woody. Warm, bitter, dry finish. Medium to full bodied. If I liked bourbon more, this would be rated much higher as it seems to be a well crafted and complex beer.

Poured light copper with some white head. Nice sweet caramel malty taste balanced with some hop flavor. Aroma is similarly sweet and malty.

In short: A alcoholised dessert cake in a bottle. Boring sipper.
How: Bottle 12oz. Many times. Usually a few months old.
The look: Cloudy orange-copper body toped by a small off-white head.
In long: Nose is boozy (higher alcohols feel) and sweet. Taste is toasted raisin bread, cake, figs, brown sugar, sticky caramel. The beer is excessively sweet, annoyingly so. No hops presence which is not surprising given the style. Alcohol is very present and feels even more than the 9.8%. To make a long story short I’ll say that this beer tastes list a rum baba. Yet another sweet boozy beer getting good reviews that “I don’t get”. I guess I will always be different ratebeerian. Like most I drink too much but my days are lettered.

Poured a golden red, with a nice head that dissipated slowly. An exceptional looking beer. Smell of quality Ale yeast with apple, dark cherry notes and a hint of vanilla. Taste was just what i am looking for in an Old Ale, malty ale with hints of dark cherry and apple. These flavors are present at the start remain through the middle of the sip. The ale finishes with a light alcohol burn and a typically ale tartness. I found this highly drinkable for a high alcohol beer, and could have easily had a second.

Bottle. Bit hazy amber body with a medium off white head. Barley, sweet fruit, light alcohol, brown sugar, prune and tonsof caramel in aroma. Very complex. The flavour is also complex and contains notes of hops, lots of caramel, dried fruit, sweet malt, sweet barley and alcohol. Creamy texture. Other than the alcohol is very profound I love it.

Bottle from Beermerchants.com. Pours an amber/brown with a gradually dissipating head which leaves a nice lacing on top. Aromas of toffee, caramel, citrus, demerara sugar. Flavours of toffee, licorice, malts, caramel, citrus notes. Nice throat warming feel. Finsihes sweet, malty and very hoppy.

Lightly chilled:Kasteel glass. Great looking dark orange/brown liquid. Small creamy,head. Very slow rising bubbles and nice,lacing. Overall earthy aroma. Caramel based aroma with wood,soil,light hops and tasteful alcohol. Texture is very soft,almost light,though this is a thick beer. Upfront caramel,wood,fruit,and soil. Before the finish is more wood,caramel,and a little alcohol on the sides of the mouth. Finish is long with light earthy hop,with strong caramel,wood,toast,and light alcohol. After opening up a bit,becomes a very well put together,mellow, but flavorful and interesting shot at the old ale style. Very Respectable