Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

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

This is an incredible brew! Definitely borders on the Barleywine style--but I liked this even better. The Old Curmudgeon poured a deep brown with red highlights. The aroma was of sweet candied malts. The flavor followed that perfectly. There was just the right amount of hops in the back end to make this a very well rounded beer. One of my new favorites.

(Bottle via trade with OhioDad, thanks Scott!) Has a sort of unique spiciness...Pours murky dark brownish orange with a thin biege head that melts quickly to mostly a ring around the edge. Has an aroma of sweet malt, some alcohol and strong spice presence - was driving me nuts trying to figure out the spice aroma. Some fine webby lacing. Mouthfeel smooth, pretty full. Flavor strongly influenced by the spice (clove, perhaps) and some sweet brown sugary malt. Makes me think of a barleywine but for the spice. Some alcohol burn. Full-flavored, pretty heavy-duty beer.

Mar. 2007 - Old Ales being one of my favorite styles, and Founders being one of my favorite brewers, my high expectations were a little disappointed here. Pour was murky brown, like swamp water lots of yeasties floating around...no head or lacing. Aroma was thick caramel. Flavor was really sweet caramel and a strong fruity phenolic flavor that tasted more like bananas than any hefe I’ve had. Really sweet. The mouthfeel was really thick (can’t accuse this one of being watery), but very undercarbonated and flat, which made the sweetness mildly cloying. Very little bitterness to balance out all the sweetness. I never thought I’d say this, but the Sam Adams take on this style was far superior.

Amber color pour with a small foamy head that lasts a while. Aroma of alcohol, fruit, brown sugar, and some acidic notes. Flavor is rich, sweet and malty. Big on fruit and dark caramel. Pretty good stuff.

I liked this alot. Deep hazy ruby color with no head. Aroma of tobacco, pepper, vanilla oak, alcohol. Intoxicating. Spicy taste, not much sweetness from the roasted malts. It is smooth and very drinkable. A style that gets overlooked IMO, which is sad.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a hazy copper color with a small white head that disappears quickly. The aroma is sweet, somewhat fruity, with a caramel malt backbone. The flavor, which opens with moderately sweet chewy caramel malt, is right in line with the best Old Ales. A slight fruit presence accompanies the malt, but is overtaken in the finish by a hoppy bitterness. The balance of this beer is quite impressive. Regardless of serving temperature, this one instantly has a warming effect as it travels down your throat. Surprisingly though, the alcohol is not very noticable. Full bodied and very smooth drinking.

From a bottle poured a dark amber color with a small head. Nice strong malty sweet flavor with a lingering finish.

12 oz. bottle from Buffalohead on 5/23/2008. The bottle itself has "05" below the label. Hazy brown pour with a very spare, wispy thin head. Complex aroma includes caramel, raisins, chocloate, spice, oak, and vanilla. Medium body, low carbonation, smooth and rich mouthfeel.

Sweet malt flavors dominate, caramel and brown sugar are quite evident. Balance comes in the form of an earthy and spicy bitterness that makes for a very pleasing finish.