Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

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

Serve in English pint, Snifter

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UPDATED: AUG 2, 2012 Bottle. Poured a clear reddish orange with no head although some lace was left behind. Aroma was of a lot of malts, some caramel, maybe some acidulated? Subtle sweet aroma from the malts, some fruit (raisins?), and some heat from the alcohol. Light carbonation led to a a full and oily mouthfeel. Nice finish, an extremely smooth and lasting bitterness. This seemed like a mellowed out barley wine to me, very nice indeed. The near 10% alcohol fooled me. Not my favorite style but I enjoyed this one. Update: This has become one of my all time favorite beers. It’s delicate and robust at the same time. So smooth it’s not fair. One of the best crafted ales I have come across since I began this journey. Top shelf. Yes, this is my favorite beer.

UPDATED: MAR 2, 2013 Dark amber color, small head. Whiskey aroma and flavor, with strong maltiness and sweetness. It’s so sweet it’s sticky. But the boozy nature of the beer, coupled with the malt and oak flavor balance this out very well i like this beer a lot. One of my all time favorites. I thought my score should reflect how highly I think of this beer. Re-rate: the 2013 batch has 9.8% abv, which I think is a tad higher than it used to be.

The best example of Old Ale that I’ve ever come across. Great by itself, or with the ribs that I just had them with.

UPDATED: JUN 25, 2010 Bottle. 12 oz. (2007 Vintage) Split with Vin. Pours a sick, deep, opaque shiny brown with a one finger, thick, creamy tan head. Body is filled with snowflake chunks of pale sediment. The aroma is sneakily smooth and engaging; notes of vanilla, oak, roasted malts, buttery biscuits, bourbon, cream, toffee, and tons of caramel. Medium bodied with a gooey, round, sticky palate. The sweetness of the malts and bourbon really surface in the front, with a huge, warm boozy finish. This fucking beer is amazing. Just get a bottle and drink it. It’s like a warm hug from an old, dear friend.

UPDATED: OCT 23, 2008 I live in Grand Rapids so I’ve tried most of Founders products and though they are all distinctive in thier own way this, along with the Kentucky Boubon Stout, is by far thier finest masterpiece. Thick and Malty, this beer tastes like candy mixed with fine whiskey and warms soothingly as you swallow. The hops are generous but not too stong and play off the primary cereal flavor perfectly. Despite the price this is a beer you must try if your lucky enough to catch it on the shelf.

Fresh bottle. Hazy and murky with a dirty ruby-caramel-brown color. Big tan sawdust concentration spans the head, and we’ve got a thick, clinging tan wrung with lovely lacing tracts as we go. Aroma revels in amarillo intoxication, melding longingly with sweet chewy amaretto nougats, a pistachio-pine combo, strawberry shortcake, cherry fig neutons with sugary single malt scotch injected into the fruit filling, cherry wax chews and bubblegum. Hot flavor reservation seeps in seductively, mirroring and miring the aroma. Spiced rum, banana-rye bread and a woody bourbon tract. Peppery amaretto toffee chews and delicatessen Disaronno bubblegum. Maplewood and gentle toasty accents of coconut aid sentiments of greased bing cherries. Sticky palate persona, with the tongue melding to the roof of the mouth and then recessing to a smidgeon of palate numbing. Gentle bitterness supports a huge malt bill with dead-on carbonation. That bitterness and alcohol line the center tongue groove while whisky & rye and flame-licked oak bring out the finish. This might be this brewery’s best foot forward. A masterful demonstration of complexity, and such an original work of art.

UPDATED: JUN 16, 2009 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.

Speaking of the bourbon-aged ’06 version. This Old Ale has an incredible WOW factor. I still recall my first sip (a slap on the face by a enchanting barmaid). By the end of the first bottle, though, I had some criticism: the strong (though pleasing, like a decadent dessert) brown sugar/molasses/vanillin notes overpowered this brew’s otherwise superb range. The cellar has cured this...and now the Curmudgeon is firmly seated on my top 10 list!

UPDATED: JUL 30, 2009 Thanks to goryskewych for this 08 bottle. Yes, you’re going to think I am crazy for this rating, but this beer is a sucker punch of flavor. Amazing symphony of barrel and beer. Pours a hazy red-brown with a minimal white-ish head. Nose is brandy, spice, raisin, booze, toffee, ripe fruit, figs, plums, and all manner of goodness. Flavor gives chills... brandy, raisin, whiskey, overripe dark fruit, vanilla, and barrel. A mountain of sweetness, but not oversweet. This beer is like enjoying the company of an old friend. Medium-bodied and beautiful to look at and enjoy. Every sip brings remarks of "holy shit," but in a good way, not like Mbege. This beer lingers with malt sweetness before the flavor and beer are gone and I begin looking for another beer.

I think this is one of the best beers I’ve ever had. It pours a dark ruby with an eggshell head. It’s aroma screams apricot, and raisins,with a hint of toffee. The flavor is reminiscent of it’s aroma, very dark and sweet. It really does taste like candy. Cheers!