Founders Deca

Formerly brewed at Founders Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

sample from a bomber at DLD ’09. pours a dark burgandy/brown with a very thin, beige head. aroma was sweet and spicy with notes of toffee, brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon along with a touch of citrus hops and dried apricot. flavor was big, sweet, and malty with notes of roasted pistachio, more toffee, hints of red fruit, a touch of hops, and a great spicy note on the swallow. mouthfeel was sticky and full bodied with a solid boozy warmth and a sweet finish. overall, a very interesting, very good brew but isn’t it a barley wine?

Murky brown/red. No head. Mostly a barleywine, but whatever. Definitely feels like it spent ten hours in the kettle, well it’s rather caramelized. Maple syrup, nutty. There is some indescribable vegetal flavor in there, which is niether good nor bad. Finishes with definite vegetalness-like the insides of pumpkin not for eating-it’s really quite strong and odd, but not bad per say. Some chocolate in there. Alcohol is pretty well hidden. Body is thick and sticky, but that’s definitely ’to style’ with this one. Good and very complex, but not a particularly good way.

Pours a cloudy, murky brown with little head. Super sweet aroma with some spicy cinnamony aroma. Flavor is something interesting. Definitely full-bodied, but plenty of caramel sweet and spicy. Almost like a cider at times. Odd finish, but really good.

Rich brown pour with almost no head. Aroma of brown sugar, caramel, almond, pistachio, and cinnamon. Hugely malty flavor. Maple candy, caramel, spices/fruit that remind of mulled wine. Nutty finish with a lingering maple sweetness. Nice full mouthfeel. Different, and good.

Amber with a thin white head. Very malt forward with plenty of fruit in the aroma. Flavor had some weird noes like minty mouthwash, and bubblegum. I also got beets in this one. Very odd finish, very odd beer, but i worked in the small sample I had.

22 oz bottle, cellared almost 2 years. Dense tawny brown, clear edges, hazy slick. Nose is caramel, cedar and nutmeg. Smooth medium body; sticky but not dripping. Muted carb gently tickles the tongue. This is indeed a malt bomb. Somewhere between mead and barleywine with winter spicing. Taste is maple, caramel, dates, cardamon and candied orange peel. Dry earthy finish with bitter almond. I’m a sucker for a super sweet brew. Quite tasty.

bottle, purchased 2 years ago and cellared since i heard the beer was super hot. the amount of nuttiness in this beer was insane. pistachio and rose, all over. here are my notes: "plum hazy. minimal quickly dissipating head. alcohol from a mile away. cotton candy, malt, belgian esters, pretty wild aroma. tastes like alcohol, winey, cotton candy. dark rotten fruit, rose, and pistachio. so much rose and pistachio. thick and syrupy. kinda tastes like india. i like it a decent amount.

22 oz bomber. Pours a nice chestnut color with hardly any head. Damn this is a great, great beer. Closer to a barleywine than the spice herb veggie beer. Aroma is complex and full of caramel, brown sugar, dark agave nectar, and a very slight hint of hops. Flavor is sweet with tons of toffee, caramel, some fruit, full mouthfeel and a very tiny hit of hops as the end. Man I want more of this and NOW!!