Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout

Now back to the real stuff. This is a brew that is available in north Jersey but we just haven't been able to find it until now. And another one from Founders which is one of my favorite breweries.

This alcohol infused imperial stout pours black with little to no head and almost no lacing. The smell is very heavy on the bourbon but includes hints of chocolate, dark malts, and a little bit of coffee. The taste is highly alcoholic but transitions smoothly into a subtle coffee and dark chocolate finish. If you are a fan of bourbon then you MUST try this beer. Imagine if you will someone taking bourbon, mixing it with chocolate and coffee and then adding yeast and hops - thats what this is. Delicious and different.

Appearance - 3.6

Smell - 4.0

Taste - 4.1

Texture - 4.0

Overall - 3.93/5

Black Forest

Ok... so looking back on this, this was probably a huge mistake. There is this drink known as a "Black Forest" which usually entails mixing a dark chocolate stout (most of the time Young's or Brooklyn) with a sweet lambic. Let me repeat that, a sweet lambic. We had the genius idea that since we were tasting one of the best stouts and one of the best lambics ever we might as well mix them to see what happens. Oh boy.

The appearance of this monstrosity is just like hunaphu - dark with a decent sized head. The aroma is pretty much what I expected seeing as we are mixing a coffee imperial stout with a sour lambic - sour coffee and sour chocolate, not too bad but not very appetizing. The taste is very sour at first and then leads into a strange sour vanilla and chocolate finish. I didn't die, but I probably wouldn't recommend trying this (even if you can find these two brews).

Appearance - 4.0

Smell - 3.8

Taste - 3.5

Texture - 3.6

Overall - 3.73/5

Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise

This is our first true sour lambic, and the second of two beers that DJ's parents picked up in Florida, thanks again!

This brew pours burgundy with a thin pinkish white head and looks very similar to almost all of the other lambic's we've reviewed on the site. The aroma is moderately strong and has characteristics of sour raspberries, vinegar, apples, and hard cider. The taste is extremely sour - pretty much all I can get from it is the sour raspberries. Right at the end there is a slight vinegar flavor that transitions into an aftertaste (doesn't go away for a while!). Oh man is this sour, if you ever had one of those warhead candies as a kid, this is that in beer form, sheesh. Obviously if you are not a fan of anything sour avoid this like the plague, otherwise, if you want to try something a little different, at least compared to US lambics, give this a whirl.

Appearance - 3.6

Smell - 4.0

Taste - 4.2

Texture - 3.7

Overall - 3.88/5

Cigar City Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout

Thank you to DJ's parents for picking this one up while they were vacationing in Florida, there is no way that this could be found otherwise.

This monster of a brew pours like the gulf of mexico (too soon?) with a milk chocolate colored head, very small carbonation bubbles and very nice lacing once the head fades. Aroma is very strong and includes notes of chocolate, cinnamon, coffee, and sweet malts. This is a very heavy brew! The smell is like someone mixed Starbucks with a liquor store. The taste is not nearly as strong as the aroma but includes most of the same stuff: Coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and alcohol (right at the end). This is a great beer, but like some other imperial stouts we've reviewed, if you don't like coffee then I suggest you steer clear.

Appearance - 4.2

Smell - 4.1

Taste - 4.3

Texture - 4.7

Overall - 4.33/5

Brew Tasting the Thirty-seventh

Fonnie is going away for the summer, so this is the last of the teamed reviews we will have until fall semester rolls around. This is gonna be a big one and we will most definitely be feeling it after this. Stay tuned for some interesting reviews.

1) Cigar City Hunaphu Imperial Stout

2) Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise

3) Black Forest

4) Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout

5) Green Flash Stout

6) Ken Schmidt Maui Stone Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter

7) Great Divide Old Ruffian

8) Bells Third Coast Old Ale

9) Hair of the Dog Fred

10) Bells Two Hearted Ale

This is gonna be a long night.