Founders Highball Drifter

The second release from Founders' Bottle Shop Series is here, and it's a whopper.  Highball Drifter basically serves as a beer version of the cocktail and it served as a delightful addition to my weekend evenings.  The 11% ABV brew pours a dark, kind of amber-ish brown with an off-white head and smells of orange peel, cherry, vanilla, caramel, and bourbon.  The taste follows the nose with some added notes of brown sugar and bitters.  While it's certainly prevalent, the booze can still sneak up on you with this one, so take your time, sip, and enjoy.

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Founders Doom

I partook in a little pre-Father's Day libation on Saturday night, the latest release in the Founders Brewing Co. barrel aged series, a delicious collision of flavors in a bourbon barrel aged Imperial IPA called Doom.  Pouring a dark, goldish amber with a foamy but dissipating head, this wonderful concoction smells of hops, vanilla, and oak, with hints of booze.  The flavor is a combination of intense hops and vanilla, with the notes of oak, malt, and alcohol mingling intermittently.  It's an interesting combo of aromas and flavors, but also very appealing.  And it weighs in at 12.4% ABV, so maybe take it easy.

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Founders Porter

There's just something about darker beers that works and tastes so wonderful during the colder months of the year.  Much like i seem to overdose on IPA's in the springtime, i found myself imbibing mass quantities of porters and stouts in the winter.  A recent highlight was the Founders Porter from Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  The beer is a thick and oily black with a tan head and aromas of roasted malts, nuts, and some hints of coffee and caramel.  The taste is a little sweet on the front end, a combination of molasses and notes of cocoa, but then gets more bitter and biting on the back end when the roastiness really kicks in.  And it's oh so smooth.  All in all, this is a fantastic porter.

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Founders Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale

The winter months increase my cravings for dark, strong beers tenfold.  Stouts, porters, and such make their daily rounds over my palette...and into my belly.  And scotch ales.  I love the scotch ales.  Maybe it's the hints of bourbon and alcohol flavors.  Maybe it's the sweetness and bite.  I don't know.  But they sure do win me over every year.  Founders Brewery out of Grand Rapids, Michigan has a tasty offering called the Dirty Bastard.  The beer is a dark and inviting mahogany with a light head, aromas of malts, dark fruits, some banana, and alcohol.  As far as flavor, there's some subtle spices mixed in with the mildly sweet fruits, alcohol, and hoppy back end.  Probably one of the better scotch ales i've had in a while.  Oh, and at 8.5% ABV, you know you've got a good night ahead of you.

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