Founder's Breakfast Stout

While this is a breakfast stout, I'm not having it for breakfast.  In fact I'm having it after a long day at work and a dinner long since digested.  This is the irony of coffee Stouts.  While their coffee flavors would suggest a morning beverage, the rich chocolate malts also make for wonderful after dinner drinks.  I've heard about Founders quite a bit in reading magazines and through the "hop-vine," however, I hadn't found them in many places in Southern California.  I was able to pick up this bottle on ebay for a hefty price though.  You'll notice these pictures were taken at the new place.

This pitch black beverage has zero head and looks completely opaque, although when held to the light you can detect the slightest hint of ruby brown.  Aromas are of rich chocolate, strong coffee, and hearty alcohol.  The flavor is simply put, a mouthful of coffee.  They've enriched this beer with both Kona and Sumatra coffees, which is really coffee heaven if you're someone who likes coffee.  The effort they went to for these beans certainly pays off, as the flavor is distinct, rich and bitter.  I've had quite a few Coffee Stouts, but this has got to be by far the strongest coffee flavor I've had in any of them; perhaps almost too a fault.  While the flavor and tone of the coffee is delicious, it's hard for the chocolate and oat flake flavors to distinguish themselves.  Towards the end of the sip, the coffee begins to thin out and leave a slight metallic sort of ringing on the palate. 

As I have a few more sips, I'm able to pull out some of the chocolate and flavors of roasted grain and jut the slightest hint of oats, but it's serious work to distinguish them from the coffee.  Now I love coffee, so you won't have many complaints from me about this.  However, part of what I like about this breed of beer is it's ability to mix coffee in with the other flavors.  So while the taste distibution is somewhat limited, it's hardly a fault I can hold against it.

Breakfast Stout: ****