Founders KBS Espresso Ale Brewed with Chocolate and Coffee Aged in Oak Bourbon Barrels

Review Date 11/24/2020  By John Staradumsky

Hey you breweries! Yeah, you! I’m talking to you so listen up good! What’s up with you guys sending beers I want to OTHER states before I see them here in Georgia? Why just last year, everybody else was raving about Bell’s Double Two Hearted, but did I get any here in Georgia? Oh, no! I had to wait until 2020 to see it sold in the Peach State. As if that were not enough, folks were also posting pictures of Founders KBS Espresso Ale Brewed with Chocolate and Coffee Aged in Oak Bourbon Barrels. None to be found in Georgia, though.

Well, not until the middle of November of this year, when I walked into Target and saw it all lined up neatly next to Founders KBS Maple Mackinac Fudge Imperial Stout with Mackinac Fudge Coffee, Maple Syrup, and Chocolate Aged in Oak Bourbon Barrels. That one, at least, was not late. I scored a 4-pack of each.

From the bottle label:

KBS gets its coffee fix in the very first variant to come from our beloved bourbon barrel-aged stout. Yes, KBS may already be brewed with coffee, but it gets some extra oomph when it’s aged on espresso beans after being removed from barrels. The result is a fresh and snappy coffee twist on our classic barrel-aged beer. Who says you can’t start your day with a barrel-aged stout?

Personally, I think I’ll save the beer for the evening and stick to good old-fashioned coffee in the mornings. I’ve never been a morning drinker (except once at Oldenberg’s Beer Camp almost 30 years ago, but hey, that was Beer Camp).

Founders KBS Espresso Ale Brewed with Chocolate and Coffee Aged in Oak Bourbon Barrels has an alcohol content of 12% with 70 IBUs. My bottles are stamped bottled on 10.21.20, so my samples are very fresh. I would like to age at least one to see how it develops. This may be difficult as I gave a bottle to my future son-in-law so only have two left. I paid $21.84 for my 4-pack at Target, which I think is a lot for four bottles of beer. Even beer this amazing.

Founders KBS Espresso Ale Brewed with Chocolate and Coffee Aged in Oak Bourbon Barrels pours to a jet-black color with a medium creamy tan head and an explosive coffee nose. The espresso beans add even more black coffee and coffee grind notes in the nose and the palate. Taking a sip, the beer is full in body and rolls over the tongue with a full luxurious richness. There is chocolate and espresso coffee and a hint of bourbon and wood.

I think perhaps the espresso occludes the barrel aging a bit here, a negative for me in a barrel aged beer. That said, this really is a wonderful beer. I will peg it at four and a half stars because of both the high price and the fact that the potent espresso notes crowd out a bit of the barrel aging. Still and all, I would absolutely buy it again, and might head back to do just that (if there is any left).  How to peg it? I will categorize it as a coffee stout due to the powerful espresso notes, but you could lump it in with imperial stouts and be on solid ground as well.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 

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