Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)
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Tasting Notes
The aroma leads with bourbon barrel char, vanilla, and dark chocolate, backed by a wave of roasted coffee and a faint boozy warmth. On the palate, flavors of bittersweet cocoa, espresso, caramel, and oak layer over each other with real density. The body is thick and viscous without being cloying, with enough carbonation to keep it from sitting flat. The finish is long, warming, and dry, with lingering notes of charred wood and dark-roast coffee.
About the Brewery
Founders Brewing Co. is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was founded in 1997. They built their reputation on bold, high-gravity beers and have long been a significant name in the American craft scene. Their CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout) and Backwoods Bastard are part of the same barrel-aged family that made KBS one of the most sought-after annual releases in the country.
Food Pairings
Dark chocolate desserts — a flourless chocolate torte in particular — mirror the beer's roasted cocoa character without fighting it. Aged gouda or a sharp blue cheese offers enough fat and funk to hold up against the barrel intensity. Smoked brisket works well because the meat's smokiness echoes the charred oak notes. Tiramisu is a natural match, given the shared espresso and mascarpone richness. If you want something simpler, a salted brownie cuts through the sweetness while amplifying the chocolate.
Style Guide
American Imperial Stouts are a domestic amplification of the English Imperial Stout tradition, pushing roasted malt character, body, and alcohol — typically between 9% and 13% — well beyond their British predecessors. They're defined by intense flavors of dark chocolate, espresso, and dark fruit, with a full, chewy body and little to no hop presence at the forefront. When aged in bourbon barrels, as this beer is, the style gains additional layers of vanilla, caramel, and oak that soften some of the roast harshness. The style sits apart from a standard stout or porter primarily by its sheer density and the complexity that comes with that higher ABV.