Posted on

Founders Brewing Company: Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS) (2017)

Founders Brewing Company: Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS) (2017) on the Windowsill

Special Ingredients: Coffee, Chocolate

Special notes: Barrel Aged

ABV: 11.7%

IBU: 45

Availability: Once per year

@untappd says: 4.54/5

This was a great weekend to get the CBS on the Windowsill!

From one craft-questionable barrel-aged stout on the sill to another, we move onto today’s brew… The world renown Canadian Breakfast Stout from Founders Brewing Company. Why do I call it craft-questionable? Because, in December 2014, Founders sold a 30% stake of its company to the Mahou-San Miguel Group. MSMG is a Spanish brewery that opened its taps in 1890 and is, today, the biggest producer of beer in Spain. Since the Brewers Association rules state that a brewery cannot be more than 25% owned by a macro-brewery and still be considered craft beer, Founders lost its certification.

Founders Brewing CBS Bottle
Legend has it that the Mountie always gets his man… (Martin Stezano/Beers on Windowsills)

Like with the Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stouts, my opinion on Founders is clear: if you make great beer, I’m gonna drink it. Because I have a friend that used to work for Founders, I’ve been exposed to a lot of their beer. I have very rarely been disappointed. The CBS is one of the finest stouts I’ve ever tasted. What Founders did was take its legendary Breakfast Stout and age it not just in bourbon barrels, but bourbon barrels that had previously housed maple syrup. The coffee, chocolate, maple and bourbon flavors mix together to make an absolutely amazing brew. I don’t care who owns 30% of the CBS, I’m loving 100% of it.

Check this one out on Instagram, now!

View this post on Instagram

. Founders Brewing Company: Canadian Breakfast Stout (2017) . This was a great weekend to get the CBS on the Windowsill! . From one craft-questionable barrel-aged stout on the sill to another, we move onto today’s brew… The world renown Canadian Breakfast Stout from Founders Brewing Company. Why do I call it craft-questionable? Because, in 2014, Founders sold a 30% stake of its company to the Mahou-San Miguel Group. MSMG is a Spanish brewery that opened its taps in 1890 and is, today, the biggest producer of beer in Spain. Since the Brewers Association rules state that a brewery cannot be more than 25% owned by a macro-brewery and still be considered craft beer, Founders lost its certification. . Like with the Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stouts, my opinion on Founders is clear: if you make great beer, I’m gonna drink it. Because I have a friend that used to work for Founders, I’ve been exposed to a lot of their beer. I have very rarely been disappointed. The CBS is one of the finest stouts I’ve ever tasted. What Founders did was take its legendary Breakfast Stout and age it not just in bourbon barrels, but bourbon barrels that had previously housed maple syrup. The coffee, chocolate, maple and bourbon flavors mix together to make an absolutely amazing brew. I don’t care who owns 30% of it, I’m loving 100% of it. . ABV: 11.7%, IBU: 45, Available once per year . @untappd says: 4.54/5

A post shared by Beers On Windowsills (@beersonwindowsills) on

Posted on

Founders Brewing Company: Dankwood (2018)

Founders Brewing Company: Dankwood

Hops: Chinook, Mosaic, Simcoe

Malts: Caramalt, Roasted Barley

ABV: 12.2%

IBU: 65

Availability: May to June

@untappd says: 3.93/5

There’s a big slab of dank on the Windowsill today!

I can’t stress it enough. I love Founders Brewing Company’s barrel-aged series. The brewery currently has over 20,000 filled barrels waiting to be released. They’re stored in former mines below the streets of Grand Rapids, as well as at an off-site storage facility named the Barrel House, which boasts more than two-square acres of refrigerated space… wowsers! The Dankwood was this year’s third BA release—after KBS and Backwoods Bastard and followed by Barrel Runner and the soon-to-be-released Curmudgeon’s Better Half. It did not disappoint.

Unlike some of the other barrel-aged releases for this year, the Dankwood is all-new for 2018. Founders took their beloved—and previously Windowsilled—ReDANKulous red IPA and stuck it in bourbon barrels. The result is a somewhat sweet, malty, boozy and complex bottle of deliciousness I really enjoyed. Also, I dropped the bottle from the top shelf of my fridge onto my tile floor, and it didn’t break. So… dank!

Head over to Instagram to like this one. Don’t forget to follow Beers on Windowsills for more great craft beer!

Posted on

Bell’s Brewery: Oberon Ale

Bell's Brewery: Oberon Ale

Malt: Wheat

Yeast: Bell’s signature house ale yeast

ABV: 5.8%

IBU: N/A

Availability: March to August

@untappd says: 3.76/5

“Lord, what fools these mortals be… on the Windowsill!” – William Shakespeare (maybe)

In William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream—and also in literature from as early as the 13th century—Oberon was the name given to King of the Fairies. In Shakespeare’s famous work, he is involved in an argument with his wife, Titania, over how to raise an orphaned child. Should he be a henchman, or just a normal kid? Go read the classic to find out who wins! OK, you can also find the 1999 Calista Flockhart movie…

The Oberon Ale might just be King of the summer beers. It’s a wheat ale fermented with Bell’s Brewery’s signature house ale yeast. The wheat malt gives it a smoother mouthfeel, and it has a nice hoppy and mildly fruity aroma and flavor. Bell’s takes pride in that this beer is only made with four ingredients, and no spices or fruit. Look at that color. Doesn’t it seem like something you’d want on a nice, hot, summer day?

Make sure to like this one on Instagram, and follow us for more great beer!

Posted on

Founders Brewing Company: Kentucky Breakfast Stout (2017)

Founders Brewing Company: Kentucky Breakfast Stout

ABV: 11.8%

IBU: 70

Availability: Limited, new version released in 2018

@untappd says: 4.47/5

Let’s celebrate KBS Week on the Windowsill!

If you didn’t know, Founders Brewing Company is officially kicking off KBS Week today. The Kentucky Breakfast Stout is, once again, part of their barrel-aged series for 2018. This series will feature six releases throughout the year. The KBS is the first for 2018, and it releases everywhere this week. My bottle is from last year’s KBS release, which means I let it bottle condition for an extra year. Go get your bottle today!

The KBS is one of the better stouts I’ve ever had. If you’ve had the base beer, which is the Breakfast Stout, you know how good that is. Now picture that amplified to be a little beefier in alcohol content, and then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for a whole year. It’s delightfully creamy and chocolaty, and those bourbon undertones warm you up nicely on the way down. I’m happy KBS Week gave me a chance to finally pop the top on this one. So good!

Celebrate KBS Week on our Instagram, right now!