Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, MI

When you find a bottle of Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout, you savor it, you love it, you cuddle it, you hold it until you can’t hold it anymore and you let it go into the glass and you savor one last night with it like you’ll never see it again. This is how I feel about this beer. Before I even begin, I can say that it is the best beer I’ve ever had. This wasn’t the first time I’d had it; no, I liked it enough to bring a bottle across the country back to Montana with me just to have and hold and to eventually celebrate some great occasion with. Well, before I left Montana again, it seemed like a perfect time to dive into a glass of perfection. I’d had the bottle cellar-aged for about eight months, but I’m sure this gem would only continue its rise to a bigger and better beer if I’d let it sit for a few more months or even a few more years. It only comes out once a year and bottles are super hard to come by. So if you find a stray bottle, capture it immediately. Unless I’m standing right behind you. There might be a shank fight on your hands then. The beer really is that good.

Pouring the darkest and heavenliest of all jet blacks that I’ve ever seen, the Kentucky Breakfast Stout had a thick and dark cream head perched atop the beautiful libation. The smell was unbeatable with a dense aroma of seductive bourbon and dreamy cream. The layers of flavor just in the scent were already enough to make me want this beer on my deathbed. The taste took multiple sips to even begin to separate all the complex and intriguing flavors that radiated throughout. An initial blast of thick cream, toffee, and burnt brown sugar kicks you in the mouth as a whirlwind of dull-sweet chocolate malt and toasted semi-sweet chocolate dances haphazardly on the tongue. The bitterness up front is well-performed and the booze never becomes overbearing or a note worth forgetting. The bourbon, though, is the outstanding element in this beer. The bourbon flavor arrives early to the party, hangs out strong all night, and doesn’t leave until the last cigarette is consumed and the last partier is ready for bed. But he never gets obnoxious or annoying; he’s the one you never want to go. The only drawback you can even begin to have with this beer is the density and the complexity–it’s almost too much at times. Oddly enough, as the beer warmed, I began to like it a little bit less. This really is one to have slightly chilled to catch every last highlight.

I hate the word “fanboy” and I hate hyperbole. But fuck it, I’m a fanboy and this is the best of the best. If I could have a glass of this even every six months, I would be one extremely happy man. Founders is a brewery that is beyond compare in their complexity, their dedication, their variety, and their execution. I have yet to find a beer there that isn’t as delicious as the last. And Kentucky Breakfast Stout stands at the top of the peak as the best stout in the United States. And it is easily one of the best beers in the country, as well. Finding it might be a challenge but when spring comes around, you must find a bottle. No excuses. If you crave beer, you owe it to yourself. If you hate it, I’ll buy you a case of whatever you prefer. I’m that confident when it comes to this landmark beer.