KBS
Founders Brewing Company

KBSKBS
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Founders Brewing Company
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
Ranked #19
ABV:
12%
Score:
100
Ranked #59
Avg:
4.6 | pDev: 8.7%
Reviews:
3,632
Ratings:
14,166
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 04, 2024
Added:
Dec 13, 2004
Wants:
  4,608
Gots:
  7,310
What we’ve got here is an imperial stout brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates, then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year to make sure wonderful bourbon undertones come through in the finish. Makes your taste buds squeal with delight.

KBS stands for "Kentucky Breakfast Stout"

ABV varies by batch.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by YeahRightt:
Photo of YeahRightt
Reviewed by YeahRightt from Virginia

4.5/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2015 KBS Bottled 3/05/2015 drank on 4/10/2015

Look: Pitch black like you just turned the lights out in a bright room, brunette head like Monica Lewinsky, decent lacing.

Smell: sweet, boozy scent takes the forefront, chocolate, spice, and very slight coffee linger in the back. Smells like it would smell if you snuck a jack and coke into your starbucks cup before you go to work, without the scent of shameful alcoholism.

Taste: Very bourbon forward, like the aftertaste left in your mouth after a sip straight from the bottle if you chased it with cold coffee (good cold coffee). Chocolate chills in the background and is forgotten until the brew warms a bit, which brings a bit more of a mocha character heightened by the malt. Heat from the bourbon isn't as present as its sweetness, which was alleviated by the beer getting a bit warmer.

Feel: Nice and velvety without being like a syrup. Perfect median between what you would expect from a stout and a bourbon, very pleasant but heavy if enjoyed with anything other than a dessert or by itself.

Overall: I try not to think of beers as products of their own hype, but hype as a product of a beer. That being said, this is a very good BA stout that deserves a lot of credit and deserves to be sought after. Perhaps it is overblown due to availability, but it is a mistake to discredit this beer or any in its same class due to its scarcity or popularity. It is extremely complex and well balanced and only improves as you sip. Highly recommend seeking out at least a couple bottles annually. Excellent.

I am aging three bottles from this year and will update with a review at 6 months, followed by a side-by-side comparison to next year's version.
Apr 10, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of DumbRunner26
Reviewed by DumbRunner26 from North Carolina

4.85/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
This is the standard imo of my favorite beer style. It checks all the boxes of a great Imperial Stout. Thick and dark with a tan head. Aroma so satisfying that it takes effort to pull your nose away from the glass. But you do bc you know of the party that awaits your tastebuds. This is one of the most delicious beers I’ve ever had period, any style. A dessert in a bottle. I would drink these every day with every meal. But I don’t, bc my liver would hate me.
Mar 04, 2024
Photo of Paradox1000
Rated by Paradox1000 from Florida

4.43/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Excellent flavorful deserving of high rating.
Mar 03, 2024
Photo of DimlyLitQuonsetHut
Reviewed by DimlyLitQuonsetHut from Virginia

3.09/5  rDev -32.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
The booziest stout I've ever had, and I've had plenty with higher ABV. Nice complexity. Brownie and vanilla notes. Very solid but not especially impressive. Breakfast Stout is better and much cheaper. Must have been amazing when it first came out, but today it falls behind.
Feb 28, 2024
 
Rated: 4.83 by Jacob313 from Michigan

Feb 22, 2024
 
Rated: 5 by RBorsato from Virginia

Feb 17, 2024
 
Rated: 4.81 by ToshT2M from Rhode Island

Feb 03, 2024
 
Rated: 3.63 by SeanP99 from North Carolina

Jan 11, 2024
 
Rated: 3.28 by RoyalKaiju from Kentucky

Jan 07, 2024
Photo of Lifsabch
Reviewed by Lifsabch from Maine

5/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Pleasantly surprised to (finally) find this in my local grocery store. Nothing beats sipping a good stout during the holidays in Maine. This one lives up to the hype.
Dec 12, 2023
 
Rated: 4.87 by chlilley from Missouri

Dec 05, 2023
 
Rated: 4.95 by averageninjaface from Alaska

Dec 05, 2023
 
Rated: 4.63 by Iggy88 from Ohio

Nov 26, 2023
 
Rated: 4.59 by Nyoder

Nov 25, 2023
 
Rated: 4.64 by Zappa999 from Michigan

Nov 24, 2023
 
 
Rated: 4.49 by TreyJ88

Nov 24, 2023
 
Rated: 4.32 by BeerKegger

Nov 24, 2023
 
Rated: 4.54 by cabsandking from Ohio

Nov 15, 2023
KBS from Founders Brewing Company
Beer rating: 100 out of 100 with 14166 ratings