KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) - Espresso
Founders Brewing Company

4.25/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

12 FL. OZ. bottle
Served in a snifter

This beer pours black and is topped with less than an inch of mocha head that leaves spotty lacing.

The smell is coffee forward. I get some anise. There are hints of chocolate and roasted malt.

The taste is smoother than the smell. It starts out with espresso and chocolate. The espresso lingers throughout. There is some black coffee in the finish.

Full bodied with a thick, chewy mouthfeel

This is another excellent beer from San Miguel. I don't think it a whole lot different than regular KBS though. I will follow up with one to confirm/deny my statement.

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4.54/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.31/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.77/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Tastes of a good espresso and a dam good stout. The chocolate and oak takes a back seat but this time that's a good thing. I will definitely buy this again.

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4.39/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

3.89/5  rDev -12%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

4.4/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.42/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Pours black with a one finger tan head which has very good retention. I drank a few of these before reviewing this bottle. At first the aroma and taste had nothing but Espresso. Now the dominant aroma is still espresso, but I can also smell cocoa, chocolate, and dark roasted malt. I do not pick up any Bourbon from the aroma. Espresso is the dominant taste, but I can also detect cocoa, chocolate, dark roasted malt, a little of the Bourbon, molasses, and vanilla. full bodied with moderate carbonation. Has a bitter aftertaste which is somewhat balanced out by the sweet chocolate. Overall an excellent beer.

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4.42/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Loved it.

KBS "on steroids." Pitch black opaque beer with very little head but good nose and BIG flavor. Coffee very prominent with good body. Not as thick as a Bourbon county but just right for me. Long finish. Excellent

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4.4/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.48/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.59/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

When I first heard about this beer, I knew I had to consume it. I pick-up a growler and have been sipping on this beer for the last couple of days. I finally got a chance to review it. The beer is 50 degrees and served in a tulip glass. The pour of the beer produced one dark brown head. The head is creamy and thick. The retention of the head is good but left no lacing on the glass. The color of the beer is SRM 36; dark brown nearly black. The appearance of the beer is suitable for this style and high abv.

The initial aromas in the beer are dark chocolate, espresso, and bourbon. Next, I smell tobacco, oak, molasses, anise, orange, char, dark roasted malts, burnt sugar, earthiness, and a touch of solvents.

The initial flavors in the beer are espresso, dark chocolate, and earthiness. Next, I taste leather, oak, anise, oranges, char, dark roasted malts, burnt sugar, solvents, molasses, vanilla, and a hint of floral.

The mouthfeel of the beer is chewy and thick.

The body of the beer is full, low carbonation, and fuller finish.

The beer is wonderful. The coffee is abundant, mingling nicely with the other flavors. I am a huge coffee fan, this beer suits my palate. I do enjoy the original KBS, this version is a bonus. I am glad I got the opportunity to drink this beer. I have been searching for it since I knew about a couple of months back. Simply put a nice cup of cold java with a hardy stout combined.

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4.23/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.33/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.03/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A bit boozey, but espresso is rich and full-bodied, nice chocolate undernote

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4.5/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.19/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Bottled on 11/18/19

Pours a deep black body with a quickly cascading light mocha head eventually settling to around 2.5 fingers of froth; solid retention yields a creamy layer of cap, dense frothy collar, and a thin veil of evenly dispersed layered/spotty lacing.

Aromas show bright, balanced, fudgy espresso dominate upfront, hinting vaguely at bourbon barrel and tobacco moving into a dusty mocha middle; bourbon-soaked cherry skins and vanilla beans trend toward the back end as a strong roasted malt presence sits calmly in the background.

Taste brings a level mocha coffee dominating the profile as waves of smooth chocolate and vanilla bean guide into a more roasted malt finish accompanied by a touch of bourbon cream sweetness.

Mouthfeel has a medium body, slightly slick and with a moderate-light carbonation; deepens to a silkier tone on the mid-palate as a mild roasty grit sets in toward the finish, minimal alcohol presence can be detected in a balanced yet robust swallow.

Intense, focused, and maybe a bit one-dimensional (similar to the base beer), this brew exchanges fudgy malt character for a more pronounced espresso char. While I'm enjoying the more expressive coffee in this KBS variant, I am finding it struggles to truly differentiate itself from its base, leaving me quite satisfied yet still wishing for a brew that extended itself just a little further.

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4.33/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

4.46/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

4.09/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Bottle from Harvest Market
Solid black with a thin tan head that shows light retention. Huge coffee aroma and flavor with the same chocolate sugary sweetness and oaky alcohol as the original. The Espresso is strong but seems to tame the alcohol notes I usually get from this brew. Nice brew.

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4.65/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

4.37/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

4.8/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

4.19/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into the test glass
A - Nearly black backdrop, with some coaxing a nice mocha colored froth tops the offering
S - Sweet coffee, espresso for certain, some cocoa notes are on the dark side, a bit of vanilla, char and ash.
T - Coffee anyone, dark chocolate, a bit of boozy bourbon, more char, with some cigar tobacco
M - A bit thin, sharp on the palate, with carbonation doing a nice job cleaning up. Linger is dry and coffee.
O - A very good offering, one that delivers on the labels promise.

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4.49/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Founders KBS Espresso, 12% ABV. Pours thick and black with a 2+ finger brown head that left ample lacing. Nose is all espresso, flavor follows, with moderate bitterness. Excellent mouthfeel, overall world-class. I like this better than regular KBS, though I wonder how they will be when the coffee falls off.

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