CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout)
Founders Brewing Company

 

On tap at Cask & Ale (Madison, WI) into a tulip. I usually like Founders, I love their regular Breakfast Stout, and I enjoy many bourbon-barrel-aged stouts…. so I was very surprised by how much I hated this one. The chocolate and syrup were overwhelming for me, completely overpowering the stout itself. I could not bring myself to finish it.

Opaque darkness poured aggressively to better than a full finger foamy tan collar that resists fading. Pretty good lacing. Slightly timid chocolate forward malty nose with hints of roasted coffee beans. Ultra creamy mouth texture. No hint of the 11.7 ABV. Chocolate caramel flavor tastes like MORE and lingers nicely. Will definitely be stocking up on this one. Cheers!

 

 

 

Pours black, even around the limb when held up to the light with modest, but persistent beige foam. Smell is coffee and a little bourbon when first poured, roasted malt and maple join as it warms. The first flavor note is roasted malt, joined quickly by strong maple sugar. Bourbon and vanilla from the barrel, as well as coffee join next, making for a complex dessert flavor. The barrel notes and roast flavor carry into the long aftertaste. Mouthfeel is remarkably smooth for a beer with ABV almost 12. The alcohol is noticeable, but with the carbonation, provides a nice balance to the syrupy notes. Overall, this is a remarkable example of the Pastry Stout style.

 

 

A fantastic beer, but you need to understand what you're getting into. It's an imperial pastry stout. It's sweet with a high ABV. The sweetness is definitely present, but not overpowering whatsoever. You get with cocoa, molasses, and tobacco flavors right away. It blends perfectly and pours a surprising head. This is an elite beer. Perfect for that middle of the night beer when it's snowing and you step onto your back porch for a quick smoke.

Tastes kinda bad. Tastes like ethanol, molasses, maple syrup, and herbal medicine. Bit of buttery pancakes on the aftertaste. It’s just sweet and boozy and bitter. Imperial stouts are a bold style, like Sichuan cuisine. It’s full-on, no holding back. That’s fine. But within that boldness, there must be quality and subtlety. Otherwise it’s just stupidity. This beer is pretty stupid. Old Rasputin is still the standard for American Imperials.

An incredibly dark yet bold Imperial stout that reminded me of having pancakes with Canadian maple syrup with a nice espresso coffee.

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a black color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of maple, roasted malts, a touch of chocolate. Taste follows the aroma, along with some bourbon and alcohol. Feels full bodied in the mouth and overall it's a solid beer, but I wasn't blown away by it.

(review from February 2018) Holy tung-stompin palate-whompin maple-soaked breakfast stout maltman! Smooth for an 11.7%er & still has great roasty, java taste & heft but you better like maple syrupy brews even though the sweetness isn't overpowering. Still packs an alcoholic punch, especially as it warms up! Yet another Founders *BS offering that doesn't have the same flavorful, barrel aged goodness to my tastebuds now as back in the day years ago.

For some reason, I was never able to find this beer when the late, great "Grape and Gourmet" store in Virginia Beach was my go-to beer store. I found this one at Casual Pint, my current beer store. It was worth the wait!!!! Excellent strong stout. Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a USAF Academy snifter, this beer featured a dense brown color with no light showing through and a bubbly medium dark brown, head. The head retention was good for such a strong beer and there was a bit of lacing around the top edges of the glass. Aroma and taste were strong and inviting. Rich somewhat sweet malt, chocolate, coffee, bourbon barrel flavoring and maple syrup, all expertly blended with no over-the-top bourbon barrel flavoring or overdone sweetness. Mouthfeel was rich and smooth with some alcohol warming and just a little bite from the alcohol and maybe the vanilla. TRuly a world-class brew!!!!

Pours an opaque dark reddish brown color with one finger of tan foam and modest lacing from a twelve ounce bottle into a tulip glass. Aroma of fig/raisin and brown sugar with maple syrup with complementary flavors. Chewy mouthfeel with warming ethanol. Great beer.

This review is of the 2025 edition of CBS. Sampled at cellar temperature. Poured into my NEBCo tulip.

Black color with a 1 1/2 inch light brown (or dark tan) head. The head reduces after some time to a solid thick ring and good foam film across the top. A very substantial ring of lacing remains at the top of the glass.

Chocolate and coffee notes on the nose. Some roasted malt but a bourbon-soaked maple candy aroma is more prominent. Aromas of chocolate, bourbon, maple, coffee blend together well.

Nice sweetness, and notes of chocolate, coffee and maple flavor. Tastes like a mocha dessert drink sweetened with a bit of maple syrup. There are some notes from the bourbon barrel aging as well, vanilla in particular. A bit of bitterness shows up on the back end. It could do with a bit more roasted malt to help balance the sweetness, but this is still very tasty.

Just shy of full body when sipping, which seems about right for the taste - any thicker might make the sweetness too cloying.

I remember being more impressed with earlier vintages - it had a bit more of a bold flavor and a richer bourbon character, but this is still very enjoyable.

 

Aromas of roasty espresso and coffee. Taste follows with a little heat and bourbon on the back end. Sweet but not overpowering, making it a great drinking experience. Well worthy of it's World Class rating