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KBS - Maple Mackinac Fudge
Founders Brewing Company
- From:
- Founders Brewing Company
- Michigan, United States
- Style:
- American Imperial Stout
Ranked #80 - ABV:
- 11%
- Score:
- 99
Ranked #214 - Avg:
- 4.49 | pDev: 7.57%
- Reviews:
- 298
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Mar 20, 2024
- Added:
- Jun 26, 2020
- Wants:
- 34
- Gots:
- 68
Michigan didn't invent old fashioned fudge, but it was perfected here. We pay tribute to this time-honored tradition with KBS Maple Mackinac Fudge. By amplifying the rich chocolate notes of KBS using Mackinac Fudge coffee, then adding maple syrup and aging it in oak bourbon barrels, we've created a bold new take on our barrel-aged classic - one that could only have originated in Michigan.
KBS stands for "Kentucky Breakfast Stout".
ABV varies by batch.
KBS stands for "Kentucky Breakfast Stout".
ABV varies by batch.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by jonbonfondle:
Rated by jonbonfondle from Minnesota
4.25/5 rDev -5.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Dec 18, 2020
4.25/5 rDev -5.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Dec 18, 2020
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by Lanoke12 from Michigan
4.75/5 rDev +5.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.75/5 rDev +5.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Look is dark black. Smell is chocolate and bourbon. Taste is chocolate, bourbon, and dark malt. Feel is thick and full bodied. Great dessert beer perfect for a cold winter night.
Dec 23, 2023Reviewed by Cathartes from Massachusetts
3.83/5 rDev -14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.83/5 rDev -14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
12 oz bottle acclimated to 50°F and poured into a stout glass.
Pours impenetrable black, with a 0.5 finger, long lasting, sudsy, British khaki head, leaving light splotches of lacing.
Initial aroma is seriously thick, and very heavy on booze, it smells a lot like a sweet alcohol. I pick up some maple, but I'm not sure I would have had I not known what it was. It's very sweet and sticky smelling, and there's maybe a hint of vanilla, though that could be the booziness.
After agitating it remains the same, though slightly more alcohol.
Initial taste before swallowing is powerful, it's got some bitterness to it but it's got sweetness behind it. There's a smoky char to it that I really enjoy.
After swallowing I first get bitter cocoa powder. A strong char develops and lasts a good while, lasting into the finish where it mellows quite a bit and takes on a slightly metallic quality. All the whole sweetness lurks behind any foreground taste. I can really taste the alcohol after a few tastes and it's not incredible, not exactly bad but I don't quite love it, and I am a fan of high alcohol beer.
Dec 18, 2023Pours impenetrable black, with a 0.5 finger, long lasting, sudsy, British khaki head, leaving light splotches of lacing.
Initial aroma is seriously thick, and very heavy on booze, it smells a lot like a sweet alcohol. I pick up some maple, but I'm not sure I would have had I not known what it was. It's very sweet and sticky smelling, and there's maybe a hint of vanilla, though that could be the booziness.
After agitating it remains the same, though slightly more alcohol.
Initial taste before swallowing is powerful, it's got some bitterness to it but it's got sweetness behind it. There's a smoky char to it that I really enjoy.
After swallowing I first get bitter cocoa powder. A strong char develops and lasts a good while, lasting into the finish where it mellows quite a bit and takes on a slightly metallic quality. All the whole sweetness lurks behind any foreground taste. I can really taste the alcohol after a few tastes and it's not incredible, not exactly bad but I don't quite love it, and I am a fan of high alcohol beer.
Reviewed by 57md from Pennsylvania
4.08/5 rDev -9.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.08/5 rDev -9.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a dark brown color with ruby edges and a half finger of tan head. The nose is all fudge upfront with maple syrup notes on the back end. The only bummer is that the barrel notes are pretty weak. The flavor follows the nose but everything seems muted compared to the potent smell of this offering.
This is a fine variant but it is not exceptional.
Dec 11, 2023This is a fine variant but it is not exceptional.
Reviewed by guitarguyny from New York
4.02/5 rDev -10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.02/5 rDev -10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Smells like maple syrup, chocolate and coffee! Tastes like chocolate and some coffee. Maybe very faint syrup taste. Aug 22 bottling date. I think the 3rd stout I’ve had to date. Maybe not my thing?
Oct 03, 2023Reviewed by chinchill from South Carolina
4.32/5 rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.32/5 rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
12 oz bottle with a 26 October 2020 bottling date stamped on the back label.
Near black body with a thin, semi-durable beige head. A thin dark reddish-brown edge is visible with back lighting. This smells quite sweet, I assume from the bourbon and maple syrup. It has a lightly sweet taste with a laudably balanced mix of chocolate, bourbon, and coffee. Not surprisingly, maple syrup notes are faint. Relatively thick and very smooth body. Well hidden ABV.
Overall. The dessert version of KBS.
Jul 13, 2023Near black body with a thin, semi-durable beige head. A thin dark reddish-brown edge is visible with back lighting. This smells quite sweet, I assume from the bourbon and maple syrup. It has a lightly sweet taste with a laudably balanced mix of chocolate, bourbon, and coffee. Not surprisingly, maple syrup notes are faint. Relatively thick and very smooth body. Well hidden ABV.
Overall. The dessert version of KBS.
Reviewed by Whyteboar from Michigan
4.47/5 rDev -0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
4.47/5 rDev -0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Poured stout black and was topped by a dense brown head of 1” in height with lots of lacing down the snifter.
The aroma was strong, so strong even my Covid affected nose caught a wiff of the chocolate and bourbon.
The taste was very well balanced for so much chocolate, and rich chocolate at that. It was the star of the show but the supporting cast of coffee and dark fruits and bourbon were not lost but very present.
The feel is darned near ideal for the genre, just a tiny bit less “chewy” or viscous than expected.
Good beer, if they brew it again I would drink it fresh instead of cellaring it for 3 years. But even then it is very good.
Jul 09, 2023The aroma was strong, so strong even my Covid affected nose caught a wiff of the chocolate and bourbon.
The taste was very well balanced for so much chocolate, and rich chocolate at that. It was the star of the show but the supporting cast of coffee and dark fruits and bourbon were not lost but very present.
The feel is darned near ideal for the genre, just a tiny bit less “chewy” or viscous than expected.
Good beer, if they brew it again I would drink it fresh instead of cellaring it for 3 years. But even then it is very good.
KBS - Maple Mackinac Fudge from Founders Brewing Company
Beer rating:
99 out of
100 with
938 ratings
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