KBS - Chocolate Cherry
Founders Brewing Company

 

 

(review from February 2023) See previous reviews of various versions of KBS, this iteration with wonderfully subtle cherriliciousness but a little lacking in boozy, bourbony, intensity nor any more chocalick than other variants. A scosch better balanced though.

Pours jet black with a small dark caramel head that goes away quickly. Light smell of roasted malt and a hint of chocolate, no cherry present. Tastes like a regular kbs, no chocolate or cherry.

Black in color, One-finger thick, brown head. Dark chocolate, cherry, wood, and vanilla in the aroma. Moderately sweet taste with pleasant bourbon notes.

Nice adjunct complexity with minimal barrel after two years from bottling. The blending of chocolate, coffee, and cherry flavors is very enjoyable while the bourbon notes are not missed. Sweet but not overly so. Not a pastry style stout by any means. I loved Lizard of KOZ, was hoping for something similar. This is not quite there, but just fine nonetheless

 

 

I despise many fruit beer, so if you’re like me, you may be wary. But fortunately it’s heavy chocolate and much more subtle cherry. Glad I gave this wonderful complex stout a shot.

pours a motor oil with very little head. nose; chocolate, cocoa, plum, cherry, & toast. taste; dark roasted malt, char, light ethanol, vanilla, bourbon, cherry, oak, & hops. heavy carbonation & mouthfeel. what's there to say? it's another kbs variant. solid stout.

Pours pitch black color with a 2 finger thick brown head that faded slowly and left really nice foamy lacing coating the glass. Smells of dark chocolate, burnt coffee grinds, bakers chocolate, molasses, charred malt, peat moss and black cherries with hints of vanilla. Flavor has more cherry in it along with bourbon, plus sweetness like brown sugar, barrel accents, tin or metallic tastes, and then the burnt coffee, dark chocolate and charred malts which are just like the nose. It’s a little sweeter than I like it, but there’s no alcohol burn and it’s a good variation from the original.

 

 

2024-02-08
12oz bottle served in a snulip. Bottle is dated 12.05.22.

Pours black with a large, maybe 1.5 finger creamy dark tan head, settling slowly with a pleasing mixture of coarse and creamy bbbles. Carbonation is visible along the edges. Smell is chocolate, cocoa, and dark roast malt.

Taste is quite sweet, not as sweet as I was expecting, but still very sweet. Chocolate syrup, maybe maple syrup, moderate cherry tartness, the small amount of bitterness that I get seems to be entirely from burnt and roasted stuff.

Mouthfeel is rich but not creamy, on the thick side without being heavy or cloying, with a little bit of a gritty texture. Overall, this is a very good, but certainly not legendary beer, in my opinion.

This stout looks about as clear as mud, and has enough sugar to give most people diabetes. It's dark brown with an off-white head. The nose is aged malt, with the barrel notes present. Taking a sip, the sweetness from the sugar is up front. There's a chemical cherry-ish note after the barrel aged flavor. It's not an unpleasant mouthfeel, but it's definitely heavy and sugary.

 

12 oz bottle acclimated to 52°F and poured into a stout glass.

Pours an impenetrable black with a 1 finger British khaki head with small bubbles like a nitro, fading fairly quickly and leaving a film of lace that retreats, leaving a thin ring with minimal splotches.

Initial aroma is slightly medicinal, I'm not picking up overt cherry, but I surmise that getting notes of it without realizing itz combining with alcohol fumes is making me think medicine. Note of cinnamon. Definite chocolate, reminds me of 50-55% chocolate, and smells like actual solid chocolate, not just cocoa powder.

After agitating I absolutely notice cherry, like a maraschino cherry. I notice the same chocolate, and there's alcohol still present.

Initial taste before swallowing is alcohol burn with sweet maraschino cherry, followed by the addition of sweet chocolate and then intensified alcohol burn.

After swallowing I first notice alcohol spread across the top of the tongue back to the middle and down to back of the bottom of the mouth. I get cherry sweetness which lasts and exists both as a taste and in wisps. I noticed what seemed like a hoppy bitterness but then later felt somewhere between hoppy and cocoa powder. This bitterness lasts into the finish with diminished cherry and a dry dead tan grassy note. As I progress, bitterness and alcohol burn seem to increase. I also find notes of raspberry as I get further.

Feel is slick but actually a little thin? I find a slight bit rocky going down as well, but still managed to be enjoyable.

Overall I find it does what it says very well! Good flavors at a very nice quantity.

Not one I'd be in a hurry to buy again. That doesn't mean it's unenjoyable by any means, it's just not my first choice.

Look is dark black. Smell is sweet of bourbon and cherries. Taste is cherries, dark malt and bourbon. Feel is thick and full bodied. Overall, a great dessert beer and good variation on the iconic KBS beer.

Bought a single 12 oz bottle Village Bottle Shop $6.99