2012 KBS thoughts

nice jesture
my girlfriend is as big into good beer as I am.. possibly more than I as shes started her own blog about it

 

like a few other people posted. today (this year) was the first time i tried kbs.

I started off with an old (last year) Short's huma lupa licious. (tasted good surpringly). waited for the girl to come and cracked open a BCBS Coffee. WOW. a month ago i had the regular BCBS and that was delicous, the coffee was definitely there. my girl who isn't the biggest fan of beers, tries a lot of stuff because of me. she's pretty honest and will try random things. if she likes it (at a bar) she'll get another pint. well i recently found out she loves stouts. this coffee was a definitely a winner. after my coffee, i cracked opened a KBS. so delicious. she loved it too. her preference? KBS. why? less 'alcoholy'. Given that BCS coffee is 14 and KBS is 11.2 you can definitely taste the difference. i preferred the coffee, mostly because of the better smelling/tasting of the bourbon. KBS was still good. i got a few more left and i'm thinking of aging a couple and comparing them until the next release next year.

kinda new here, been a slightly lurker and been collecting for almost years but never did the online community. mostly recommendations on friends/coworkers.

edit: i think she liked the kbs more too because of the highest taste in chocolate. was hoping to crack open a bramble rye tomorrow, but i'm waiting on the lady and she won't be hanging out. that'll have to wait.

 

Agree 100% on Peruvian Morning - I like it better than KBS. Just got 6 bottles of PM via trade.

 

Loved KBS this year. I thought the bourbon was much more subtle than last year. I got a big kick of bourbon from 2011, and I think 2012 is really incredibly smooth. I have 1 2011 left, I'm not sure if I want to have that along with my last 2012 or save both. Just wish I had more.

 

Also, this year's Hopslam was boozier/less hoppy than last year's.

And Celebration Ale didn't have as much nutmeg.



...In all seriousness, you aren't the only one to say that this year's KBS was more oaky. A buddy of mine said the same thing.

 

Gotta keep'em happy!

 

I got KBS from three different places this year, two of which charged ~$5 per bottle (with two bottle limits) and one which sold 4-packs for $19. Don't blame the beer or the brewery for individual stores' price gouging. And bragging because you can get Peruvian Morning for cheaper than KBS is like bragging about Big Macs being cheaper than filet mignon. Peruvian Morning's a decent beer at best, with their regular coffee stout and bourbon barrel barleywine being far better.

On topic, 2012 KBS is as amazing as ever. The more bbal beers I have, the more I appreciate the balance present in KBS (and pretty much all bbal beers from Founders). Most bbal beers either have almost no bourbon presence or the base beer is completely overwhelmed by the barrel characteristics.

 

A little hot this year.

 

I picked up two four packs today (20.99 ea). I plan on drinking four now and putting the other four to bed for a while.

 

you guys are lucky, i 'lucked' out at 27 bucks a four pack after tax.

 

Had a couple pours from the tap tonight and while it tastes great overall I barely noticed the barrel aging or heat compared to the bottles I had last year. I do have a few 2012 bottles that I haven't opened yet. Anyone else notice a big difference between bottled and tap?

 

This is done.

 

My local store (Jake's Liquor in Sheboygan) is requiring a separate Founder's purchase to allow you to buy (1) 12oz bottle of KBS for $13.99. Too much for me.

 

Another good year for KBS:

http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/kbs-vertical.7498/

 

KB YES!

This year's KBS gave me the same feeling I had when I had KBS for the first time about 3 years ago. I cannot say that I had this feeling last year, but eff it. I'm having that experience right now.

- Joe

 

I had my first this year so I can't compare to previous, but I thought it was amazing. I thought the bourbon was very well balanced between oak and vanilla notes.

 

Wow, I've heard some crazy shit this year but that one takes the cake!

 

I missed this part of the thread, but this side convo about Peruvian Morning is really interesting to me. Do you guys prefer it simply because of being sick of trying to hunt to KBS for ridiculous prices, or do you actually prefer Peruvian Morning over KBS regardless of the rarity comparison? Not trying to criticize palates or preference here; I am just curious.

For me, I really enjoyed Peruvian Morning, and I would buy it often if it was available to me. However, I thought it was a bit thin to really be considered even an imperial stout, much less an upper echelon one. I think I would enjoy it better going into the next one, knowing that I'm not getting a big imperial stout, but getting more of a stout/brown ale hybrid.

Then again, I am probably biased; KBS has been my favorite beer for years.

 

No-- I do not think Peruvian Morning is superior to KBS...
But here's what I thought about wine when I first started getting into it;
I'd rather have a 90 point Merlot for $8 per bottle that I can buy anywhere over a 97 point one that is harder to find and costs $30 per.

It's that same idea that has returned to me in the beer world-- some of these beers that are getting harder and harder to get are just no longer worth the effort to me. I've had KBS many times, and while it is fantastic, the fact Peruvian Morning is exponentially easier to get and half the price means that I am happy with PM at an A- instead of KBS at an A+.