Founders love

Dirty Bastard for me. Easy to get and it is delicious.

 

To be honest, i was not much of a fan of Breakfast Stout. I did like the porter, and then the all day ipa i drank a lot last summer. Was excited for Azacca but to me it seemed flat and TOO juicy like actual juice. I realize a founders appreciation thread may not be the place to do this but just speaking my mind. Dirty Bastard was very good though.

 

wait till you try their all day and centennial ipa's. Its too bad you couldn't try project pam while it was out. it was also a delicious brew. id have to say founders is my favorite brewery with new glarus coming in second.

 

But if you factor in a price point that is on par with Sam Adams, founders, Sierra Nevada etc, it lived up to the hype. I get what you are saying but at a reasonable price I am glad to have the option, especially for their brown ale.

 

I was so let down by CBS. Would take KBS and even Imperial Stout over it all day (no pun intended).

 

Founder's is really the best brewery I can think of when a lot of factors are put into consideration, which can be abbreviated to QQP, which they have a great combination of:

Quality
Quantity
Price

I can hardly think of another brewery that has as solid a beer lineup as Founders with the wide distribution they have (you'll almost never have to fight to get bottles, unless we're talking about KBS or CBS). They'll almost never break your bank account, as indicated by even an award winning beer like KBS only requiring you to buckle about $5/bottle at the brewery (compared to jackass breweries that will charge $20+/bomber for an inferior beer). And this would mean nothing if they didn't have about the most triple A lineup of beers I can think of.

Let's think about this, their core beers:

All Day IPA - One of the better session IPAs out there. It may not be Lawson's session IPA, but it's available every day of the week for about $15/15pk with no arms being torn off in the process

Centennial IPA - Every bit as good as the beloved Two Hearted, this beer is well balanced and makes alot of IPAs look bland

Pale Ale - Their only real weak spot, and only because Americans tastes have shifted to really complex stuff. It's still a well balanced easy to drink beer that hits the spot right when you just want a mild buzz.

Porter - Unbelievably well done porter, better than most in it's class I've had. Beats out Eddy Fitz and Black Butte in my books, being the other two big shelf porters.

Dirty Bastard - Excellent Scotch Ale, very high in gravity for a beer that is often $7.99/6pk (cans are $15.49/12pk at my meijer atm). Might just be the best high quality value in beer I can think of.

Rubaeus - Excellent fruit beer if raspberry is your thing.

Of course I could go on for lines and lines of writing noone wants to read about the ridiculous awesomeness of beers like Backwoods Bastard and Imperial Stout, and their awesome specialties that makes us cry that we don't get more. But I'd honestly probably choose Founders if I was told to just pick one Bruery for the rest of my life.

 

Agreed, stoked to have BB here, and grab a 4pk every time I see it for myself and a 4pk for a buddy. Let me know where it's shelf turding in CA, I'll happily buy it so I can then buy some FIS too!

 

The first time my son saw the contents of my new beer fridge when he was home from college, he exclaimed, "Does Dad buy every beer that Founders makes?"

 

i'm another californian thrilled to have em here. everything i've tried from them has been good to excellent. backwoods bastard is now one of my favorite beers altogether - bought about 2 cases worth to keep a steady supply. their impy stout is really great too...right up there with ten fidy as one of my favorite off the shelf.

 

I feel guilty cheating on my CA breweries, but have enjoyed drinking through their lineup. Solid throughout.

 

I live in a beer Mecca, the State of Washington, where so many hops and malts are produced, and where there is certainly no shortage of truly outstanding beer. But I still have a soft spot for Founders, and would heartily welcome their distribution here. Their porter and stouts, and barrel-aged beers, in particular, are undeniably exceptional.

 

I was all fired up went Founders hit CA. I tried everything I could find, and liked all of it. Problem is once the new car smell wore out. I figured out I was just selling myself on most of their beers. Nothing bad about any of them , but nothing great either. And way to pricey. Except Dark Pennance. I do really like that.

 

Interesting, I felt the same about KBS. I was ready to write off CBS just because I figured it came from that same hype train. At least we both agree FIS is great!

 

Founders is one of my all time favorite breweries. I haven't yet had a single beer from them I dislike, and Backwoods Bastard, Imperial Stout, and Breakfast Stout are some of my favorite beers overall.

 

Sorry man, just not feeling the love. Here's a quickly slapped together list of session-type (non-IPA) beers that are affordable and (I think) way more impressive than Fat Tire:

Boston Lager
SNPA
GI Honkers Ale
Left Hand Sawtooth
...and from PA, Stoudt's American Pale Ale.

 

Founders is solid, I'll give you that. Many may disagree but I would say their price points seem to be more reasonable than many, and I ain't a rich man!!

 

I don't disagree, but if you look at other threads on BA, you'll see that several people have mentioned consistency issues with massive flavor variation even within a 4 pack of Breakfast Stout or Backwoods Bastard. Some bottles are amazing and others aren't so much.

Anyway, I like Founders beer myself but I've seen the issue come up numerous times that is worth pointing out.

 

I can't find Founders in my area. I have to get it from either PA or VA

I LOVE me some Breakfast stout tho and just had an Azacca IPA.

 

Founders
Victory
Alpine
Boulevard
Southern Tier

Just to name somewhat recent ones. Drink those, or drink Four Peaks? Uhmmm, yeah.