14th annual founders black party 4-18

Panther Cub is on my wish list.
Ha! The poster says the first pint is a Class D

 

Pete, is there a better time of day to show up at Founders for this event? I would prefer to avoid waiting in line to get in if possible. Thanks.

 

That's class 1... Looks like a D with the parenthesis.

 

We usually get there by 8 am, so as to be in prime position for the line share.

 

Tap list is up: http://foundersbrewing.com/whats-on-tap/

Looks like Black Party is back. CBS all day. Some stellar Class 3 one-offs (with only one of them being an IPA variant). Lots of happy customers today.

See ya'll there!

 

Lizard of Koz sounds interesting

 

Panther cub!

 

How's that class 1 porter tasting? They doing growlers of that?

 

Lizard of Koz...

Panther Cub is delicious as always

 

No growlers of any tap room specials from what I was told.

 

Star of the show, IMHO. I was much happier with this year's taplist as opposed to last year's.

The only problem was that there were so many awesome bottles hauled out at the pre-game line share, I could only handle two more beers once I got inside.

 

I enjoyed a 2014 Imperial stout as a class 2 (in addition to 2xCBS, Lizard of Koz, Rye Death, Mosaic Promise, plus tastes of KBS, Panther Cub, and Porter in da Moonlight). Great showing today!

 

My Wife and I just got home from Black Party a little while ago. We got there, waited in line 15 minutes, paid our $10 each, got our glasses, got a few pours, and called it a day. For what it's worth there wasn't a line when we left (meaning a line to get in, a line to order beer, etc...)

I'm personally not into the big crowds (much more busy than the typical busy day @ Founders), so we only stayed around 2 hours. We both got Black Berry for our free class 1 pours, and we both liked it. A little too sweet for my liking, but still a pretty good fruit beer. The tartness on the back end makes up for the abundance of sweetness.

I then proceeded to order a Lizard of Koz. While I'll probably take some heat for this from others who tasted the beer today, I thought it tasted like 30% Jack Daniels (or some other bourbon), 50% Robitussin (yep...the cough syrup), and 20% artificial flavorings (chocolate/vanilla). I think the ONLY beer I've ever dumped in my life was a Foster's (Australian for SHIT) many years ago, but I would've dumped this had my Wife not thoroughly enjoyed it. Much like the rest of you, she thought it was pretty damn good. I guess we all have different palates.

The main reason I came to Black Party was to get some Panther Cub again. This is probably my favorite beer from Founders, as it seems to have the balance of sweetness / alcohol that neither CBS/KBS has (I realize I'm comparing a maple barrel porter vs. maple barrel stout vs. bourbon barrel stout which isn't in any way logical/fair but rather I'm doing it to show my taste preferences). It's one of the few beers that to me is almost indescribably awesome. You get quite a bit of the maple barrel taste with a kick of vanilla, but with quite an alcohol warmth. Somehow, the flavors seem to balance perfectly for me. This is one that I wish and dream of Founders putting into bottles someday.

I also wanted to try the 2015 KBS, as I've got quite a few of them sitting in the cellar. While I really like KBS, the coffee/bourbon flavors just seem to overpower everything else for me. I'm glad I was able to try some today (albeit @ a more expensive price than the bottles cost lol). I like KBS, and I like CBS; Lizard of Koz did NOT impress me today, and Panther Cub was AMAZING (as it was last year).


Thank You Founders for putting on a hell of an event, with minimal wait times for really good beers. While some of the offerings may not suit my personal tastes (as favorites; I still love the shit out of their beers), it's hard to find this many quality beers on tap for the pricing/accessibility. Not to mention, if your music tastes are diverse, they've got a little bit of almost everything tonight live.

Is the Black Party glass always the same except with different year? Last year was our first year going and I noticed this year's glass was identical other than the current year.

 

I've been the last 3 years (inclusive of 2015), and they've been the same glass, with only the year different.

Koz wasn't my favorite either; I enjoyed the first few sips, but it fell off fast. Too sweet/fruity for my taste. I really enjoyed getting to have some Mosaic Promise again, even though it in no way qualifies as black.

 

I liked CBS and loved Lizard of Koz!

 

Thanks for the info on the glasses. For $10 just the glass and a class 1 are more than worth it to attend IMO. I really like Mosaic hops (Founders Mosaic Promise, Great Lakes Chillwave, etc) but I just learned last night that my body does NOT like more than 1 bottle of Mosaic-hopped beer as 2 Chillwaves was apparently 1 Chillwave too many...

On a sidenote, one of these days I need to order a 50-50 KBS/CBS pour @ Founders (not that they have the 2 on tap very often at all lol). I keep telling myself this would be the perfect beer for me, yet I'll never know until I give it a go.

 

My ranking of the beers I tried today:

1. Lizard of Koz - Stole the show for me today. This is easily right up there with KBS/CBS. Reminded me a lot of BCBS Cherry Rye, but with blueberries and added vanilla. Super balanced and smooth. Could've had that all day.

2. CBS - Should've been #1, but the pour I had tasted a bit off. It was more boozy and harsh than some of the pours I've had this year already. Still great, just didn't blow me away. Also could've been the fact I had it last and my palate was wrecked. Ya, probably that.

3. Black Berry - Basically Rubeaus with blackberries. I liked this a lot. Very refreshing on what was a warm, beautiful day in GR.

4. Porter in Da Moonlight - Not as good as regular Porter, but a nice spin. The vanilla was a nice touch.

5. BA Sherry Imperial Black IPA - Had high hopes for this as I thought last years BA Imperial Black IPA was amazing, but the Sherry here was just too much. Way too tart. Also allowed the hops to come through more, making it a tart, dry, hoppy, boozy mess.

6. Rye Death - Another meh beer. A big malt bomb that lacked any defining characteristics. Might stand out on an average day at Founder's, but not this year's Black Party.

I've had Panther Cub before, just not enough room today to try it again. It'd probably rank #3 if I did.

Overall, probably the best Black Party I've been to since I started going 2 years ago. Got there at 2p and the longest wait was just to get in (about 20-25 min.). Rather easy getting food/drinks/a table.