Founder's Backstage Series so far...

i've enjoyed the first three, but i havent had frangelic yet (also havent really made an effort to find one). i'm not sure i'll continue to go crazy attempting to find them, unless they do something like black biscuit or cashew mountain.

 

That stuff is fantastic!

 

Slightly OT, but unopened a CBS last night and it is tasting beautiful still.

 

CBS--Absolutely delicious, but no better or worse than KBS
Blushing Monk--Really enjoyed the raspberry taste. Great brew!
CBH--Very good, but a little on the sweet side. I still have one in my cellar.
FMB--Rather not even include it on this list. Overpowering coffee with strong notes of saccharin, aspartame, and completely artificial tasting hazelnut. Founders worst brew ever and among my least favorite beers.

 

I wouldn't bother. The Bruery is using real hazelnuts in Grey Monday. The "hazelnut" in Frangelic comes from artifical flavoring. Not surprisingly, it tastes fake and artificial and ruins the beer.

 

Do you have a source for this? Or are you just "pretty sure", because I can't see Founders doing this.

http://foundersbrewing.com/latest-news/2012/frangelic-mountain-brown-is-our-next-backstage-release/

I understand that in nature there is no such thing as a "hazelnut coffee bean", so to some degree there will always be flavoring, but you're making it seem like they don't use beans.

 

I couldn't see Founders doing this either. There is no mention of it on the front of the label, but you need to look on the side of the label.





They certainly use coffee beans, but they don't use any real hazelnuts. The hazelnut flavor comes from the artificial flavor in the coffee. I found it to be fake tasting and quite unpalatable.

 

Gotcha. I assumed this from the start being that hazelnut coffee doesn't exist naturally. I just thought you were saying they use a "hazelnut coffee flavor" syrup or something to that effect.

 

I'd say CBS is my favorite, and then it's close between Frangelic Mountain Brown and Blushing Monk. Didn't get to try CBH.

 

Just a fairly on-topic rant and two questions:
Love Founders (easily one of the top 3 brewers with product available in NY), but hate the fact that the 2 of these beers I'd really have wanted to try (CBS and CBH) are gone before I even knew they were arriving - stores in my area get a case, don't announce it, and they're out within a day.
Blushing Monk held no interest for me - I didn't even realize it was part of a series - not a fan of pink, fruity beer, so no big loss; but I love Curmudgeon and KBS, so I assume the CBS and CBH would be no worse. Just annoying to miss out on releases like this, and then, the one that I know about, buy and try, FMB, is just okay (good).
I'm not a big brown ale guy 'cuz I haven't found one that I love, and Founders has no brown ale in their line-up; so naturally, there are plenty of these bottle at my distributors, and I was able to buy a couple easily, but wasn't blown away. Figures...
Eagerly awaiting Bolt Cutter - can't miss out on that one - as barleywines are one of my favorite styles of beer.
So, two questions:

1. Anticipated release date for Bolt Cutter?
2. What's the deal/timetable of releases for this series, like, 1 beer every other month for a year, or 1 beer each season, or what? Will others follow Bolt Cutter, or is that the last one? Etc...

Thanks.

 

Haven't had FMB yet. Loved the Blushing Monk, both '07 and '11 varieties. CBS and CBH were both completely forgettable for me. Absolutely nothing special about either one.

 

From what I have heard, Blushing Monk will not be made again. And I don't mean bottled again. Apparently it uses a different ? yeast? than every one of their other beers. Which is dissapointing. I really enjoyed Blushing Monk.

 

That is indeed disappointing. My favorite beer from Founders, truth be told. Also, a friend of mine whose really just not into beer as a whole, loves that stuff. So I frequently trade for it so he has something to enjoy when he comes over.

 

Same type of barrels, not the exact same barrels AFAIK

 

I really don't get all the hate for FMB. Just drank another growler of it last night and it is so damn tasty.

 

I thought CBS was one of the best beers I've ever had. Absolutely loved it. I burned through 2 bottles of Blushing Monk fairly quickly and enjoyed the hell out of that one too. CBH is still in my cellar, I'm not in a hurry to open it given the mixed reviews. FMB will be arriving shortly and I love hazelnut coffee so I'm excited to try it.

 

4.34 average. Third highest rated Old Ale. Yeah, pretty mixed reviews.

 

Everyone on this thread has it (on average) 3rd among them and most of those are "eh, wasn't my favorite." I didn't consult the official reviews. Yeah.

 

CBS>>>CBH>BM>>>FMB

I really liked the first three, and was quite disappointed in the Frangelic. I thought I would love it, but no. Just no.