Founder's Breakfast Stout?

This one gets asked a lot and there seems to be no consensus. I love it aged. I have some in the cellar from as far back as 2008 and really enjoy it. If you really enjoy the coffee flavor, you may not like it aged, as that will fade.

As someone else pointed out in another thread about this, the nice thing about this beer is that it is pretty available so easy to compare.

My suggestion; buy a four pack. Drink one and put the rest in the cellar. Drink #2 at 6 months, #3 at 12 months and #4 at 18 months. If you like where it was going, get another four pack and go longer.

 

I've found it a fairly good beer to tuck away and enjoy over time. Others are better, but it's not too bad.

 

I like it best fresh. Loses a lot of the coffee and chocolate flavors after a year.

 

My cousin and I recently opened a 2008 bottle. It was very chocolatey and really creamy, which isn't too shabby for a nearly six-year old beer.

 

I just opened one with about 9 months on it and it didn't even touch it. Very good.

 

My take is that is changes from a coffee smack in the face to a more chocolatey beer with a good coffee flavor still present after about a year give or take a few months. It stays pretty good for quite some time, but after about 2 years my experience has been it starts to really thin out at that point, though can still be enjoyable. I've had 4-5 year old bottles I thought were pretty bad, but I also just recently had one from 08 I believe that was still pretty tasty and believe it or not still had a very noticeable coffee component.

Overall if you're interested in seeing what the cellar will do to this one it's a very low risk/cost endeavor to through a few in the cellar. But if you only have a couple and are hoping to hold on to it for the optimal time of enjoyment, it doesn't really improve per se with age IMO...

 

Last night I cracked an FBS bottled 9/12/12, purchased 3/14/13 and given a good home in a fridge since then. Like lotsaswigs, I believe it had lost some of the coffee flavor and it's one of the reasons I really like this beer. I have one more bottle left and I'm waiting to see it again, buy a fresher one and do a side-by-side.

 

I just had 8 month old FBS (my last one) the other day and it was delicious. Less of the coffee, more of the chocolate. I really dug it, and I am a huge coffee drinker. You might as well go look for some in the cooler at your lesser traveled liquor store that carries Founders, anyway.

 

Yep, I mentioned that because you should be able to find more FBS that's already cellared if you fancy it.

 

Much better fresh.

 

Just picked up two four packs bottled in December.

 

This person seems to really like it aged - LINK

 

KBS sits in a barrel for a year and tastes great, no? So why not FBS, coffee might drop off but I bet the chocolate will still be there.

 

Just had one of last years release yesterday and it is still fantastic. Like others have said- less coffee and more chocolate. I found it very good. I have a few left I plan on sitting on even longer.

 

If you don't mind beer that tastes like a weak-ass cup of coffee, throw this one in the cellar for a while.

 

Yep, fresh. Losing the coffee and chocolate flavors...why would anyone want that!!??!?!

 

Honestly, I have never had it fresh, but recently picked up a 4 pack tucked away in the corner of a BMC beer cave, the FBS was from January of this year. I thought it was absolutely awesome with 8 months on it, although I have nothing to compare it to.