Founders Vintage Tasting

I figured I would post this (finally thought of it with the FBS coming out in MA today) and see if others have some thoughts/similar experiences. Back in May, I basically tasted all of the Founders vintages I had in my small cellar mostly to just see if they were really worth aging or not. Hopefully this will lend some insight to others and you all can share your opinions on aging Founders brews. Everything was in a dark cellar that goes from 50-65 throughout the year, with the seasons. Just didn't want to waste these notes.

The lineup was: (May 12th, 2012)
(approximate years old after years)

Backwoods Bastard (2009, 2010, 2011)(2.25, 1.25, .25yrs)
Imperial Stout (2010, 2011, 2012)(2.33, 1.33, .33yrs)
KBS (2010, 2011, 2012)(2, 1, fresh)
Nemesis 2009
Breakfast Stout (2009, 2010, 2011)(2.75, 1.75, .75yrs)

Tasting notes (from iPad):

(skip-able unless you are comparing/extremely interested)

Backwoods bastard 2009
Nose has taken some oxidation, raisin and deep caramel above a nutty bourbon scotch ale. Flavor still shining, the whiskey has been smoothed out and balanced a bit by big caramel, spice and oxidation. Bourbon tastes fresh with big oak barrel, vanilla and almost rum notes. Overall smooth compared to fresh but bourbon still great. Would only go a year more.
Backwoods bastard 2010
Dark fruit and raisin with the base beer much more present compared to 2009 and it was always this way. Nose is quite relaxed with dark fruit and slight bourbon. Flavor relaxed comparatively too, dark fruit,raisin, nutty malts, caramel, slight roast and bourbon. Bourbon is more oaky than vanilla and whiskey.
Backwoods bastard 2011
I remember this one being the mellow one and the base beer coming through the most. Nose and flavor have that classic buttery bread Scottish ale element. Dark fruit, raisin, spice, caramel and nutty malt is the main thing in this batch. Bourbon is there but most subdued with vanilla, oak wood and whiskey hints.
All three are a red brown with a creamy one finger white head. Fairly thick lace around the glass.
Imperial Stout 2010
Nose a mix of mellowed imperial stout, cocoa roast malt and aged caramel oxidation. A bit of the olive thing. Flavor kind of follows. Dark bitter cocoa powder on top of a caramel, dark fruit cherry (from age). Deep aged feel, it could go longer but the flavor is basically half aged caramel and half cocoa imperial stout.
Imperial Stout 2011
Generally my favorite age for this beer. This specific one is actually hoppy which is new to me for founders RIS. Cocoa is big with a milky and rich flavor. Roast cereal grains, slight fruit. No alcohol presence as the cocoa roast grain dominance is very nice and decadent. No oxidation or old caramel takeover. Nowhere near the cherry in the previous one.
Imperial Stout 2012
Big and old fresh. Roasted grains and cereal malt in a decadent mixture. The chocolate aspect of this beer is so good. Some fruit but it is in the background of the rich dessert cocoa brownie madness. straight up imperial stout greatness.
All have a pitch black body and a mocha tan cap, thick lace. Heavy body with silky lower end carbonation. Roast bitters on the palate.
Kbs 2010
Instantly amazing, the bourbon and RIS here is just great. Big rich chocolate and whiskey barrel balance. Coffee milkshake. Oak chips, bourbon and vanilla barrel greats come through. No alcohol and the harsh fresh flavors is subdued into balanced greatness dessert. Fresh roast coffee is an understatement.
Kbs 2011
Whiskey is a bit more fresh than the 2010. Still a great cocoa and fresh coffee balance. Alcohol is warm but still smooth. Oak wood and whiskey hints are very flavorful but not too strong, a bit smoothed out from fresh. Good vanilla presence. Some raisin and fruit notes but the cocoa and whiskey is awesome.
Kbs 2012
The most balanced and smoothed out fresh kbs. The whiskey oak wood notes shine with vanilla, coffee and cocoa. A great balance and probably the best fresh kbs by far. Nothing offensive and just enough alcohol warmth to add to it. I hope the next batch is Iike this, smooth.
Nemesis 2009
Candied bourbon caramel. The maple is very subdued with notes of spice, raisin, oak wood and whiskey. Chunky floaters in a light golden body, small ring and spotty lace.
Summary:
I know there are a lot of tasting notes but here it is all wrapped up. I also typed the above on an iPad so there might be some bad grammer/typing laziness.
There were also no tasting notes for Breakfast Stout but the freshest batch blew the others out of the water.
KBS: All of the vintages were awesome. All of them were A+ beers and had unique characteristics. I could see this beer going a bit longer but 5 years might be pushing it. I still have maybe 1-2 bottles of the 2010 so we will see. Held up very well.
Backwoods Bastard: 2+ year vintage showing its age. I would probably be hesitant to go over 3 years with this if it wasn't the 2009 batch (very whiskey heavy year for Backwoods).
Imperial Stout: We all loved the 1 year vintage and the fresh batch. The 2+ year vintage started to show some major age IMO, I would much rather drink fresh-1year bottles than let them go that long (oxidation/olive hints)
Breakfast Stout: No notes above, unfortunately, but the STRONG consensus was that this is by far best when fresh. The 1 year old bottles were GOOD but it seems like wasting the great flavors that come in the new bottles.
Nemesis 2009: Most of the maple is gone and the whiskey is still strong. Base beer showing through way more than before but I am glad I drank my other 3 bottles sooner.
Unfortunately we didn't have the time/will to do Curmudgeon but I am sure other people have done that. Nemesis 2010 was also left out because people were getting tired, meh.
Summary summary:
After having this tasting I generally felt that the above beers are best when fresh or 1 years old. KBS was a big exception but the others seemed to start going downhill after 2 years of aging rather than getting better or staying as good. Oxidation really seemed to hit them all especially hard after 2 years.
Thoughts/opinions? Happy cellaring!

 

In years past I actually preferred the FIS with a year of age on it. This time around it wasn't quite the same. Probably just my palate changing. I have sort of shifted toward liking this one fresh now too. It was also the first time I really got a decent hop presence out of FIS.