Fresh Founders Breakfast Stout.

Yes but never drank it.

 

Okay, Christmas Bomb is a variant. You don't drink Bomb fresh unless you like the taste of hot alcohol.

 

What you call hot alcohol I call sharpness and like it in an Imperial Stout.

 

hey now
some of us like Bomb! fresh and find no qualms with it (quite tasty actually)

 

This thread is getting me irritated that I haven't seen it in CT yet. But, as stated earlier, I bought it as a "shelf turd" in a "dive" liquor store about a month ago. Maybe not as good as fresh but still appreciated. Damn I love that baby!

 

This. Bomb! is a shell of itself if not drank fresh. Definitely a beer that needs to be drank fresh.

 

Wow, a lot of condescension there. Isn't it just POSSIBLE that people disagree with your refined palate? I find the coffee a bit harsh fresh. I've done blind taste tests with fresh, 1 and 2 year old FBS. I prefer 1 year as I enjoy the chocolate to be balanced with the coffee. As far as aging other stouts, some get better with age IMO. BCBS '13 is tasting fantastic now. Expedition stout is another but if you prefer it fresh, enjoy!

 

At $10 or more per 12 oz bottle for WWS and $20 per bomber for for Speedway Stout, I'd go with FBS every time. Speedway is outstanding but not that much better than FBS if at all. I've never had WWS but I'd guess the same about that.

But to the original question: Fresh FBS is great and IMO better than aged. But hey, drink what you like. Sometimes it's hard to drink it all fresh.

 

Dang guess I'm in the minority. Don't know a better stout under 10% that I think ages better than FBS. When the hops die down a bit and the darkness comes out with a bit of oxidation is my favorite. KBS is the only imperial stout I thought was better fresh. The one year mark is the sweet spot for me on big dark monstrosities.

 

Are you sure you haven't wrecked your pallette with those Cali tongue scraper IPAs that must be drank in a week or they're drain pours?

 

Comes down to what you like as far as flavor. If you like your stouts tasting as they were when brewed, then obviously fresh is best. But many folks don't like all the flavors present when fresh, and have found aging mutes some flavors, thus showcasing more desirable flavors. Many brewers encourage aging stouts by explicitly saying it is best aged, or subtly by having the best-by date as years.

I've had Bomb! aged only 6 months, and it really brought out the pepper hotness, at the cost of some coffee taste. Quite often, the Prairie stouts age on the store shelves a long time anyway due to their price. Don't get me started on how Prairie shoots themselves in the foot on pricing, having no brewing calendar, and not showing all their beers on their website.

 

Any Massachusetts sightings yet?

 

KBS generally seems to be best between 3-9 months after bottling. I don't care much for it after a year.

I generally don't see a reason to purposely age any stouts, particularly ones with adjuncts.

Lambics/gueuze and brett saisons are a different conversation.

 

Anytime I have had Bomb that wasn't fresh, its was a disgusting vegetal mess.

 

I can't keep FBS around long enough to age. The 4 pack I got 2 or 3 weeks ago (dated 9/11/17) has only 1 left and I doubt it will last the week. One good reason to age Imperial Stouts is that some are seasonal and if it's one I like I'll get some to have occasionally throughout the year.
Also I'm aging a couple Warlocks in hopes that the spice will mellow. Ha, but maybe I'm just a noob trying to seem sophisticated.

 

It's $9.99 at Wegman's here, and it tastes even better than I remember. I need to buy more, much more.

 

Vegetal?! That's something you get from hops, which Bomb doesn't have a lot of.

 

$10 per 4-pack in western PA. This is the cheapest I've ever bought it at, also the freshest I've ever had it at. A little disappointed with this year's offering. To me, the flavors aren't as separated and prominent as the last two years' batches. Not sure if that's a batch thing, or a freshness/aging thing. Just my thoughts, glad to hear so many people like it! Still very enjoyable for me, and since I can get it for $10 now I can't really complain (most I've paid is $4.50 a bottle and $7 draft).

 

No, its not from hops. Its a distinct green pepper taste (not pepper heat) that seems to develop in any number of coffee forward stouts that are not consumed in a timely fashion. Sorry for not clarifying earlier. Anyway, my point was that aged Bomb! is gross.

 

I wouldn't agree that Bomb is coffee forward, I wouldn't like it if it were. For example, I don't like KBS, at all.

But to each their own. I have a Crowler of BA Bomb that I'm happily aging.