Fresh Founders Breakfast Stout.

True, but it is a fact that many people enjoy aged imperial stouts. It is also a fact that brewers often recommend aging these beers. I can sorta understand folks thinking a beer that a brewer puts a "best after" date onto the bottle means that aged imperial stouts taste good is a fact. It isn't.

This argument is kinda ridiculous. To illustrate: Broccoli is a vegetable is a fact. Broccoli tastes good is not a fact

 

It's like arguing about how one likes their steak grilled. Rare, medium rare, medium ect. there is no right or wrong answer. Except "well done" lol.

 

The green pepper taste is hit and miss. I recall it having to do with to what extent the coffee beans are roasted. Also could vary with individual as to whether they pick it up. I had an FBS go green pepper at a year.

 

I'm drinking a 2015 bottle right now and it's delicious. Smooth with tons of chocolate and coffee.

 

That's so weird. I thought fresh 2015 was delicious, a year later it was average at best. When 2016 dropped, I decided that I would keep it at normal refrigerator temperature to avoid aging. But much to my dismay, even fresh it didn't taste as glorious as I remembered my first taste of 2015. Now I'm questioning whether to bother with 2017 -- I probably will, seeing as we're not talking whalez pricing here, but it's not like I'm not well-stocked with imperial stouts already...

 

...and my 2015 FBS that I had after a year of cellar aging had green pepper taste...

 

"[Beer X] tastes better when consumed as brewery intends for you to drink it."

GRAND RAPIDS -- In an event that stunned the craft beer community hell bent on the status of having aged beer at their house, this year's batch of Beer X was well-received when consumed, gasp, fresh?

"Usually, I grab a four pack of literally anything dark and put it in my basement," said Mark Jones of Kalamazoo. "I don't even taste it first. There's something about telling guests, when they rarely come visit, that I have aged beer. They don't always act impressed, but I do know that they are."

Beer X's brewmaster Joe Smith has said over and over and over again that he's "done the aging for you" and that the beer is best consumed as he, the expert, intends for you to drink it.

"I release it when I think the beer tastes best," said Smith. "Anything the consumer does to it after they pay for it is their business, I guess."

"[Smith] doesn't know shit about my palate," said Jones. "I'm on Beer Advocate's cellaring message board all the time. I know what I'm doing. Trust me.

"But, honestly, I happened to drop a can and it partially opened. So I had to drink Beer X fresh. It was really good. Maybe an anomaly."

 

The baby-removed bottles are for states with laws that wouldn't allow the baby on the label like New Hampshire so the beer could be from any year. They do bottle date their beers, but typically its in dark ink and on the neck of the bottle. I believe 2015 is the first year they did the baby removed bottles.

 

I picked some up that was bottled on 10/02, yep, still one of my favorite beers and this year's is fantastic!