This is my first year actually getting my hands on a decent quantity of this beer. I am finding the flavor varies quite a lot. On tap it had a good amount of chocolate and almost a coconut flavor, and you could really taste the coffee. The first 4 pack I went through was great, but I broke into another one and all I can taste is bourbon. It seemed much more balanced in the previous bottles. Serving temps were pretty much the same, as well as glassware. Does Founders blend the barrels before bottling?
I don't know the answer to your question, but it would seem that a bit of blending has to occur when the contents of the barrels flows into the bottling tank. However, each barrel probably has different taste characteristics and how well these nuances get blended during bottling is anybody's guess. Then, I think Founders makes a large enough quantity of the beer that the bottling tank would have to be filled more than once, so then a different group of barrels goes into these subsequent tank fills, and they may even be from a different distillery with different bourbon characteristics (or wetter barrels. (I think it's been stated that Founders gets barrels from more than one source.)
The one bottle I had so far this year was the smoothest fresh bottle I can remember having of any KBS vintage. Usually there's some heat that I like to cellar to mellow, but the 2015 seems smoother to me than previous offerings. I'm curious to see if I have any different bottle codes and see if there are any noticeable differences.
I have bottles from 3 different batches, so this could be part of the issue. Just had another one that was a perfect blend of bourbon, coffee, and chocolate.
Love fresh coffee stouts, I can't drink regular coffee so imo the hotter the better. I'm stuck on decaf. I like the mellowing effect too, but fresh is great.
Consistently a ball-kickingly delicious beer. If they're too "inconsistent" (those are air quotes by the way) then send those bitches my way and I'll choke the inconsistent/deliciousness down for you. I'm a team player! seriously though, I'm just mad because I probably won't get any this year. Misguided aggression, The Dude.
Exactly my experience this year. The best "fresh" version of KBS in several years. Usually I've needed to let it cellar for several months to get the best results.
I 100% agree that the 2015 ones I've had have tasted great fresh, as much as I like to cellar beers, don't see these needing too much time in the cellar to make them taste any better, not sure they'll "stay" in cellar too long since they are very good now.
The one I had was amazing. I don't have anything to compare it to since it was my first ever, but I am very happy with the taste and balance of everything going on.
For what it's worth, that coconut is a fairly common flavor in bourbon. But I'd bet highly that the barrels are blended into larger tanks before bottling*, if for no reason other than the technical considerations of the bottling line, let alone trying to achieve bottle-to-bottle consistency. That said, I always advise taking other factors into consideration before concluding about variation. *Though imagine the craze if Founders did bottle directly from each barrel; something like a single-barrel series. People trying to score bottles from different barrels, comparing them all.
I haven't noticed that, but I have noticed that it taste completely different on tap. KBS is one of my favorite beers and I love it from a bottle, however, nothing can compare to it coming from a tap.
