Kentucky Brand Brunch Stout (KBBS) Alternatives

Basically any bourbon barrel aged maple coffee stout would be where to start. Just what beers are worthy enough to be a substitute for KBBS?

CBS
Morning Wood (has bacon added though)

Can't think of anything else at the moment

 

There's actually no bacon added to any of their beers.

 

Really? FALSE ADVERTISING!! I guess they use artificial flavoring or liquid smoke?

 

I was told by them it's a spice blend. Maybe it contains liquid smoke in powder form.

 

Short answer: nope. Nothing readily available.

Odd Side Rye Hipster Brunch - when it's on - it is close, but doesn't have the exact ingredients, & I've had heavenly & very mediocre batches of the beer. Plus, it's not exactly on every grocery shelf from here to Abilene.

Avery Double Barreled Maple Stout is in a similar vein - not exactly the same ingredients, but an amazing BA maple brew, & at least for a while it was widely available.

But if you're just looking something in the same category, CBS would do it. But as a serious real maple syrup junkie I find the majority of beers brewed with maple syrup lose the taste somewhere along the brewing process.

 

Take a handful of Jack Daniel's BBQ smoking chips, put them in a sandwich bag with 1/4 cup of Jim Beam Maple, press the air out, and seal. Refrigerate for several days, then drain the chips and put them in a French press with some cracked coffee beans and a can of Even More Jesus. Refrigerate for several more days, then press and enjoy.

I've never had KBBS, but you won't be sorry for trying this experiment. Trust me.

 

Shared BA Coffee Vibes.

 

I assume you've likely had KBBS multiple times, because your trades are absolutely insane, so I have to ask - would you really say CBS is similar? KBBS is a huge want (isn't it everyone's?) but I know I'll likely never get to try it. I also really don't like CBS. Are they similar enough to say I probably also wouldn't like KBBS? I find CBS to be cloying, and way too coffee and chocolate forward, with no discernable maple and not enough barrel.

I have a hard enough time with the price of CBS. I'd be disappointed if I spent $100 for a 12oz single of one.

 

The short answer.....no. lol KBBS really lived up to the hype for me. It was a perfect beer. CBS is similar since its a BA maple coffee stout. KBBS has a perfect viscosity (CBS lacks in viscosity) and the maple and coffee was so balanced. So many maple stouts are sickeningly sweet. That is not the case with KBBS. I actually really enjoy CBS, but yeah, really no sub for KBBS.

Now I cuveed a Morning Delight with a Double Barrel Carpathian from Main & Mill and I felt it was a poor mans KBBS.

So I think Cuveeing a decent non adjunct BA stout with Morning Delight will get you the closest to replicating a KBBS. That non adjunct BA stout has to be thiccc though.

 

I agree with @not2quick. It’s one of the few I’ve had I thought lived up to the incredible hype too. The insane adventure to Decorah may have been part of why it was so good though, who knows.

I know I’ve seen people adding ingredients to BCBS and claiming they’ve cloned KBBS. That’s about the most readily available BA stout I can think of. Someone should mix Mornin’ Delight and BCBS and report back!

 

No maple in CSV.

 

On the subject of kbbs, is there a time normally when it’s released on tap?
Like if you planned a trip you could try it without a giant line, or a gang of hazeboi’s attacking in assassin costumes, or ludicrous $?’s.

 

I really enjoy CBS. It funny to think prior to 2017, the thought of getting our hands on CBS was about as whale-ish as getting a pour of KBBS. 4 years later, my cellar is stocked with 2017, 2018 and last years brew.. and I can find all 3 years at fine bottle shops in the city I live in (Omaha)..

in any case, I’ve had Mornin’ Delight..and it might be the best non barrel aged maple coffee imperial stout I’ve ever tasted. Today, a pour of KBBS would be a dream come true for many beer advocates..

I’m just glad I’ve got to enjoy many excellent barrel aged Maple imperial stout offerings. Along with CBS, Clown Shoes “Snow on the Maple tree” and Evil Twins “Michigan Maple Jesus” are all extremely fantastic “alternatives” to the ultimate white whale KBBS is.

 

I've made coffee "variants" of imperial stouts using a french press and fresh beans and from experience can say that if you wait several days before enjoying, that beer is going to be nothing but coffee. Hell, wait 10 minutes and the coffee becomes overwhelming.

 

I never had KBBS, so unfortunately cannot compare with my suggested alternative, Barrel Aged Imperial Smells Like Bean Spirit by Mikerphone. They are typically light on the barrel, but heavy on the maple and their coffee holds up well fresh.

I went up last year for the Mornin' Delight release, really liked the draft pours but passed on the overpriced bottles. I preferred ISLBS and SLBS over MD. Your mileage my very, but this is a much cheaper and easier to secure alternative.

 

There is no alternative. only beer that approaches $10/oz is good. All the rest of this swill is barely tolerable

 

Never had kbbs but in my opinion there is no better barrel aged maple stout than Beyond Good and Evil from Hill Farmstead .

 

It's sweet enough you can't really tell.

 

I thought Funky Buddha Morning Wood did a very good job getting most of the way there.

 

Springdale (offshoot of Jacks Abby) makes maple Briggaderio which is a maple barrel aged breakfast stout. No coffee added but coffee flavors from the malts. Really tasty, not overly sweet like CBS and like $12 a bottle

 

My recommendation is Great Notion - Double Stack. It's not as thick or creamy but the maple is on point. CBS is nothing like KBBS, I wouldn't go there.

 

No way to just drop by and get some. They’ve only had kbbs on tap 3x. Once was kbbs 2 years ago as a surprise tap for the release. Then the 10 yr anniversary last year was on tap both days. And then last time I saw it on tap was at then2018 coconut assassin surprise release.

I will say the anniversary party was super easy to get 2 pours of kbbs and wasn’t really busy or filled with haze bro’s

 

Mornin Delight is the closest, I think, in terms of getting an absolutely incredible maple stout, though it's not barrel-aged and it's also not commonly available (though not terribly tough to trade for).

For something you may be able to find on a store shelf for not crazy $$, the Avery Double Barreled Maple Stout is your best bet. It's really good, and around here it could be found for like $10 a bottle at the grocery store. Not cheap, but nowhere close to what you'd pay for KBBS.

 

Ive has KBBS both on tap at their brewery as well as out of the bottle.

Its real hard to compare something to it but I think Lagunitas Willettized coffee stout deserves a shout out. Obviously its not KBBS but its real good and something i seek out yearly

 

Isn’t this kinda like asking for an easier to find and cheaper alternative to sex?

 

Now vegans can rejoice!

 

Hell I'd gladly take a BJ and if push comes to shove, a rough handy! To extend this comparison:

KBBS= sex
Morning Delight = BJ
CBS= handy

 

I'm not saying it matches kbbs but has similar profile

3 sons BA lumberjack
Coffee
Maple
Barrel aged

 

Outstanding beer and ridiculous value.

 

Only because I just had it for the first time tonight

Flagler brewing maple madness
Bourbon barrel aged
Maple
Coffee

 

I’d be ok with the mornin’ delight

 

Almost certainly the 'bacon' character comes from smoked malt in the grist.

 

This cannot be overstated.


But frfr- my asshole would be so hurt if I actually paid the asking price of this... I’ve had a pour, it was great... but I still can’t believe the hype this has generated. Can’t imagine being the type of custie mark that is willing to bend over for this.

 

Who knows the history of the kbbs? I'm only familiar with it because of this site. Has it been expensive and extremely popular since it was first released?

 

Took some initiative for once, and it has been a smashing success from review #1 on here back in 2012. Anyone know the price from back then?

Also found this nugget that just perfectly encapsulates how different palates can be and why I feel blessed that I do not have one that craves these modern 'juncted out stouts

That syrupy palate is not for me

 

Not sure of the whole history, but the first bottle release was the summer of 2013. We planned a camping weekend with our girls down in southeastern MN that weekend & wandered down to the brewery for the release at 8:00 AM. It was busy but not insane. If I recall correctly, they had 300 bottles with a limit of 1 per person & they were $10/bottle (could have been $15...it was a long time ago). They had Morning Delight on tap that morning too, & we biked around Decorah. It was a good day, at least the part I didn't nap through.

tl;dr it wasn't horrifying expensive or sought after when it was first released, but it didn't take long for the insanity to take hold.

 

Well your story sounds down right pleasant. But now I'm even more curious how what sounds like a pretty typical big beer release to a crazy lottery for the right to buy a $100 bottle of beer

 

Maybe there is a reason they call KBBS "the real McCoy"