Good news to report here: This is just about the same beer as it was last year. Before you reply “No shit” please realize that consistency is a major hurdle for brewers, in fact some breweries have completely given up on that quality metric and opted to word play numerous flimsy excuses to get around this proficiency, most of the time they just rename the beer and scribble up a stupid label, pawning it off as something that they meant to create. Founders has much better mastery over their domain.
This year’s edition I poured and reviewed with a clear mind, devoid of current opinions and devoid of a whole bunch of other stuff, (like my previous review, rational thought, and most lower brain faculties). And in that void a voice called out and scored this year’s KBS a 5 out of 7, and for a beer that isn’t a smokebeer, that’s pretty good. This score happens to be one point higher than last year. Also, the abv happens to be a bit lower than last year, but don’t think you’re not going to notice the alcohol. An 11.8% abv instead of 12.4% might be splitting hairs, but it certainly has an effect, and speaks to the difficulty brewers have with consistency. Now, if you’re actually here to read some notes on what the beer tastes like, here you go: This beer is malty, chocolaty, boozy, and an all around good beer. A great snifter beer, although I recommend bigger pours. Noticeably less chocolate than last year. This beer has just the right amount of bitterness to it, not enough to crop up on the nose, but just enough to know it’s there on the way down. And down in the last 1/3 of the glass, a touch of phantom spiciness is in there. I swear. I might be the only one who thinks this, but that’s what I taste. Good beer. I liked it. I don’t think I’ll review too many more annual rendition beers, but I am getting low on smokebeers, so who knows. Overall score 5 smokestacks out of 7. Have something new for me Founders, I’ll be seeing you in August.
| Brewer | Founders |
| Beer Name | KBS (2017) |
| Brewer’s Description | What we’ve got here is an imperial stout brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates, then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year to make sure wonderful bourbon undertones come through in the finish. Makes your taste buds squeal with delight. |
| Food Pairings | KFC (actually, better not) |
| Brewery Location | Grand Rapids, MI |
| Alcohol content by volume | 11.8% |
| IBU (International Bitterness Units) | 70 |
| Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark) | 5.5 |
| Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns) | 1.1 |
| Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks | 1.5 |
| Sausage detection? Y or N | N |
| Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil) | 4.5 |
| Barrel Power 1-7 (in name only – burns nose) | 6 |
| Overall Happiness: 1 – 7 (sad – happy) | 5 |
Their website is cool:
https://foundersbrewing.com/our-beer/kbs/
Also, if you must, here is the 2016 KBS review.
SmokeBeerMinistry 