Founders Face Off: Kentucky Breakfast Stout 2015 and 2016

Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout is an imperial stout brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolate, then aged in oak bourbon barrels for a year. At 12.4% and 70 IBUs, you can enjoy this seasonal brew for breakfast, lunch or dinner! We thought it would be a great idea to do a comparison between the 2015 and 2016 bottles. Get ready for a head-to-head Founders Face Off! Let's see what we think!

Josh reviews KBS:

A guy I was working with had never had Heady Topper, so me being the nice guy I am brought him one. He was super thankful and decided to return the favor and brought me a one year old Founders KBS. I had never had it before, much less one that was aged for a year. I decided to stash it in the beer cave and attack it at a later time. Sure enough, Founders just released their 2016 KBS. So Steff and I decided to scoop some up and do a side-by-side comparison! Here's what follows....

2015:

Right up front you smell chocolate like bam! That smell fades and you get a slight oaky bourbon aroma that is very subtle. The color on this is way dark! One of the blackest darkest stouts I have ever seen! Not a bit of light comes through this mama jama! The taste is also very smooth for the high ABV. Again right up front you get smacked in the mouth with chocolate! That mellows out and is very easy to drink. It has a slight warming sensation as it travels down and settles in the chest. Aroma is great. Color is beautiful. Taste is great. This one is a winner!

2016:

The aroma is very mild and has a bit of smoked roastiness to it, but it's not memorable. The color is once again dark and gorgeous. Love the color on these guys. The head is a rich caramel color that is stunning! The flavor on this one is bit more harsh. Maybe because it hasn't aged, but the alcohol is much more present and smacks you right in the face. You can tell this bad boy has a higher ABV. However, the head is rich and creamy and makes it almost milk like on the start. I'm thinking that if you aged this one for a while, the flavors would blend well together. All in all I would drink this one again, but wouldn't be my go-to for a stout.

In closing the 2015 wins the face off hands down. I think the 2016 will be great in a year or two. We will be getting more of it to stash in the cave and maybe you'll see another review in due time.

Steff reviews KBS:

Is it horrible to say that I had never heard of Kentucky Breakfast Stout? Will I be stoned to death by other beer geeks for not knowing about a great beer? Well, I'm not ashamed to admit it.....I had never heard of this beer until about a week ago when the 2016 KBS was released. So naturally I was excited to try it. I'm always down to try a new beer, no matter the style! And I love a great imperial stout.

KBS 2015: My initial thought of this one....GREAT AROMA. Delicious chocolatey goodness with a slight oaky bourbon smell. So immediately I'm already in love. On my first sip, I got lots of chocolate notes and lots of richness. It definitely doesn't taste like a high ABV beer. And the color is amazing! Black as black can be with a creamy brown frothy head. I've had a lot of Founders beers and I would have to say that this is probably one of their best.

KBS 2016: My initial thought of this one....the aroma is too subtle. I almost couldn't smell anything. The taste was not smooth and quite honestly, the ABV is too high. I don't mind a high ABV beer, but I don't want to get smacked with that high alcohol taste on the very first sip. This one is not as smooth as the 2015, and that's understandable. It just goes to show how aging a beer, even just for one year, mellows all the flavors out.

Just like Josh, I am choosing the 2015 as the winner! The aroma is great, the ABV is subtle, and the flavors melt together in a delicious full bodied imperial stout. I would love to get my hands on more of these to age and drink at a later date.

Think you know what we should drink next? Let us know!

J+S