Founders Brewing Co. - Founders Porter

For the Ninth Beer of Christmas, we turn to the dark side.

Founders Brewing Company
Founders Porter

Maybe Palpatine offered this to Anakin. If so, who could blame him for going to the dark side?

Disclaimer: Porters are my favorite style of beer. That doesn't mean I love all porters, but I do want to try them all.

This one pours up almost as black as Vader's helmet. Can you tell that I haven't been to see The Force Awakens yet? Held up to a light, there are some coffee brown edges, but other than that it's like looking into a starless night sky. The head is tan and composed of tiny bubbles that leave only minimal lacing along the glass.

Dark chocolate is the primary scent. Floral hops combine with smokey malts and toasted pumpernickel to round out the aroma palette. The smoke and toast are faint while the chocolate and hops are pronounced and combine for a robust experience.

The flavor profile starts smooth and finishes robust. Bitter dark chocolate and roasted chocolate malts make up most of the flavor with bittering hops and smoke filling in the gaps. Big and bold, thick and chewy, Founders Porter defines the style "robust porter."

This isn't a starter porter. If you don't love a strong, dark beer, pass by this one. It might not be for you. However, if you like or love porter or stouts, grab a six pack of this. The Force is strong with this one.


Stats
Brewer: Founders Brewing Company
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Website: http://www.FoundersBrewing.com/
Style: Porter (American)
Alcohol Content: 6.50% ABV
Interesting Note: Founders takes it upon themselves to educate people about the craft beer. If you're in Grand Rapids, check out one of their classes: Sensory Evaluation, Palate Exploration, and Beer 101. If you can't make it up there for a class, you can at least download a desktop, phone, or tablet wallpaper: http://foundersbrewing.com/downloadables/.

Stone Brewing – Arrogant Bastard Ale

For the Fourth Beer of Christmas, we got a little arrogant.  Please don’t tell Santa.

This one was a lighter weight echo of last night’s beer.  It’s classified as a Strong Ale (see Style below) bur reminds me a lot of a Pale Ale (and coincidentally, Strong Ale is a sub-class of Pale Ale).

The Arrogant Bastard builds up a nice head that quickly dissipates leaving a strong fruity hops scent frothing out of the glass.  The aroma of this beer is bolder than last night’s Hog Heaven.  It makes a beautiful mahogany brown glass.

The beer’s strong flavor bursts through the medium bodied beer with a caramel sweetness that accompanies the strong hops and warming alcohol flavors.  I thought the intense aroma might also mean a more intense flavor, but it was lighter, sweeter, and more complex than the Hog Heaven.

This is not for the faint of tongue, but it’s a nice change to my regular line up of beers.  Don’t plan on sharing this one.  Grab a big ol’ 22 oz. bottle for yourself and hang on tight for a strong, wild ride.

Stats
Brewer: Stone Brewing Company
Location: Escondido, CA
Website: http://www.StoneBrew.com
Style: American Strong Ale
Alcohol Content: 7.2% ABV
Interesting Note: I’ve had a few beers from Stone Brewing before (their gargoyle logo and 22 oz. bottles make them stand out at the local beer stores), but I really got interested in their brews after watching the documentary Beer Wars which featured an interview with Co-Founder Greg Koch. The movie is available on Netflix (streaming and DVD) and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in craft beers.