Founders KBS (355ml)

A Bourbon barrel-aged Stout with flavors of concentrated roasted coffee, cafe latte, and milk chocolate. Rated 100 points on beer review sites.

While not many beers in America are described as having a "cult following," Founders' Kentucky Breakfast Stout, or KBS, is one of the most eagerly sought-after beers. This masterpiece, created by aging their limited-edition Breakfast Stout (which includes chocolate and coffee) in Kentucky bourbon barrels for a year, is a super-limited item that many beer geeks crave. In the US, people line up overnight before its release, and many liquor stores set rules allowing customers to purchase only one or two bottles after acquiring a ticket in advance. If you miss out on a ticket, you might spend hours visiting various liquor stores, hoping to get lucky and find a bottle. KBS sleeps deep underground in bourbon barrels. This stout is aged in a cave approximately 85 feet (about 25 meters) below ground. This cave, originally an abandoned gypsum mine, is now used by Founders as an aging cellar. As of April 2016, they hold over 9,000 bourbon barrels, making it one of the largest barrel-aging projects in America. This deep underground area naturally maintains an optimal cellar temperature for beer aging. Aging here gives KBS its sweet, nutty flavor and incredibly smooth mouthfeel. While barrel-aged beers are popular in the US now, when KBS was first released, it wasn't a prominent category in the country. It was first released as a draft-only beer in 2002, followed by a limited bottle release in 2003. Incidentally, the first KBS was aged in two barrels that had contained Jack Daniel's. These were neither Kentucky nor bourbon barrels (Jack Daniel's is Tennessee whiskey produced in Tennessee. It's an American whiskey but belongs to a different category than bourbon). The recipe was soon changed, leading to its current flavor. Founders describes KBS as "the beer that continued to lead the barrel-aging movement in America." According to the brewery, the best way to enjoy KBS is to decant it at room temperature (around 15°C) to allow it to breathe, then drink it from a brandy glass. It appears as a jet-black liquid topped with a creamy, dark brown head. Aromas of concentrated roasted coffee, cafe latte, milk chocolate, vanilla, oak, and bourbon spill from the glass. On the palate, the roasted notes and sweetness of coffee and chocolate envelop the entire tongue, while bourbon, vanilla, and a hint of hop bitterness spread in a well-balanced manner. It's so wonderful that one might hesitate to swallow it, but the finish, too, is a pleasant, long lingering aftertaste of bourbon, alcoholic warmth, and a slight malty sweetness. It is full-bodied with a silky smooth mouthfeel. In 2014, it was selected as "the best beer in the world" by the beer review site RateBeer, and it continues to receive perfect 100-point ratings not only on RateBeer but also on BeerAdvocate. This precious and delicious barrel-aged stout, so good it might make you scream with joy, is truly a supreme beer at the pinnacle of the world.

• ABV: 12%
• IBU: 45
• Type: Happoshu (low-malt beer, for taxation purposes)
• Ingredients: Malt, hops, oats, cacao, coffee
• Hops: NUGGET, WILLAMETTE
• Brewery: Founders
• Style: Barrel-aged imperial stout
• Volume: 355ml
• Container: Bottle