New Beers Released Every Day

New beers are released every day, I’m sure of it. And by new, I mean beers that have never before existed. Such is the world we live in, with the dizzying array of new breweries offering standards as well as fascinating original creations, it’s no surprise that you can find something different at any given time.
Hit or miss, good or bad, it’s never necessarily a bad thing to give the latest brew a try. But, for me, it’s the seasonal releases, those that return every year, like an old friend coming home from a vacation, that really warm the heart and the belly. The tried and true one-off beers, which I look forward to the day they leave the shelves. One of my faves has popped up on three different draft lists in the last week, and I couldn’t be more overjoyed.
The beer in question is the famous Breakfast Stout, the brewery is Founders, more and more often, a brewing company that hits at or near the top of my list. Founders offers up these words to prepare you for their sumptuous stout: “You’ve got to love coffee to truly appreciate this phenomenal brew. The coffee lovers consummate beer. Brewed with an abundance of flaked oats, bitter and imported chocolates, Sumatra and Kona coffee, this stout has an intense fresh roasted java nose topped with a cinnamon colored frothy head that goes forever.”
There are several sub-styles of stout: where dry stouts are roasted and bitter, oatmeal stouts are smooth and slightly sweet, sweet stouts are almost sugary. There is no grouping for coffee or breakfast stout. And the concoction brewed by Founders could encompass several of the above categories. Some bitterness? Yes. Smoothness? For sure. Sweetness? It’s in there.
This is one of those beers that begs to be let loose, and allowed to breath, reaching nearly room temperature. Patience will be paid off, as a slightly chilled breakfast stout is far superior to a straight from the fridge pint.
Breakfast Stout comes in 4-packs of small, stout little bottles. Once unleashed from the bottle, a blackness like no other adheres itself to my tulip glass. A truly menacing color, black like no other, even when held to the light, this beer emits no other hues. The thick, luscious head is chocolate milk colored and monstrous. It holds on well, surprising given the 8.3 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) of this beer.
The aromas given off are powerful and wonderful. Think of the coffee isle in your favorite high-end grocer. The smell is outstanding, all coffee and espresso and dark chocolate. You can also discern the scent of oatmeal if you really try hard, but coffee dominates as expected.
The taste and mouthfeel are divine, velvety liquid imparts a battle between strong, black coffee, and sweet and bitter chocolate. As rich and as full as any beer I’ve had, the flavors live up as proclaimed. Every sip brings a different flavor, what a ride. Think about the richest, most indulgent dark chocolate bittersweet cake, and then put that in a bottle. There you have Founders Breakfast Stout. A perfect stout for that first cold night, on draught or in bottle, it won’t be around for long. Enjoy the brews … Cheers.
Gene’s Haufbrau has at more than 200 beers in bottles or on tap. While they don’t have every beer the Beer Snob writes about, they probably have most. Gene’s is located at 817 Savannah Hwy. 225-GENE. E-mail the Beer Snob at publisher@westof.net.