Big Lushious from Founders Brewing

Happy New Year to everyone. It has been way too long since I have typed up one of these. With the holidays and all, I was just hanging out with my wife mostly. We also got a new puppy. He is pretty awesome. We lost one of our pups back in August and thought that it was time to get another pup. Thank you to Facebook for making the day that I lost my dog one of the big moments of the year for me. That really sucked to pull up Facebook on my phone and see that displayed prominently. You suck Facebook. Anyway, we found an awesome dog at Stray Rescue.

I wanted to name him after a variety of hops. One of my favorite hops is Simcoe. Wifey said no way on that one. I started going through some of my other favorites and kept getting rejected until...GALAXY! His name is Galaxy. He is a border collie mix and is super cool. Our pit, Abbie, has started to warm up to him. They love to play. It took our cat Roddy longer to get used to him. Here is Roddy staring him down on the first day we brought Galaxy home.

So, with all that being said, I am going to try to write more reviews. I recently had a bottle of Big Lushious from Founders Brewing Company. This is an Imperial Stout with chocolate and raspberries. It is 7.8% ABV. It pours a dark black with a small tan head. The smell is...wow! The smell is like chocolate covered raspberries. The taste is the same, chocolate covered raspberries. The body is a little thick but very silky. This is a dessert beer. There are dessert wines and also dessert beers.

This really is an amazing beer. This tastes like Founders combined some of their Breakfast Stout with Rubaeus, their raspberry beer. I would love to have a glass of this after a nice dinner. Just great. I give this 4.0 hop flowers. Wonderful!

Stray Rescue of St. Louis
Founders Brewing Company

Breakfast Stout by Founders Brewing Company

This is a beer that I see in stores all the time. I have always wanted to taste it but never have. I love stouts, so I don't know why I never had this one. I happened to be in one of my favorite places, Craft Beer Cellar in Clayton and they had it on tap. Wifey asked for a sample and she took a sip and handed it over to me. I took a small sip of what was left and thought "Wow, this is pretty good." Wifey ordered a full pour of it and I took a better sip from hers. "Wow, this is really good." (the sip went from pretty good to really good). After talking and drinking some more beer, I had to get up and grab a 4-pack of the shelf because, as I said, this was really good.

So, I was able to enjoy this beer at home. It pours nice and dark with a tan head. The aroma is a nice coffee smell with a bit of roasted malts. Man, this has a real nice aroma. The taste is so nice. You can taste some of the coffee and the chocolate is more pronounced. You get a little bit of the bitterness at the end. It has a little milky texture to it also. The more I drink of it, the more chocolate and coffee taste that lingers. This is really nice.

This is a beer where I would not feel so bad drinking in the morning. Why should mornings be just for Bloody Marys and Mimosas? I think Founders Breakfast Stout should be included in the morning alcoholic beverages. I'm not a coffee drinker so if I had some donuts and a glass of this, I would be very happy.

When I rated this on Untapped, I gave it a 4.0. After thinking about it more, I am going to give this 4.5 hop flowers. I have heard the whispers and rumors of Founders KBS, their Imperial Stout aged in oak bourbon barrels. You better believe I will be hunting this stuff down when it comes out again.

Craft Beer Cellar - Clayton
Founders Brewing Co.

(yes I know, this is the wrong glass)

Paleooza from New Holland Brewing Company

This is another beer I purchased from Craft Beer Cellar in Clayton, MO. Paleooza is called a Michigan Pale Ale from New Holland Brewing. The ABV is 5.6%.

I poured the beer into a glass and it is a nice hazy, golden color with a small white head (that sounds weird). The aroma is a mixture of grains and citrus. The taste is crisp and sweet. They made the beer with Cascade hops and you can tell. The taste has that fruit taste but also a bit of spice to it. You can also taste a bit of the malt too. It is a nice flavor.

This is really a nice, refreshing pale ale. This is a beer that I would have on a hot day or really, any day that I am relaxing. It is a real tasty beer. Wife thought it was just OK. I just finished mowing my lawn and this beer would have been nice to have.

I would give this one 3.5 hop flowers.

Craft Beer Cellar - Clayton

New Holland Brewing