Field Guide to Founders

Michigan based Founders Brewing Company enjoys critical acclaim and the devotion of beer enthusiasts across the country. Their name has become synonymous with bold beers utilizing non-traditional brewing techniques and ingredients, the result of passion and commitment to a dream.

As college students, Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers dreamed of opening a brewery. Avid craft been enthusiasts, they began homebrewing as they pursued their chosen career fields. Unfulfilled and still remembering their original dream, they broke from their daily lives and forged ahead into a world of beer and business. Starting small with a standard microbrewery portfolio, they struggled at first and treaded mediocrity. Revisiting their original ideas for the company, the duo set out experimenting with their beers, making huge beers with unorthodox ingredients challenging the common styles produced before.

Doing exactly what they loved to do, Founders developed a zealous following and has finally come to Atlanta.

The starting lineup in Georgia of these highly sought after beers is impressive, to say the least, with something to excite any craft beer fan’s palate. Available in 12oz bottles and some draft, look for these brews at your local beer bar. You won’t regret it! Below is a field guide to the Founders beers launching first in Georgia.

Backwoods Bastard 10.4%abv
This brew is the closest thing to bourbon without the distiller. Low in carbonation with intense flavors of spice and dark fruit, the flavor is phenomenal. The medium body and rich hazy red color of this brew make is seem deceptively light, but this beer could easily be served in a snifter and sipped for hours by a fireplace during these cold winter months. Oaky with a caramel sweetness, this amber brew is one to savor.

Breakfast Stout 8.3%abv
Beer fans can now cast aside their morning coffee! Pouring thick, black and opaque, this brew boasts it can be eaten with a fork. A particular blend of Kona and Sumatra coffee, flaked oat, and imported chocolate brewed into a delightfully thick coffee, vanilla, and toasty flavored beer. Earthy flavors and a chocolate sweetness add to the beer, making it an ideal way to start the day.

Centennial IPA 7.2%abv
Widely considered the best IPA in America, this brew starts off with an intense floral bouquet, with citrus notes of grapefruit and lemon on the nose. The brew pours a hazy light amber color and a thick white head. In flavor, peachy sweetness and spicy hop bitterness transition to a thick malty sweetness to balance out the intense dry hop dominance indicative of the style. Extreme dry hopping creates the lingering bitterness suitable for any hophead.

Dirty Bastard 8.3%abv
Most breweries support a pale ale or an IPA as their flagship brew. Founders has chosen this ruby red ale brewed with ten different barley malts and hints of smoky flavor. An amber addition to the Scotch Ale family, this brew has a rich plum raison taste, with measured toast and smoked cheese notes. A sweeter brew, the Dirty Bastard

Imperial Stout 10%abv
A rich, robust and roasty stout, this brew would make the Brits proud. Brewed with ten varieties of barley, flavors of coffee, chocolate, and earthy peat create thick complexity of flavor without an abundance of sweetness. Soft carbonation and a slick mouthfeel lend an authentic touch, and the lack of excessive hop bitterness pay homage to the origins of the style.

Pale Ale 5.4%abv
A delicious, thirst-quenching brew made primarily from a single variety of hop, Cascade. Golden in color with a mildly toffee sweet backbone, the
bitter dryness of the hops is expressed in a citrus dominate flavor. A creamy texture with a mild rosewater aftertaste makes this seemingly simple brew complex and enjoyable to drink again and again.

Porter 6.5%abv
Surprisingly hoppy brew for the style, this black ale has smooth chocolate flavors balance with moderate roast. Four varieties of hops are blended in adding a bitter edge and bringing out the coffee roast qualities of the brew. Very little sweetness makes this a hopheads dark ale and one of the more interesting porters out there.

Red’s Rye 6.6%abv
Distinctly crimson in color, Belgian malts are brewed in with large amounts of rye creating a spicy, and richly floral beer with pineapple acid balanced with a caramel sweetness. Richly thick, this brew is also dry-hopped for added bitterness and a piney stickiness to the mouthfeel. The finish is crisp, leaving you wanting another.

Jessica Moss
Beertender at Muss & Turner’s
jmoss@atlantacuisine.com