Founders Backstage Series #14: Project Pam

Black IPAs have long been a staple in our Taproom and at our annual Black Party – a celebration of experimental, dark beers – and Project PAM combines this with our deep, abiding love for barrel-aging. It’s an invitation to venture into the shadows of our brewers’ minds and discover their mad genius. In development under a shroud of secrecy for years, Project PAM is brewed with an abundance of hops including, Chinook, Nugget, Centennial, Amarillo, El Dorado and Mosaic. It’s balanced with Crystal and Midnight Wheat malts and finally aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels to add complex oaky bourbon notes and the sweetness of maple syrup. Project PAM clocks in at 10.8% ABV.

3.9

237 reviews

Grand Rapids, United States

Community reviews

3.9 Bottle. Pours dark brown/black with a thick tan head that left good lacing. Aroma of bourbon, maple, chocolate, vanilla and pine. Flavor was lightly sweet with maple syrup, bourbon, oak, chocolate, pine and vanilla. Creamy smooth texture, medium plus body, average carbonation. an awesome black ipa

4.0 Bottled. Probably pretty old. Pours black, almost murky ruby, tan head. Aroma is bourbon, maple syrup, fig, roasted malt, lots of booze, oak. Flavor is bourbon, sweet maple syrup, some coffee bitterness, roasted chocolate. It’s probably old, I get no ipa character. It’s just a bourbon barrel aged Stout with a bit of hop character? But barely. More coffee than hop presence. Fairly soft mouthfeel. Really nice. It’s really good.

4.1 Bottle courtesy of a friend. Pours a deep obsidian with a tan head. Nose is roast, earth, huge pine, oak, bourbon, chewy sap, and more hops. Flavor is hoppy chocolate with oak, vanilla, bourbon, and pine sap. Finish lingers with bourbon and hops. Delightful - best twist on a black IPA I have seen.

4.0 Bottle. Pours black. Aroma and taste are sweet maple, roasted malts, vanilla, and some hops.

3.8 Black with thin Lacy beige head; aroma is hoppy spice/herbal; flava is complex blend sweet malt scotch bourbon wood hops; feels medium to light soft fizzy zing; finishes roasty tangy scotchy alcohol

4.2 The maple adds a sweet ending to the beer, not really able to put your finger on it that it’s actually maple, but great addition. Aroma is tobacco, chicory, cocoa, and a bit of sugary booze. Color is black with light head. Taste is not as boozy as expected. A dangerous high ABV that can easily be drank quickly as the mouth feel is perfect. Not sticky, not watery, just right. Bottle

4.7 On draught into a snifter. Pours black with a small brown head. Nose is bourbon and maple syrup. Taste follows. Very well made. Creamy mouth feel, but a fairly short finish. Tasty.

3.9 Draft at Zeno’s in State College for the Founders Day event. Poured a very dark brown color, with a small tan head. Aroma was alcohol, earthy hops, roasted malts. Light pine. Flavor was light roasted malt notes, earthy notes. Alcohol was hidden pretty well in this one. Tasty.

4.5 I dont even know where to start with this one. Simply genius. Great nose of maple and syrup and sugar. Poured dark black with slight tan head. Big front palate, little carb ... Pronounced malt and maple on front, transitioning to flavors of slightly bitter, oak, coffee, chocolate. The sweet and bitter keeps it rounded and being a black ipa and not a stout brings different, less heavy mouthfeel. Different than expected. Id love more, better than kbs, but not quite cbs. Second best beer in founders lineup... This needs to come back. If you like cbs, rhis is as close as it gets. Delicious, balanced, rounded, bug, sweet with bitter finiah, light in carb. Yum!

3.5 Bomber at campsite. This beer is huge in every way. So much going on it’s hard to distinguish flavors. Should be the perfect campire beer but the Atalanta and Lyric Ale were a much better pairing with the night. Slick, sweet, bourbon, super roasty, molasses and oak. Too many hop notes to make sense of. I needed a 2 oz pour of this and would have been enough. 11% ABV and drinks like it. Pam gave me a little headache, really.

4.4 Bourbon. Totally bourbon. Lovely bourbon nose, chocolate, Brown sugar and awesome nose. Silly smooth and yummy. Chocolate, no hops and tasty as all get out.

3.6 Draft @ Kings Arms, Bethnal Green E2. Pours a black color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty hoppy aroma with hints of caramel. Sweetish malty hoppy bitter caramel flavor. Has a sweetish malty spicy hoppy bitter caramel finish.

4.2 On tap. Black with moderate head. Complex combination of hops. Nice bitter finish

3.8 750 ml bottle for a steep price of $17.99. (the sticker was still on the bottle but I don’t remember where I purchased it) Pitch black in color, lasting tan head with lacing. Aroma is layers of pine, chocolate, wood and burnt maple syrup. Even after sitting it shows quite a bit of strong pine. Flavor also reflects the bold pine that states; “I am a black IPA, deal with it.” Also shows maple syrup, burnt sugar, roast malts, and oak. The strong pine fights the sweet, bold stout like qualities. Alcohol level is mostly hidden in a thick / full body. Overall is the beer interesting? Yes, it is. Does it have a lot of flavor? Yes, it does. Is this beer worth the price? Hell no. I guess for $18.00 I was expecting more.

4.2 Pours dark brown with manila head. Smell is bourbon, vanilla, oak, toffee. Taste is vanilla, oak, toffee, bourbon and roasted malt. Heavy body, light carb

3.9 Sampled on tap at the Knick. Neutral fruit, light alcohol vapor and a bit of oak. Dark brown-black clear with thin head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Sweet with some oak and balsamic woody sweetness. Alcohol and vanilla. Big warming after.

4.0 tap at 2016 michigan winter beer festival. Near black with small head. Malty and sweet with the maple notes. Strong hops. Light woodiness. Complex flavors.

4.0 Tulip at The Pump House. Light eating black with a one finger beige head. This is rich and substantial. A top shelf black IPA. Lots of earth, lots of black licorice, fruity hop notes, mild bitterness, roast, and lactic. Some wood, earth, and bourbon. Do I taste maple? Finish brings the alcohol. I am not a fan black licorice in this style but this beer is definitely a cut above.

4.3 Deep brown-amber with tan head. Sweet boozy aroma. Smooth and complex boozy flavor; moderately sweet then vanilla bourbon character followed by hopped ipa notes and a charred earthy malty finish.

3.5 Refrigerated 75 cl brown bottle poured. Black with beige head. Aroma is bourbon, medium/thick body, lower carbonation, and good lacing. Taste is dark malt, pine hops, and chocolate.

3.7 Sweet and oaky nose. Dark black with medium dissipating tan head. Sweet with mild rye finish. Almost a stout with thick mouth feel. Just a hint of maple. Boozy taste builds up the longer you drink.

3.6 Definitely get brown sugar maple in this dark ale with slight hue. Strong cocoa toasty light bourbon alcohol. Prune licorice taste with brown sugar maple. Hops kinda muddled but hoppy.Woody planty chocolate. Pretty nice.

4.0 Aroma: toasted malts, molasses, dark, ripe fruits, caramel, oak. Appearance: hazy, dark brown, small, really, off-white head. Taste: medium sweet. Palate: caramel, molasses, maple syrup, chocolate, soft carbonation. Overall: nothing like your regular Black IPA, this is beautiful, lots of rich, dark and sweet malts in both aroma and palate. Pint at Kings Arms, Bethnal Green.

4.3 (Bouteille): Toute une surprise celle-là même si j’avais été seulement amusé par le service en fût. L’équilibre entre les houblons agrumes, sapin et l’apport des sucres comme la mélasse, sirop d’érable et chocolat est superbe. Belle onctuosité et adéquate sécheresse également.

3.4 Brown pour with a thing head, tan in color. Aroma of oak and oxidation. Full mouth. Taste is all over the place but it works. Sweet brown sugar, almost molasses. Some maple syrup and hint of hops. Thin mouth. Very interesting beer. Lace present.

4.1 My Bottom Line: This unique strong ale delights with a maple syrup signature deepening the relation between roasted malts and coniferous hops. Further Personal Perceptions: -A slice of foam sticks to the hazy deep brown. -The sweetness has tons of personality, and it is perfectly balanced out by the chosen hops. -I could easily see myself on a cool evening enjoying this near a campfire in the forest. -This is a creative brew that showcases not only the brewer’s talent in the brewhouse, but also his sense of harmony. Bottle.

4.2 Black pour with a frothy beige head. Aroma was a wonderful mix of piney hops, roasted malt, bourbon, vanilla and oak. Wild stuff. Flavors were oaky with lots of pine like, dank hops, more vanilla, big roasty malts, touch of sweetened coffee. Viscous mouthfeel with moderate carbonation, slick and oily. Slightly bittersweet finish. This came across almost as a big black hoppy barleywine. Similar to that SN a few years ago. Maybe a forgotten style, the BLACK barleywine!

4.1 I really enjoyed this offering from the backstage series. Founder’s does bourbon barrel aging right and the maple syrup is a interest touch on this one; adds a nice touch of sweetness. The roast, bourbon, maple syrup and hops blend well together and create a smooth drinking brew. Thanks to kmbrewmaster in GR for hooking me up with this one.

4.1 750ml bottle. Pours a deep, dark brown, almost completely black, with a brown head. Hoppy, spicy, roasted aroma, spruce, wood, vanilla, coffee, grass, caramel, licorice, bourbon, and a weird ’green’ note that reminds me of green peppers or habanero. Semi-sweet, hoppy, roasted taste. The hops are more subdued on the palate than in the aroma. Wood, caramel, coffee, licorice, cinnamon, syrup, ash, tannins, citrus. Long, complex, balanced finish, surprisingly sweet, but extremely well made. (2016-03-12)

3.5 Blackish pour, moderate sized tan head, decent lace/retention. Aroma is maple, oak, chocolate, caramel, alcohol, light grapefruit and citrus. Medium bodied, fairly sweet - kind of its own style. I generally think that barrel aging IPA style beers is a fail, but this was kind of interesting - too bad it was $18 so I’ll never have another.