Founders Curmudgeon's Better Half
Old Ale brewed with molasses and aged in Maple Syrup Bourbon Barrels.
3.9
691 reviews
Grand Rapids, United States
Community reviews
Brown with a small head and a massive alcohol hit from the start.Burnt malty flavours dominate with a strong mouth feel.Liquid dynamite and my treat for Christmas night 2020. A beer to remember
in a year (2020 ) that was awful.
Not a pretty looking pour, as the body was a murky brown color. The head formation was one finger thick, and quite durable. The smell was sweet, reminding me of dried figs, dates, and raisins. The taste was rich, giving off flavors of molasses, maple syrup, dried fruit, and toffee. The mouthfeel was silky and soft, and this was a scarily drinkable beer considering the ABV. Nice big beer, and IMHO a better showcase for the aging process than CBS.
i am not ready for something like this yet. so strong, i had to wait a while between each sip. but i respect the craft
12 oz bottle, poured light reddish brown with off-white ring of foam. Full bodied, oily. Bourbon and maple syrup aroma. Figs, raisins, maple syrup taste, with the finish is where the 12.7% abv of this big beer presents. Work of art.
A dark red-brown beer, a head is small and blond. Aroma has lots of dried fruits, raisin is dominating and prune is balancing, caramel, some barrel, port, vanilla, alcohol can be noticed, but it's not bother. Taste has raisin, nice caramel, some drying wood and barrel, maple syrup and hazelnuts, strenght of alcohol. Full bodied, minor stickyness, smooth. Great complexicity. Brilliant beer, pure enjoyment.
355ml bottle brewed in Michigan at 12.7%. Ruby-amber, clear, turning opaque with all sediment poured in, with a neat white head, fair-duration. Woody toffee caramel and maple syrup aroma, with boozy raisin and cranberry overtones. Lowish+ carbonation. Toffee, fig, raisin, cherry, caramel, vanilla, leafy-woody maple syrup, treacle, all rich and viscous and lingering wonderfully. Legendary brew - Founders at their best. Gimmicky in its sheer boozy sweetness, but if that's what you're looking for, this is flawless. Shame it's hard to get hold of here - and doubly a shame I wasn't able to track down a bottle of the original Curmudgeon Old Ale that went into making it - but you wouldn't want something like this more than once in a blue moon anyway. In no way anything resembling a 'daily driver', but hot damn! What a beer. Ideally I'd like it just a touch less boozy - not that it's rough on the palate mind you - but this is still superbly sui generis. If you like cognac but not the alcohol...this is a fine stand-in. No joke.
Orangy color, muddy, short top.
Full body, dense flavor, very piquant, throat-burning, carbonation, lingering aftertaste, flavorful finish.
Powerfully sweet with bitterness and acidity enough for balance.
Syrupy all the way, vanilla, wood, coffee, spirits, dry fruit, orange peel.
Delicious, it grows on you.
November 8, 2020; 2/27/21;
Terrific. Very strong & sweet, but maple not too much,great molasses
Bottle pour, deep amber. Aroma of barley wine and bourbon. Not overly sweet, the maple is nice and subtle and balances with the bourbon. Full bodied and nice in a small snifter glass.
Light brown colour with thin head. Aroma has elements of cognac, heavily roasted malts, some coffee, dried fruits. Flavour has roasted bitterness and coffee up front with the sweetness of vanilla and bourbon and caramel in the finish. Sweet but not sugary. The maple brings an earthy sweet balance.
Can you say pancakes and syrup? Pours a slightly opaque brown with medium density head, good retention. Aroma is very sweet... caramel, figs, bread, biscuit, booze, barrel and an unidentified twang of something I didn't recognize. Taste explodes in mouth with rich flavors of brown sugar, toffee, molasses, vanilla, toasted malts, peat and maple syrup undertones. Excellent full mouthfeel and texture. Medium carbonation. Drawback is the cloying sweet aftertaste that stays around a bit too long. Compared with Founders BWB it is a bit sweeter with less of an edge. Also reminds me of Founders CBS, but it is an ale, not a stout. A well crafted ale but a bit to sweet and heavy for me, at least for today.
It pours murky brown with a tan head. Head retention is excellent. It has aromas of maple, bourbon and toffee. There are some background notes of wood and vanilla. There is a berry note with some orange. It has flavors of maple, bourbon, toffee, caramel, and orange. There are also some background notes of vanilla and berry. It has a chewy and thick body with smooth alcohol warming.
Tap@ Bierbarry Den Haag. Amberkleurig, plakkraag. Ruikt houtig, whisky. Smaakt zoet, zwaar, heftig. Hout, caramel, whisky, vanille als voornaamste smaken.
Oh my goodness, one of the best beers I've ever had the pleasure to drink. Unfortunately I shared it with a mate...and we both cried for more....
So much going on here, a cascade of flavours, it just keeps giving. I'm not going to tell you any more, track it down and taste it yourself. Take my advice and buy more than one.....
2018 Btl pours a cloudy light amber color with a small tan head that fades fast leaving a ring of froth clinging to the side of glass. Smells of molasses, dark fruits, earth, wood, cookie dough & booze. Tastes of molasses, sweet 🍁 syrup, whiskey, raisins, dates, holiday bread, and sweet caramel.
Medium- big body, mildly carbonated, coating mouthfeel and a soft yet hot alcohol finish. Whew! I did not think I could finish this! It is amazing but it’s a big beer, ok huge beer! Crazy complexities going on here. It’s sweet but very tasty. I would recommend drinking this on a cold night in front of a fire! Beautiful!
Insane beer. Really the beer surprised me very hard. The aroma is very rich and complex and give you some wood nose and a lot caramel. The taste is amazing and very sweet. A lot of caramel and whiskey flavors there. The mouthfeel is incredible and one of the best i have try. the beer melts in your mouth. Amazing mouthfeel. The aftertaste is very strong and give you full and strong wine, whiskey, barley and caramel flavors. Also you get a little bit alcohol there but nothing annoying. The carboration is soft.
Overall one of the best beers i have try right now. This beer has all the thing that you want.
Copenhagen 13/6 2020. 35,5 cl bottle from Kvickly, Allerød. Drawing of elderly couple considering eating a stack of pancakes on the label. They do take the concept "Old Ale" seriously.
Pours murky brown with a small off-white head. Settles as thin, patchy layer of foam unable to cover the surface of the beer. Clinging to the sides of the glass. Substantial lacing.
Aroma is intense and with a heavy, vinous sweetness reminding me of Barley wine. Sweet honey, brown sugar and sweet liquor. Woody fumes. Strong boozy bourbon odor.
Light carbonation. Medium thick, oily, soft, creamy, slightly sticky, lightly tingling texture.
Flavor is intense and heavy sweet with only a rudimentary bitterness. Aftertaste is sweet and sugary. Lingering. Finish is laden with alcohol.
Satisfying, heavy, woody, fundamentally sweet, sweet boozer.
Draft. It poured a mahogany color with an off-white head. The strong old ale has a malty aroma with notes of dark molasses and Candi sugar on top of bourbon in the flavor profile. Somewhat boozy. Smooth finish absent the elevated alcohol. Very nice.
January 29, 2019 - with blankboy, jercraigs & mabel - 750ml bottle. Some biiiiiig beers at this tasting ... Looks great - clear and refractive reddish amber with a solid beige head. Very sweet aroma - tons of bourbon and I get the maple syrup too - hides the huge alcohol amazingly well, I get some woody malty actual ale in behind - even though it's massively sweet, it's great; mellow (8+). Initially all sweet bourbon, as it warms more of the maple and some oak - big beer. Slick mouthfeel, light carbonation, a bit sticky with a medium building-boozy finish. Could NOT drink the whole thing myself, but glad to have had it.
The taste of bourbon is strong but not my type. I didn't like it. Dark red colour with a good lacing off white head.
Bottle.
A- Sweet bread, whisky, malty.
A- Brown color, clear liquid, tan head.
T- Brown sugar, booze, mild maple, sweet, light butterscotch, malty.
P- Full body, average texture, average carbonation, cloying finish.
O- This was just too sweet and cloying. Boozy too. Perhaps this would be good with some years on it but at a year old, this was just too sweet and too boozy. Needs some refinement. Really wanted to love this but just can't get there. A 4 oz flight pour would've been great.
Thin beige head of fine bubbles. Rich malty aroma with lots of caramel, toffee, tea leaves, butterscotch and pizza dough. Color is a hazy dark copper. Smooth and malty on the palate. Lots of sweetness, more butterscotch and caramel, toasted biscuits, bourbon and honey. Moderate alcohol presence and warming. Lingering sweetness and honey and alcohol at the finish. Finish is clean though. A delicious sugar bomb with plenty of body to offset the BIG alcohol.
Bottle at home. Chestnut colored. Nose is maple, caramel and tobacco. Tastes of tobacco, molasses, wood, dark cherry, some brandy. Sweet finish some booze.
Review based on the BJCP2015 guidelines (style 33B/31B/17B). Bottle 35.5 cl - Batch 05326 (BBF 13.08.2019). AROMA: medium notes of vinous alcohol (Port-like), followed by slight oxidated malt and Maillard notes (bread crust). Low background of wood and maple syrup. APPEARANCE: amber color and cristal clear. medium beige head, creamy with average retention. leg formation. TASTE: initial medium bourbon flavor, followed by medium-low dried grapes, dried figs, slight wood and Maillard compounds (bread crust). Malt presence with a slight caramel character. slight vinous note, Port-like. low bitterness with a semi-sweet finish. PALATE: medium-high to high body with medium carbonation. smooth texture and smooth alcoholic warmth. OVERALL: although the best before date has already passed, this is a very good Old Ale with added fermentables. very complex.
Draft at FOB, Rimini, Italy. Pours reddish brown, with a nice head of whitish foam, fine. Aroma is intense of caramel, plus fig, raisin, alcohol, Bourbon. Body is thick, with moderate carbonation, and quite a stickiness. Taste is intensely sweet, with a nice final spicy feeling. Limited bitterness. A nice bomb for the winter!
2018 release. Appearance is dark ruby, a very small off-white foamy head. Aroma is maple syrup, toffee, caramel biscuit, raisin, dark fruit, Christmas cake, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, marzipan. Taste is sweet almondy malt, cherry Bakewell, sultana, sugary dark fruit, hint of milky chocolate, woody malt, vanilla, Christmas cake, maple syrup, bourbon. Very sweet and tasty, tastes nowhere near 12%.
Bottle. Pours a mahogany amber with a creamy off-white head that left fair lacing. Aroma of maple, caramel, bourbon, oak and vanilla. Flavor was quite sweet with maple syrup, caramel, bourbon, vanilla, oak and had some notes of molasses. Super sneaky at 12 %
Bottle from Beer Republic, pouring dark brown color. Aroma of caramel, syrup, sweet bread, vanilla, rich maltiness, bourbon, alcohol, oak and sugar. Taste is full heavy with sweetness and malts, almost like a liquor. Full body, long sweet aftertaste.
8/28/18 bottle date. Appearance: Copper brown, fairly clear, with a light off white head.
Aroma: Sweet malt with vanilla from oak, with a tough of molasses syrup
Taste: Intensely rich and cloyingly sweet, with molasses and dark sugar overpowering the malt and bitterness. Vanilla and tea notes shown up on the back end.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with some viscosity and low carbonation.
Finish: Dark sugar, tea, rich maltiness
Overall: The residual sugars in this beer are cloying and make for a difficult drink. If there was a contrast or sharp bitterness to counter the sweetness it would work. Lots of pleasant layers of flavor here, but the combination doesn’t work well.
Bottle from Gedeelde Vreugde - many thanks, Anke! Pours hazy brown with a big, slowly thinning, frothy, tan head. Strong aroma of Sirop de Liège, pear syrup, candied date, caramel, brioche, brandy, molasses, wood. Taste is medium to heavy malty sweet, thick molasses & syrup, fruity notes of candied date & prune, wrapped in brioche, with subtle bitter herbs, toast & wood underneath, the last one giving off a vanilla touch. Dryish, herbal hoppy finish, lingering syrup, dark fruit, wood, warming & rounded brandy- & bourbon-like alcohol. Full body, syrupy texture, soft carbonation. Rich, thick, delicious Old Ale.