Founders Nemesis 2009
“The 2009 release of Nemesis is best described as a Maple Bourbon barrel aged wheat wine holding 12% abv and 70 ibu’s. The barrels have been resting deep in the mines of Grand Rapids for nearly 9 months and have been most effective in developing a great product.
The Bourbon barrels we used in this creation were once used to age Maple syrup from northern Michigan, then emptied, and procured for our use in aging this beer. The combination of American oak, Kentucky Bourbon, Michigan Maple syrup and our golden/tan wheat ale has provided a delicious malty sweet ale distinctive of strong vanilla and bourbon notes.”
The Bourbon barrels we used in this creation were once used to age Maple syrup from northern Michigan, then emptied, and procured for our use in aging this beer. The combination of American oak, Kentucky Bourbon, Michigan Maple syrup and our golden/tan wheat ale has provided a delicious malty sweet ale distinctive of strong vanilla and bourbon notes.”
3.8
418 reviews
Grand Rapids, United States
Community reviews
Rated on 3-05-2010 Fort Wayne, IN Gathering. This beer forms a small off-white head with a short retention, no visible carbonation and no lacing. The aroma is wheat, maple, fruity, and some alcohol. The taste is sweet, light hop bitterness, maple, wheat, and somewhat boozy. This beer is tingly on the palate and is medium bodied. Overall, this is a sipping beer, worth trying and a beer I would drink again.
Clear copper orange. Aroma is very boozy and sweet. Tastes boozy and sweet. Hot alcohol burn that dissipates as it warms. Delicious.
2009 12oz bottle pours a hazy orange with zero head. Vanilla bourbon aroma. Taste is the same with a bit of a alcohol finish.
This bitch rolls out tawny and thin, small bubbles rise infrequently to an etched surface. I could smell booze as soon as I cracked the crown, plenty of alcohol, vanilla, oak, more booze, butterscotch and a hint of peppermint in the background. Flavor is sweet with plenty of toffee character and marshmallows. Vanilla and spicy mint in the background (this is intriguing). Reminds me very little of a Wheatwine, and accordingly, I find myself enjoying this one a bit. The body is medium with moderate on low carb. Would have liked a bit of a simple syrup consstency, but hey, can’t have it all.
Overall, and interesting beer, the mint nuances threw me off, and the ethanol is poorly shrowded, I’d drink again, but it’s a mood beer for me I think.
Serving type: bottle
05-31-2012
Bottle shared by Mike. Clear auburn pour. Interesting profile of marshmallow, butterscotch, and slight pickle. More in the front and finish than in the middle, as tough it were watered down a bit. Likely past peak.
Bottle @ The Croydonia tasting. Cheers to whoever brought this along. The pour’s reddish amber with a small head. The nose is toffee, cocoa, a bit of toasted grain. The taste is more toffee. Rich malts. Slightly hot, boozy on the finish. Orange peel. Full body, light carbonation. Overall, fine.
Rated in 2010 (Backlog) - Amber in color with a small off-white head. Aroma is of wheat, sugar, wood and maple. Taste is of caramel, booze, wood and maple.
What a treat! Thanks to StFun for throwing in this extra on a FBW contest. Drinking on 3/19/13. Bottle poured into a balloon tulip glass. Pours an orange red brown color with no head at all. There is a thin line of bubbles around the rim. At first the aroma was overpowered by alcohol/bourbon with some caramel and maybe some fig. Once the volatile alcohol dissipated I could definitely smell some of the maple. It smells glorious after 4 years. Oh my, this tastes even more amazing. The taste is sweet with a warming quality from the bourbon and a slight alcohol bite. Much of the carbonation is gone but this doesn’t matter whatsoever. The palate is a bit thin for what I would expect but again, it doesn’t matter. Having this beer makes me want CBS even more.
12 oz. bottle to CBS snifter, not sure why I dug this out of my cellar tonight but it felt right and I still have a couple more to share. Pour orangey orange with lots of yeasty floculating and no head. Nose is maple maple doughnuts and then some. Carbonation has nearly left the building and the mouthfeel is goopey. Flavors are a bizzare mix of burnt sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and oxidation, this might be crashing over the hill but it’s a wild ride and overall I enjoy it. Finish is caramel-ey and lingering, I feel like a lot of Barley Wines head this direction after 3 or 4 years, it’s strange though because I’m picking up some the wheat notes in the lingering aftertaste. Ah, the short lived Nemesis series, before the backstage... How I love you.
Reddish gold, white lacing. Sticky aroma of bourbon, toffee, maple syrup, figs, blackcurrant, plum, and charred wood. Sweet, full-bodied, and smooth. A lingering bitter finish with a good amount of booziness.
at adamjackson tasting . thnx for the share to one of the guys ! ( im sure a name will, pop up reading the ratings below)
pours orange, no foam. smell is very sweet, bourbon, sugar, boozy, soft sharp carbo. taste is boiurbon ( sigh..) sweet..
getting curious on how a BW actualy taste. all the ones i had were bba, and i ONLY get bourbon in those...
12oz bottle, purchased from Jackie-Os’ cellar. Orange color. Dark orange and hazy with all the particles inside. Really nice bourbon nose, definite maple syrup in the aroma. Surprisingly, just more of a medium body. Indeed, it must have really thinned out in 4 years. A medium body still is fine.. But pretty much no carbonation either, at the moment. Wheat malt, lightly hoppy aroma. Big bourbon barrel and maple syrup. Nice sweet taste. Light bitter. Alcohol noticeable, but pretty smooth. No burn and minimal bite for 12%, so that’s fine. Like others have said, this is past it’s prime. That’s clear. But despite that, it’s still a very interesting sipper, still an enjoyable and interesting experience. The high price was easy to justify knowing it went towards helping one of my favorite breweries purchase their first-ever batch of cans. Will rerate if I ever stumble upon a fresh example
Thx! for sharing tderoeck @ ‘The Adam Jackson Tasting’. Bourbon BA wheat wine, interesting. 355 ml. bottle sampled / no idea as to what to expect. Pours a bright, hazy orange with only some white bubbles for a head. Sweet grapefruit and pine juice in the nose with sweet caramel, sugar, toffee, vanilla and some bourbon, oxidation is there but more contributing still than destructive. Sweet caramel, oxidation, sugar, bourbon, toffee, wheat, maple, warming, bourbon, sweet goo, orange zest quite present. Little carbonation, full body. Lovely surprise.
12oz format at cellar temp into a tasting glass.
A - Bronze in color. No head
S - Nose is very malty, tons of sugar, wheat and bourbon with vanilla
T - bourbon and vanilla up front, maple is still very present, not faded at all! Very sweet but not over the top as expected
M - Heavy body, no carbonation
O - This is extremely sweet but could take more time in the bottle. But right now, tastes pretty awesome.
2009 bottle Poured February 15, 2013. Part of a vertical with 2010 up second. Pours cloudy orange with no head. Aroma is maple, bourbon, wet dog, some wheat funk, hints of toffee and definite vanilla caramel. Thick syrupy mouthfeel. Sweet vanilla up front, lingering caramel, a bit of fig. Bit of spice and a little citrus? Very very smooth with nearly no carbonation. Booze warms but it is mellow (this thing is 3 or 4 years old after all). Very nice barleywine that suspect hit its peak before opening.
Tried at the @ 1st Official Ledebronckx Barrel Aged Academie Grand Elite Tasting.
Pours slightly hazy honey with minimal head. Smell is marzipan, booze mild orange zest. Taste is butterscotch ending with peppermint and a touch of heat. Mouthfeel is thick with nice carbonation. Interesting but likely a bit past prime.
12 oz bottle from hopsbreath a long time ago. Bottle is dated 2-3-10, making this a shade over 3 years old.
A: Caramel color with a dissipated head. There are some floaties in this bottle and lines of carbonation like a submerged diver.
N: Layers of caramel surrounding vanilla wafers. Bourbon is still noticeable. Syrupy with a rye/pumpernickel breadiness and spice. Oakeness has faded. Candied pecans are prevalent as is brown sugar. In the deep nose, I get a distinct licorice/anise. The first whiff is luxurious, subsequent discoveries are not much. Still quite good, though.
T: Lots of rye and wheat in the body. Bourbon has left a distinct oak and an outline of caramel and bourbon. Surprisingly hoppy - lots of forest floor, and there’s even more oak overlapping any maple notes. Green peppercorn. More licorice and anise. Oxidation is noticeable and expected given its age.
M: Very sticky, but damn this is bone dry. It scrapes the palate like a DIPA, and there is still a lot of alcohol. A lot of alcohol.
O: Another enjoyable brew from Founders, but at 3 years and sparse change, it really should have sweetened. I had a four pack of this, and I’m fairly comfortable in saying this was never my favorite thing and that’s quite alright. Maybe you’ll like it better.
Bottle. Pours a hazy brown with no head with an aroma of sweet, maple-y bourbon. Flavor is smooth vanilla, bourbon and booze. Very malty, bourbony and good. Might be past its prime, but still a great beer.
Hardly any carbonation. A nice aroma. There is a sweet scent from the maple bourbon barrels. I picked up on the vanilla and caramelized malts too. The flavor is impressive. The bourbon is just right with intensity. Its sweet but not too sweet and very smooth. The malts and vanilla blend nicely. Now there is a wheat character to the drink that is mild but noticeable and very pleasant. Overall this was a solid beverage. It does affect the palate and leaves a warm alcohol, bourbon, and malty taste in your mouth.
Bottle from Lushawn Thx
aroma, maple sryup esters, burbon whiskey esters
color, meduim hue, no hwad very low carb
taste, sweet, frontal maple sugars, burbon smoothness, whiney sugars
overall, nice brew, different my palate doesnt do this beer justice
Gold copper with no head. Leafy, anise, minty and a little woody. Herbal. Sweet and minty. Bitter and drying finish. Lots of licorice.
23/XII/12 - 12 Fl. Oz. bottle @ 1st Official Ledebronckx Barrel Aged Academie Grand Elite Tasting (OLBAAGET) - BB: n/a - 2009 vintage (2012-1395) Thanks to ThirstyBird for sharing the bottle!!
Clear orange beer, lots of sediment floating around, small aery off-white head, unstable. Aroma: sugary, honey, almonds, liquor, mandarins, marzipan, bit dusty, peppermint. MF: soft carbon, medium to full body, thick syrupy texture. Taste: bit sweet, sugary, honey, marzipan, peppermint, alcohol, peppery, spices. Aftertaste: peppermint, alcohol, sugary, orange peel, pretty bitter.
Bottle at a recent bottle share... Poured clear, amber/orange with a thin head. Noticeable maple and malt on the nose. Smooth drinking, rounded out nicely with age. Still a hint of booze and warming alcohol. Sweet malt, sweet maple goodness. Wood, bourbon. Everything worked nicely here.
12 oz. bottle, sent from javit (thanks a lot, Adam), pours a cloudy dark orange / amber with lots of sediment. Aroma brings out strong vanilla and bourbon notes upfront, with secondary notes of maple syrup, wheat, woody oak, and some berries. Flavour is very barrel-heavy, with loads of bourbon barrels, maple syrup, vanilla and alcohol characterizing this one. I generally find wheat wines to lack body / depth, but this has one surprised me with its relatively very round body, due to the expertly executed bourbon barrel again, giving it complexity without sacrificing drinkability (i.e. it’s not a boozy or sugar bomb). All in all, extremely well-crafted and highly enjoyable.
finally busted one out Oct12. just a fantastic balance of sweet maple and bourbon, nothing overdone, drinks fantastic
Bottle. Poured a slightly hazy dark orange color with some floating sediment. The head was thin, off white, and dissipated within 30 seconds of pouring. Pleasant nose consisting of unmistakable bourbon and oak aromas with toffee and vanilla undertones. Medium to full bodied and slightly sweet with spicy warming alcohol rising into the nose. Bourbon and earthy oak with hints of maple, rum, and dark fruits. Not over-bourbonated. Nice stuff.
pour is a hazy golden amber. Nose is rubbing alcohol and peaches. Taste is a bit better, very sweet caramel malt with peaches and golden fruits, fair amount of grain to the feel, lots of sugars left behind, Nikolai vodka in back with a fair bit of heat and lingering boozy finish.
Original review: 04 April 2010 4 4 4 4 3.5
A: Light orange/brown colors with decent head and lace.
S: Very boozy with maple, syrup, oak, vanilla, and more.
T: This is a complex beer, but the alcohol and sweetness are masking some of the beer’s more subtle characteristics, making them hardly detectable. Under the heat there are potent maple and vanilla flavors.
M: ABV very present. This beer has some nice things happening, it’s just too hot right now. I think a few years in the cellar could greatly enhance Nemesis.
D: A few ounces was enough to give me an idea of what this beer is about. I look forward to trying it again in a couple of years to see how it has evolved.
Re-review: January 19, 2011 4 4.5 4.5 4.5 4
Splitting a 12 oz. bottle with matt9875 at his request.
The sweetness and heat have mellowed, making this beer vastly more enjoyable and drinkable. Vanilla, oak, and bourbon characters meld beautifully. Incredibly delicious. I am a fan of this beer now, and only wish I had more. Time changes everything.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 01-20-2011
Bottle 33 cl, tnx to Kan. Pours clear dark red mahogany with a small beige head leaving lace. Aroma is just so kice; sweet malty raisins syrup vinous fruity vanilla bourbon. Flavor is lean slightly hars barrel sweet malty and marzipan in front, vinous boozy pungent bitter fruity raisins and more sweet in middle rounding up with bitter sweet malty and still strong marsipan at the end. Finishes with a longlived bitter malty and fruity aftertaste with a nice warming alcohol touch.
Bottle. Pours orange zero carbonation. Bourbon aroma. Taste is flat bourbon and fruity pineapple