Founders Underground Mountain Brown

Underground Mountain Brown is the harmonious drinking experience only achieved when our imperial brown ale, earthy sumatra coffee and a year aging in caves below Grand Rapids comes together. A team of malts complement the bold sumatra coffee perfectly, while time spent immersed in oak creates layers of depth and complexity. A celebration of the barrel, the bean and everything in between.

325 reviews

Grand Rapids, United States

Community reviews

4.0 Bottle from Voldby. Clear very dark brown with a beige head. Aroma is sweet, malty, roasted malt, coffee, chocolate and bourbon. Flavor is quite sweet and moderate bitter. Dry and moderate bitter finish. Oily and soft. 261221

4.3 2019 bottle from Beer Hop, London. A very dark ruby/brown coloured pour with a thin to medium beige head on top. Roasty, malty, huge coffee, bourbon aroma. Tastes rich, boozy, huge coffee, slight caramel, bourbon, some chocolate, hint of hazelnut. A really classy, complex brown ale from Founders, I kept thinking about it for hours after I'd consumed it. One of the best breweries around IMO and a great beer.

3.8 2020 bottle, Deep dark brown color. Fresh grinded coffee and chocolate in the aroma and flavor. Sweet, slightly alcoholic. The coffee is dominating, but the beer is full bodied and really nice.

4.0 Copenhagen 17/9 2021. 35,5 cl bottle from Meny, Rotunden, Hellerup. Drawing of dark caves and what looks like some sort of planks on the label. Pours opaque, dark brown with a small off-white head. Stable. Settles as thin, patchy, layer of foam unable of covering the surface of the beer. Moderate lacing. Aroma is fairly intense with a sweet odor of dark malts mingling with a prominent scent of potent coffee. Brown sugar and dark fruits like plums and raisins. bitter coffee. Medium strong carbonation. Slightly thick, oily, soft, smooth, lightly tingling texture. Flavor is intense with a medium strong sweetness followed by a strong coffee bitterness. Aftertaste is bitter and a bit unforgiving. Lingering. Finish is quite dry. Quite the coffee bruiser with enough flavor to hide the not negligible ABV.

3.4 samen met yves bij hem thuis een donker bruin kleurig lichaam met een witte kop en met een geroosterde mout koffie aroma een geroosterde mout koffie hop smaak met een alcoholische bitter einde

4.1 Appearance: opaque deep brown with a one finger tall off-white head of decent retention. Aroma: good coffee, toast, toffee, oak barrel, brandy. Taste: light to medium sweet, malty, good coffee, subtle oak, chocolate, hop. Light ending bitterness. Mouth feel: medium body, soft carbonation. Overall: very good.

3.5 Shared with Wim at my home. Brown colored beer with small white head and no carbonation visible. Nice coffee mucca aroma. Full sparkling palate. Finish is coffee mucca slight bitter alcoholic. Lacking body.

4.4 Bottle from Gedeelde Vreugde. Bottled: 29/7/19. Hazy dark brown, stable, foamy, beige head. Strong aroma of espresso, mocha biscuit, chestnut, walnut, 'hard' toffee. pear, plum, brown bread. Taste has sweet prune & pear in a thick malty profile of chestnut, toffee, (brown) bread, leading to a herbal-earthy hoppy finish with lots of bitter coffee notes, toast, roasted nuts, oak even, and warming bourbon alcohol. Full body, creamy texture, soft carbonation. Complex, all elements elegantly intertwined.

4.3 2021 bottle from Beer Hop. It pours clear darkest brown with a decent khaki head. The aroma is lovely coffee vibes upfront, nutty, dark chocolate, praline, fererro rocher, toasted malt, intoxicating bourbon soaked oak, vanilla, freshly baked choc chip cookies and toffee crisp. The taste is pretty smooth, thick and flavourful, touch of light bitterness, fresh bourbon, vanilla, cacao, chocolate chip cookies, rich roasted, freshly brewed filter coffee, nutty, praline, dry oak, earth and warming booze with a toasty, bourbon oak finish. Medium-fulsome body and fine, prickly carbonation. This is really lovely fresh. Big bourbon character integrated well with coffee and the base beer. Grade A brown ale.

3.7 Tap at Brody’s American Taproom, Den Haag. Poured a clear dark reddish brown colour with a lasting frothy off white head. The aroma is roasty malt, liqourice, caramel, boozy alcohol. The flavour is moderate sweet and liqourice bitter, with a smooth, rich, oaky, boozy, smoky, hop bitter palate. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.

3.7 Bottle from Beer Hop, bottled 2019. Pours dark brown. Nose is big coffee, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, fudge, roast, earthy. Tastes mellow smooth, coffee, caramel, bitter, roast, chocolate, earthy. Nice slow sipper, fairly strong in earthy coffee notes though, less would have been enough.

3.5 Bottled. Dark brown, small head. Aroma of coffee and vanilla. Sweet with full body and dense, rounded mouthfeel. Espresso and oaky vanilla, some caramel and maple.

3.9 12 fl oz (355 ml) bottle, 2020 release, bottled on 27 Aug 2020. Appearance is a murky dark brown brew topped with a thin layer of light tan froth, with low retention. Aroma is mainly coffee, espresso, with a little bourbon peaking out as it warms. Taste is coffee and espresso, little distinct malt flavours but some dried dark figs and prunes along with a hint of bourbon booziness when warmer. Lightly sweet with a touch of bitter. Body surprisingly feels lighter than expected, not quite full bodied, which gives it less smoothness and viscosity.

3.7 Brownish amber color with a foamy tan head. Aromas of coffee, molasses and bourbon. Flavor notes of brown sugar, vanilla and mocha. Big and bold.

4.2 Appearance is mahogany, with a 1-finger thick mocha head. Aroma is oaky barrel, charred wood, toffee, woody malt, vanilla, bourbon dark nutty malt, hints of chocolate and caramel shortbread. Taste is sticky dark malt, coffee, nutty, toffee malt, bourbon, vanilla, oak barrel, boozy notes, woody earthy malt, raisiny dark fruit, overdone fruitcake, quite rich and sweet, mouthfeel not too full though. Lengthy finish. Nice and complex.

4.4 Draft at Alamo Drafthouse Winchester. Pours dark brown with a thin khaki head. Leaves some lacing in the glass. Big coffee and oak notes on the nose and tongue. Very smooth though gets boozy as it warms. Quaffable.

4.2 Bottle. Pours dark brown with a tan head that left good lacing. Aroma of coffee, chocolate, bourbon and vanilla. Flavor was slightly sweet and boozy with roasted malts, coffee, caramel, chocolate, bourbon and vanilla. Fantastic brew.

3.9 Bottle picked up from Beer Republic, Breda, Netherlands and consumed at home Thursday 22nd April 2021 creating electronic birthday and name day cards for work colleagues. We had the Aubergine rolls with Ricotta and in a Tomato Sauce tea tonight. Pours a lovely dark chestnut with ruby glints, excellent clarity looks great. Lots of sumatra coffee action on the nose and clear bourbon traces also. There is a big maltiness, bucket loads of coffee barrel ageing also presents itself and yet this is still a brown ale underneath all of this with brown ale characteristics. I like this, it really is a coffee monster, okay it's a little bit boozy but it's a great beer.

3.9 2020 version. Dark brown color with creamy beige head which stays long. Aroma of strong coffee with malts and hint of bourbon. Taste is strong with coffee and malts,some oak and wood, chocolate, hint of barrel. Finishes slight bitter. Medium body, average carbonation. Very tasteful coffee beer and balanced barrel, amazing stuff.

3.9 35,5 cl bottle @ home, 11,9% 2020 version. Aroma has cocoa. Flavour has cocoa, bourbon, alcohol. Good slow sipper, perhaps a bit too high on alcohol though. Rated on 2021-03-07.

3.5 Bottle from Systembolaget. Boozy brown aroma. Cola appearnce. Quite a nice slightly smoked brown. Sophisticated and somewhat reminiscent of their stout complexity, but overall a little too boozey without substance for me.

3.9 Pours black into a snifter. Mocha head with medium retention recedes to hug rim. Hot caramel, molasses and espresso aromas. Thick and full with hot vanilla, bourbon and milk chocolate upfront turning to earthy espresso and pit fruit in the hot, lasting finish.

4.3 Kolsvart med tjockt beige skum. Doftar choklad och malt. Smaken fyllig, gräddig och glassigt silkeslen. Eftersmaken lång, gräddig och chokladig, perfekt efterrätt. Något alkoholanstruken på slutet.

3.8 [Uploaded from backlog - 11/9/19] On tap at Dutch's. Pours a color that at a glance has a dark appearance, but I have no idea what to make of that as I have no knowledge of this particular beer's malt DNA. Big coffee in the nose. Chocolate, light caramel, spicy woody bourbon barrel touch in the flavor. Moderate to bigger sweet taste, lighter bitter, some alcohol warmth. Lightly creamy and round texture. Nice barrel-aged coffee brown ale.

4.4 2019 release. Dobre choc nie wibitne piwo. bardzo nachmielone, kawowe, goryczkowe, malo slodowe, kapke palone, ale ta wytrawnosc po przelknieciu po prostu boska. mega udana kawowego imperial stouta. dobrze starzone. naprawde owocne piwo. pachnie jak grand marnier likier.

4.0 Pours very dark brown with minimal head. The aroma is of oak, coffee, bourbon, and caramel. The flavor is similar with toasted caramel malt, oak, bourbon, and coffee that blend together very well and mostly bury the high abv. Full bodied. Excellent.

3.5 Edición 2019. De color marrón oscuro, espuma beige de retención media. En nariz café y café. Ligeros matices a barrica. Cuerpo medio. En boca torrefacta, cafetosa. Algo de bourbon. Ligeramente alcohólica. Si no fuera por el color sería un imperial stout. Otra de esas cervezas sobrevaloradas. Bottled on: 27/07/2019.

3.8 Draft at Bru Craft. Black pour that looks cloudy brown against bright light. Thick frothy/soapy khaki head. Cover of thin lace. Barrel aging definitely adds a whiskey element. Dark chocolaty brown underneath. Earthy roast coffee. Molasses. Tobacco. Bitterly sweet. Medium body. The barrel tannins lift this brew up.

4.2 Red/brown color, crystal clear, tall, brown head. Full body, intense flavors, rich, alcohol cutting mouthfeel, lingering aftertaste, tasty finish. Bittersweet, crisp. Perfect flavor, coffee, maple, As good as possible beer.

5.0 Obtained at La Bodega from Riverside, California for $11.99, Underground Mountain Brown is an imperial brown ale brewed with Sumatra coffee aged in bourbon barrels crafted by Founders Brewing Company from Grand Rapids, Michigan. The air yields chocolate, bourbon, toffee, coffee, and vanilla upon the nose. The appearance is a dark brown that pours a finger of beige head. Dark mahogany shows when held up to light and when light reflects off the beer. The alcohol content is 11.9%. Chocolate malt flavors the complexion and textures the mouthfeel, which is deepened by roasted malt. Molasses slightly thickens the body, syrups the feel, and fairly sugars the comprehension. Sumatra coffee lightly bitters the take, syrup like in tint, and colors the chocolate and sugar frame. Bourbon boozes and smoothens the drink while leaving behind a warm, relatively moderate licorice spiced finish. Toffee is wholesome to the dry, bourbon finish, which is toned by vanilla. Prunes are discerned with the chocolate, Sumatra coffee, and bourbon combination. Oak gives off a woodsy hue to the chocolate, molasses, roasted malt, and bourbon body. Underground Mountain Brown is a voluptuous barrel aged imperial brown ale. Chocolate malt, roasted malt, molasses, Sumatra coffee, bourbon, licorice, toffee, vanilla, prunes, and oak merge into a glamorous craft beer. Chocolate, roasted malt, molasses, licorice infused bourbon, and Sumatra coffee coalesce into a beautiful body. The Sumatra coffee is the star feature as its syrup taste blends with the bourbon, molasses, and vanilla elements. The alcohol content fairly burns the finish and harmonizes with the licorice, molasses, Sumatra coffee, and prune characters. The boozy bourbon and vanilla makes it easy to drink this strong libation. I treasured each drink and entranced by the Sumatra coffee, molasses, and chocolate build. Cheers. Prost. Drink for the love of beer. For more beer reviews, visit and like my blog “Drink For the Love of Beer.”