Founders Brewing

Founders Brewing Plans Expansion

This April Founders Brewing will break ground on a $25 million 5,500 sq ft expansion of their facilities. The expansion will include more equipment, an educational facility, additional offices, enlarged taproom, deli and company store, and an outdoor beer garden. Other Continue Reading →

Founders Looks To Ship To Florida, Texas & Maryland

Founders Brewing Co (Grand Rapids, MI) mentioned last week that Florida, Texas and Maryland are next on the distribution list. Distributors have not been chosen for these markets. ETA: April-May, 2013.

Founders Bolt Cutter Hits Shelves

Bolt Cutter, Founders Brewing Company’s 15th Anniversary celebration, is hitting shelves.  Bolt is a barleywine, with some commonalities to their famed  CBS, Curmudgeon’s Better Half, & Kentucky Breakfast Stout.  Dry hopped with cascade hops, partial aged in bourbon barrels, partially Continue Reading →

Posted in Brewery Expansions, Founders Brewing

Founders Brewing Plans Expansion

This April Founders Brewing will break ground on a $25 million 5,500 sq ft expansion of their facilities. The expansion will include more equipment, an educational facility, additional offices, enlarged taproom, deli and company store, and an outdoor beer garden. Other upgrades include efficiency efforts such as heating the offices using  a chiller on our north cellar. With these upgrades Founders yearly production will bump up to about 320,000 bbl and about 50 more jobs will be created. They hope to have the new education center and retail spaces up and running for fall 2013.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Cigar City Brewing, Coast Brewing, Dogfish Head, Duck Rabbit Brewery, Event Pics, Founders Brewing, Funky Buddha, Jester King Brewery, Left Hand Brewing, Mother Earth Brewing, Seventh Sun Brewing, Sierra Nevada

Muddiest Beer Fest in History? 2013 Brewvival [PICS]

This past Saturday marked the 4th Annual Brewvival in Charleston, South Carolina. The festival is absolutely laden with some of the best beer you’ll find on American soil. Notable brewers such as Justin Stange (7venth Sun), Ron Extract (Jester King), “Spike” Buchowski and John Cochran (Terrapin Beer), Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head), Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada), & many more were in attendance. Despite an incredible beer lineup, 2013 Brewival may have won the title of “Muddiest Beer Festival in History”. Woodstock ain’t got sh*t on this.  It never.stopped.raining.

As you can see – the beer faithful persevered, weather beer damn. There is beer to drink. Brewvival is sponsored by Coast Brewing and The Charleston Beer Exchange.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Distribution Expansion, Founders Brewing

Founders Looks To Ship To Florida, Texas & Maryland

Founders Brewing Co (Grand Rapids, MI) mentioned last week that Florida, Texas and Maryland are next on the distribution list. Distributors have not been chosen for these markets. ETA: April-May, 2013.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Coming Soon, Founders Brewing

2013 Founders Calendar: Rübæus Out Of Retirement

The Founders Brewing (Grand Rapids, MI) 2013 release calendar. You’ll note a return to  lineup – Rübæus, a raspberry fruit beer. 

As promised Founders Brewing Company has created something unlike the rest. Amongst this summers over crowded race to cloudy wheat beers we have decided to embark down a path all to our own. By using only fresh raspberries Rubaeus translates into intense flavors combined with a no hesitation malt bill.At 7% ABV this is definitely beer.In fermentation we add fresh raspberries at five separate stages throughout the fermentation life cycle to achieve the ultimate balance between tartness and sweetness.

Rübæus is a bit like Blushing Monk. Look for it in Summer, 2013.  By the looks of it, KBS will now be released in April instead of March. Cerise has been cut, and Red’s Rye PA is no longer year round.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Founders Brewing, New Releases

Founders Bolt Cutter Hits Shelves

Bolt Cutter, Founders Brewing Company’s 15th Anniversary celebration, is hitting shelves.  Bolt is a barleywine, with some commonalities to their famed  CBS, Curmudgeon’s Better Half, & Kentucky Breakfast Stout.  Dry hopped with cascade hops, partial aged in bourbon barrels, partially aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels. It has been bottle maturing since July, 2012.

Years ago,” says Co-Founder, President & CEO Mike Stevens, “when our brewery was located on Monroe, we were defaulting on our loan. Eventually, the bank called and threatened to chain our doors shut if we didn’t come up with the money that we owed them. We had seven days to come up with half a million dollars.” “So I bought a pair of bolt cutters,” says Co-Founder, Vice President of Brand & Education Dave Engbers. “We were determined to keep our doors open and to keep brewing beer, no matter what it took. Luckily, we never had to use them.” Engbers keeps the bolt cutters in his office as a reminder of how far we’ve come and the journey we’ve taken since brewing our first beer in November 1997.

Style: Barleywine (Partial Bourbon, Maple Bourbon Barrel Aged)
Availability: 750 ml bottles
Arrival: Mid November, 2012

15% ABV 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Cool Stuff, Founders Brewing

This Pile Of Chocolate Goes into Founder’s Breakfast Stout [PIC]

Founder’s Brewing’s Breakfast Stout is brewed with flaked oats,

Sumatra & Kona coffee, and most importantly chocolate. The brewers have to take a mallet to chocolate bars to  break it up for the brewing process.  Above is the picture of nearly 150 lbs of chocolate used in the seasonal brew.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ coffee, chocolate)
Availability: 12 oz bottles, Draft. Sept – Feb, Seasonally

8.3% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Coming Soon, Founders Brewing

Founders Bolt Cutter Barleywine Arrives In November

Founders Brewing Co. (Grand Rapids, MI) has announced a date for Bolt Cutter, their celebratory 15% barleywine. The beer joins the coveted Backstage Series, alongside the likes of CBS, Curmudgeon’s Better Half & more. It’s a barleywine dry hopped with cascade hops, partial aged in bourbon barrels, partially aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels. It has been bottle maturing since July, 2012.

What’s in a name? The brewery explains:

Years ago,” says Co-Founder, President & CEO Mike Stevens, “when our brewery was located on Monroe, we were defaulting on our loan. Eventually, the bank called and threatened to chain our doors shut if we didn’t come up with the money that we owed them. We had seven days to come up with half a million dollars.” “So I bought a pair of bolt cutters,” says Co-Founder, Vice President of Brand & Education Dave Engbers. “We were determined to keep our doors open and to keep brewing beer, no matter what it took. Luckily, we never had to use them.” Engbers keeps the bolt cutters in his office as a reminder of how far we’ve come and the journey we’ve taken since brewing our first beer in November 1997.

The brewery will hold a ticketed release system from 11/11- 11/16. Bottles hit stores shortly after. Founders hosts an Anniversary Party on November 17th.

Style: Barleywine (Partial Bourbon, Maple Bourbon Barrel Aged)
Availability: 750 ml bottles
Arrival: Mid November, 2012

15% ABV 

by Reid Ramsay