In a little over a week, Founders Brewing Co. will release their first Backstage Series offering of 2015, Blushing Monk. The release marks the first time the brewery has re-brewed a Backstage offering.
On the eve of Blushing Monk’s return, now is a good time to look back over the series.
Founder’s launched the Backstage Series with Blushing Monk, a Belgian-style raspberry ale back in July of 2011. The 750ml bottles were born into the lineup as a part of the the brewery’s expansion from 28,000 barrels to 50,000+ barrels. (1 barrel= 31 gallons.)
The second release was a doozy, a beer that has appeared in bottles just once, and sells out almost instantly on draft – Canadian Breakfast Stout. The coffee, chocolate, maple syrup, bourbon barrel imperial stout is still the beer geek equivalent of the Bat Signal. Tap that beer, and folks will walk out of surgery for a glass. (Here comes the “over rated” comments below.)
Since then, Founders has brewed a boozier cousin to Old Curmudgeon, Curmudgeon’s Better Half, Bolt Cutter Barleywine (for their birthday), took a page out of the Nemesis Series playbook, even brewed a fantastic lager that unfortunately was the slowest selling beer in the Backstage Series.
Next week we find ourselves right were we started a few years ago with our glasses full of raspberries. It’s been a fun, boozy ride. By the looks of things, Founders is just getting started.
Click the images below to the gallery.
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- Blushing Monk, Backstage Release #1. A Belgian-style raspberry beer. 9.2% ABV
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- Founders CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout). The second release in the Backstage Series, and one of the most sought after. The base in imperial stout, brewed with coffee, chocolate, and finished in bourbon barrels with maple syrup. PIC: Beer Street Journal
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- Founders Curmudgeon’s Better Half (Release #3, 2012) is a spin on the brewery’s Old Curmudgeon. His “better half” was an old ale aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels. 11.9%
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- Founders Frangelic Mountain Brown combined flavors of hazelnut coffee with brown ale. As of December, 2014 it was holding up quite well. 9%
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- Founders Bolt Cutter celebrate 15 years of craft brewing. The 15% ABV barleywine made it not so legal in all states, thanks to ABV caps.
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- Founders Doom came along as Backstage Series release #6. Combining two of the brewery’s favorite things- hops and bourbon barrel aging. 9% ABV
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- Let’s get weird. Founders Mango Magnifico con Calor certainly did. The high gravity fruit beer featured tropical mangos, and Michigan grown habaneros. 10% ABV
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- We were all waiting for this. A throwback brew, or at least a nod to Founders Nemesis 2009 comes Sweet Repute. In case you forgot what hangovers were like, Repute was there to help as a 12.6% maple syrup, bourbon barrel wheat wine.
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- Founders Smoked Porter joined the Backstage Series as release #9. Based beer was a porter with beech-smoked malt and oak-smoked malt. 8%
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- Founders Dissenter IPL showed off the brewery’s style versatility, with a complex 8.7% strong pale lager. #10 still lingers on shelves in a few places.
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- Founders Big Lushious rounded out 2014 with dessert. The rich stout was loaded with notes of coffee, dark chocolate and of course, raspberries. For days.
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- In 2015, we are back where we started. Founders Blushing Monk has been bottled, and hits shelves March 2nd. Cellars fantastically is you’re asking.
