Founders Backstage Series

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 →

Founders Frangelic Mountain Brown Debuts Today

Founders Brewing’s newest release in the Backstage Series arrives today in the Grand Rapids, Michigan taproom. Frangelic Mountain Brown features flavors of hazelnut coffee. Look for this beer making its way through the brewery’s distribution footprint this week.

Frangelic Mountain Brown Continue Reading →

Posted in Coming Soon, Founders Brewing, Headlines

Founders Backstage #10: Dissenter Imperial IPL

Founders Brewing Company (Grand Rapids, MI) will release their 10th offering in their Backstage Series in August.

It has been twelve years since Founders brewed a lager, the last being Noble Lager in 2002. The brewery has test batched Dissenter IPL on the pilot system in Grand Rapids, and released it in limited quantities in the taproom leading up to the release.

Dissenter IPL features a wide variety of tropical and citrus-forward hops, and will release on August 1st, 2014. ERP $11.99.

Style: Imperial Lager
Availability: 750ml Bottles, Draft.
Arrival: August 1, 2014

8.7% ABV, 70 IBUs

Founders Dissenter IPL Bottle

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Founders Brewing, Headlines

Founders Smoked Porter Headed to Backstage Series

Founders Brewing Co. will introduce Smoked Porter this winter in the Backstage Series in early 2014. The beer is brewed with a combination of beech wood smoked barley and oak smoked wheat. This will be Founders first ever smoke beer release.

In addition to the smokey flavor, the brewery added a generous helping of chocolate malt to balance out the beer.

“This is a style of beer that we’ve discussed brewing for a decade,” said Co-Founder and Vice President of Brand & Education Dave Engbers. “We weren’t able to fit it into our production schedule for years. Now, with our pilot system, our brewers have room for greater experimentation and aggressive recipe formulation. Brewing beers like this was the idea behind launching our Backstage Series and was a driving force in our investment in a pilot system this past summer.”

Look for Founders Smoked Porter in 750 ml bottles in February, 2014 in Michigan only. Draft will be available across the brewery’s distribution footprint.

Style: Porter (Smoke Beer)
Availability: 750ml Bottles (Michigan), Draft (All markets)
Arrival: February, 2014

Read more: Founders Backstage Series

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Coming Soon, Founders Brewing

Founder’s Newest Backstage “Mango” Now Available

Founders Mango Magnifico copy

Last week, those close to Founders Brewing Company (Grand Rapids, MI) had the first shot at the newest Backstage Release – Mango Magnifico Con Calor. [Magnificent Mango with Heat] is brewed with both mango fruit and habanero peppers. Trust me, the peppers very much there.  What starts as lightly tropical, will burn for a while when you are done. Tropical heat best describes this brew. Available in limited quantities in 750ml bottles.

Mango Magnifico con Calor [Magnificent Mango with Heat], will be the next beer introduced to Founders Brewing’s Backstage Series. This fruit beer is brewed with mango and habanero. This is the seventh addition to the series

Style: Fruit Beer (w/ Mango, Habanero Peppers)
Availability: 750 mL bottles
Arrival: August 5, 2013

10% ABV

Read more: Founder’s Backstage Series

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 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
Posted in Coming Soon, Founders Brewing

Founders Bottles 15th Anniversary Beer [PIC]

Founders celebrates their 15th birthday this year. They’ll will celebrate with Bolt Cutter Barleywine. As of today, the beer is in the bottle where it will condition for a few months. Release date is set for Fall, 2012.

Read More: Founders Brewing

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Founders Brewing, New Releases

Founders Frangelic Mountain Brown Debuts Today

Founders Brewing’s newest release in the Backstage Series arrives today in the Grand Rapids, Michigan taproom. Frangelic Mountain Brown features flavors of hazelnut coffee. Look for this beer making its way through the brewery’s distribution footprint this week.

Frangelic Mountain Brown is the 16th iteration in the series of popular brown ales–and it likely won’t be the last. The singular characteristic of this beer comes from the use of hazelnut coffees in the brewing process. The beer has distinct aromatics with sweet and nutty flavors beautifully balanced. Founders is known for its beers made with coffee (i.e., the Breakfast Stout series), but this is both the brewery’s first brown ale and its first beer brewed with hazelnut coffees to be bottled. It clocks in at 9% ABV.

Style: Brown Ale (w/ Coffee)

Availability: 22oz bombers, limited Draft.

9% ABV 

 

by Reid Ramsay