Founders Centennial IPA

Love this video from Founders Brewing Co. as Centennial is one of my favorite all-time IPAs. Always so balanced.

Let Marklyn, one of our Education Managers, guide you through the ins and outs of Centennial IPA, a stalwart of our year-round lineup and a titan of the IPA scene.

Founders KBS Tool Kit

Learn more about the beer that established Founders Brewing Co as a pioneer of the barrel-aging process.

 

Beer University: Ale vs. Lager

Founders Brewing Company: "Our education team is back for another weekly beer education video to help you pass the time and hopefully, help you come out of this with some new beer knowledge.

 Today John and Marklyn are joined by our brewmaster, Jeremy, as they break down the subtle and not-so-subtle differences in the two styles.

Spoiler alert: it's not just the flavor of the beer that's different!"

Beer University: Quarantine Cooking and Beer Pairings

Founders Brewing Company: "Our education team is back for another weekly beer education video to help you pass the time and hopefully, help you come out of this with some new beer knowledge.

In today’s video, John and Marklyn are talking about our second favorite thing, FOOD! Grab a beer, your favorite snack and let them teach you about a few of their favorite beer and snack pairings."

Beer University: Proper Glassware

Founders Brewing Company: "Our education team is saddened they can’t host all of you for their famous brewery tours. So, we decided to do the next best thing and start a weekly beer education video series. Starting today, we’ll be releasing weekly beer education videos to help you pass the time and hopefully, help you come out of this with some new beer knowledge.

In today’s video, John and Marklyn are talking about the importance of proper glassware. Grab a beer, pour it into your favorite mug, tumbler or snifter and let the beer education begin. If you enjoy this video feel free to let us know what other topics you would like them to cover in future videos."

Founders: Chase Your What If

  Curious? Head to http://chaseyourwhatif.com    

Founders Brewing Co. Harvest Ale

Founders Brewing Co.: "Every fall, we get the privilege of making our wet-hopped ale, Harvest Ale. We take wet hop cones exclusively from Michigan hop farms, they're picked in the morning and used as soon as possible that day. That freshness really makes a difference. 

 

Harvest Ale – an impossibly aromatic and bright IPA bursting with fresh pine, melon and citrus notes. Our ode to the beauty that is the wet, American hop."

Learn more about Harvest Ale here: http://bit.ly/FBCHarvestAle
 

 

New Beer Release from Founders: Trigo

Personally I love Founders and I also love their ArtPrize Series. Previous ArtPrize Series beers include some of my favorites like Green Zebra (!!!) and Pale Joe. Here's more on their latest.

 

Founders Brewing Company: "For our 2018 ArtPrize beer Trigo, we reached out to our immensely talented Founders Family to create a piece of original work for the label. This year, that honor went to culinary team member Cody Levon, an incredible kitsch painter whose work emulates the beautiful methods of the old masters. His painting of a strong Spanish woman includes subtle references to Spain such as the Red Carnation. We worked with our pals at Mahou San Miguel to bring the recipe for Trigo (Spanish for ‘wheat’) to life. The result is a clean and crisp wheat lager with big, American-hopped aromatics."

Learn more about Trigo here: https://foundersbrewing.com/latest-news/2018/newbeerreleasetrigo/

   

Founder's Solid Gold: The Ultimate Challenge

I'm a big fan of Michigan's Founder's Brewing Co. and would probably have them in my top 3 favorite breweries overall. I like them because they make great beers and also they take chances on styles. Making a premium lager was a bit of a risk in my opinion, not a lot of craft breweries were taking on that market share at the time, but the resulting beer, Solid Gold, is just crazy easy to drink. In the age of giant hop bombs and barrel-aged everything, "crushable" is becoming a lost art in my opinion.  

Founder Brewing Company: "Why brew a premium lager and launch it year-round? Because taking chances is in our DNA.

Solid Gold represents a new frontier for us. One where a premium lager can rub shoulders with a barrel-aged stout and no one blinks an eye. Because we think beer is beer is beer and it's up to us, the craft brewers of the world, to show beer drinkers how good a premium lager can be. This is Solid Gold."

Founders Detroit Taproom

I haven't made it to visit one of my favorite breweries, Founders, but it's on my beer bucket list. Check out this cool video on their Detroit taproom...

 

"The city of Detroit and Founders have a lot in common – we hit rock bottom and we bounced right back. It took years of hard work, tenacity and a regret nothing attitude, but we did it and we see those struggles reflected in the struggles and ultimate triumph of Detroit. 

 

Our Detroit taproom in the Cass Corridor neighborhood has become a second home in the beautiful city of Detroit."

Learn more and keep up on all things Founders Detroit: http://bit.ly/DetroitFBC

   

Founder Barrel-Aged Beers: Masterfully Crafted. Patiently Perfected.

Founders Brewing Co.: Crafting legendary barrel-aged beers is an exercise in patience. We start by brewing complex, world-class beer worthy of time in a barrel. Then, our experience and years spent mastering our craft means we know exactly when it’s been aged to perfection. After one sip, you’ll know – it was worth the wait.

See more about the Barrel-Aged Series: https://foundersbrewing.com/barrel-aged-series/

   

Founders Azacca IPA: A Tropical Addition to Their IPA lineup

Man I love these videos. You not only learn something about the breweries and their beers, but if you're not careful you'll learn something about beer and hops and the like. Who knew? Here's another good one on Azacca hops and Founders excellent Azacca IPA.

Founders Brewing: When our Brewmaster first encountered the experimental Azacca hop it didn’t even have a name - instead just a jumble of letters and numbers. We quickly learned what a powerhouse it was, with the ability to bring huge tropical aroma and flavor to the much-loved IPA style. 

 

Cereal and Beer. Breakfast Will Never Be the Same.

Founders Brewing Company: Behold as the kooky kids from our Education Team combine the two greatest things to happen to mornings: Breakfast Stout and cereal. We even tossed them in the very same bowl, 'cause why not?

(Brand names omitted to keep the cereal folks happy...and so you have our permission to buy the cheap stuff!)

 

Founders Breakfast Stout: A Wakeup Call

Founders Brewing Co: "We’ve long believed in using only the best ingredients, knowing they result in the best flavor. With a beer like Breakfast Stout, a harmonious combination of oats, chocolate and coffee, it’s crucial that each of those ingredients are of the highest quality. Our hometown neighbors at Ferris Coffee and Nut embarked on an ambitious journey to win back their role as roasters of the coffee used in Breakfast Stout. Much like we did in our early years, this meant questioning the status quo and making a bold commitment to only produce the very best. This is the story of Breakfast Stout."

Music courtesy of The Soil and The Sun. Song is "Are You?" off the album "Meridian"

 

Founders: Hop Harvest Week 2016

I'm not sure if it's is a real thing, but I'm calling this "Hop Porn." This video from one of the best breweries in the world is a so hopped up you can almost smell the hops as you watch it. Just wonderful. Enjoy

Founders Brewing Co.: "A recap of our time roamin' around Yakima Valley during Hop Harvest Week 2016, set to the sweet sounds of Jesse Ray and the Carolina Catfish."

 

A Few Pics From The 1st Hot Springs Craftbeer Festival

I went down to Hot Springs for their inaugural craft beer festival last weekend and had a great time. I didn't take a whole lot of pictures but I'll share a few. I got to try a couple of the first beers from Superior Bathhouse Brewing (a Kolsch and a pale ale) and was pleased. Lots of excitement for them going on with huge wait lines to try out the new stuff. I sat around their tasting room a few times during the day drinking from their quality tap selection also. Great addition to Hot Springs IMO.

So you know the routine at these... walk around with your tiny cup, talk about beer, get tipsy, talk more about beer, pee a lot, etc...

Enjoyed an Evil Twin Low Life Pils at Superior to start

Some drafts at Maxine's, home of a Leaky Roof Meads tap takeover later in the night

Capone's Ohio Club is a cool old bar

The Copper Penny Pub has Founders taps

Rebel Kettle table

Piney River table

Stone's Throw table

The Founders All Day IPA truck

Founders table

Vino's table

Ended the day with a Founders Devil Dancer at Superior

Founders Launch Week Update

Information on the Little Rock area release of Founders Brewing is trickling in now. A pub crawl has popped up to go along with the beer dinner at The Flying Saucer, so let's do a quick recap shall we? The beer dinner at Saucer is sold out I believe also, so I hope you have your ticket. As for the pub crawl, the sign (posted below) just reads "signature beers at each location" so I'm not sure what all we'll see yet. There will be a lot of their beers here this first week I've heard, but some will be pretty limited. Rumor is that the KBS will be at the Saucer dinner, not sure on the quantity.


I'll update this as things are added and re-post... so keep checking!

Mon Mar. 31st:

Events at Mellow Mushroom in West Little Rock (All Day IPA will go on draft at opening, 6pm Dirty Bastard goes on tap and also at 6pm limited amounts of Breakfast Stout on sale in bottle.)
Launch Party at Superior Bathhouse Brewery in Hot Springs (6:00 PM rep on hand from Founders, 4 beers on draft, 4 in bottles)

Tues Apr. 1st:

Patio Party at US Pizza in Hillcrest (All Day IPA and Porter on draft and at 5pm Founders pint specials!)

Wed Apr. 2nd:

Pub Crawl in the Argenta Arts District Sponsored By The Arkansas Times (flyer is below, KBS will be somewhere...)

6:00 PM - The Joint
7:00 PM - Cregeen's Irish Pub
8:00 PM - Reno's Argenta Cafe

Thurs Apr. 3rd:

5:00 PM - Rare Beer Tapping at The Flying Saucer - Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale
7:00 PM - Founders Beer Dinner at The Flying Saucer (5 beers, 5 courses)

Fri Apr. 4th:

6:00 PM - 17th Annual Food and Foam Fest in North Little Rock

Getting To Know Founders Brewing Company

So Founders is finally coming to Arkansas! Here's 3 great videos to either introduce you to them or maybe just educate you a little more on what this Grand Rapids, Michigan brewery is all about.

The Founders Family, a group of passionate beer enthusiasts, has grown around this simple philosophy: “We don’t brew beer for the masses. Instead, our beers are crafted for a chosen few, a small cadre of renegades and rebels who enjoy a beer that pushes the limits of what is commonly accepted as taste. In short, we make beer for people like us.”

They're ranked 30th in the Top 50 U.S. Craft Brewing Companies, based on 2012 beer sales volume.

As of 2013, two of thier beers, Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) and Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS), were ranked among BeerAdvocate's top 10 beers, with CBS ranked as the 4th best beer in the world by user reviews. Ratebeer.com listed Founders as the overall 3rd best brewery in the world in its 2013 poll; Founders was 2nd place in 2011 and 2012. In April 2010, Founders won four medals at the World Beer Cup in Chicago, Illinois, and the brewery went on to win two more medals at Denver's Great American Beer Festival in September. The brewery also won one award at the 2012 World Beer Cup in San Diego.

The story of Founders Brewing Company:


This is what we mean when we say "Brewed for us."


Founders Brewing Co. - Interview Mike Stevens & Dave Engbers:

Welcome To Arkansas: Founders Brewing Company!

When my friends and I have a beer tasting or just any get-together (which usually turn into beer tastings), the subject almost always ends up on what breweries we'd like to see in Arkansas at some point. Over the years a good percentage of these have arrived on our tap walls and the list has been ever-changing with new breweries popping up across the country every time you turn around. Breweries like Southern Tier, Stone, Sweetwater, Terrapin, Cigar City, Bear Republic, Bells, Oskar Blues, Sixpoint, Yazoo... this list could keep going. We want them all! But there's only so much shelf space, so you have to pick-and-choose-and-hope. We'll never see them all and not having some of these actually makes road trips more fun as you can seek them out and bring some home to share.

We've landed some good ones in our area lately too, there's no doubt about that. Just a few weeks ago Summit Brewing arrived and fully justified their hype, we've got Coop Ale Works very soon and last year saw Evil Twin, Stillwater, Bayou Teche, Green Flash and so many others I can't remember them all.

But a brewery that's always been on our lists is Founders Brewing Co. out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and we can now remove them as they've landed here with Golden Eagle of Arkansas and will be showing up late March or early April at the latest.

Here's the official press release: http://foundersbrewing.com/latest-news/2014/announcing-six-new-states-distribution/

I have been assured there will be a lot of events surrounding the launch, from pub crawls to tap takeovers to dinners and pairings. The only such event that has been released so far is a beer dinner at The Flying Saucer in the River Market on April 3rd (Thurs) and I'm told that your ticket prices to that will include a ticket to Foam Fest on the following night. This should be awesome!

I'll post more on events as soon as I get them, watch the Twitter feed.

In the meantime, check these guys out:

http://foundersbrewing.com/
https://twitter.com/foundersbrewing


I'm not big on using ratings from RateBeer.com or BeerAdvocate.com and such sites as I like to make my own opinions, so I'll just tell you my favorite Founders beer in case you're not familiar with them. Personally I think their Porter is one of the best I've ever had. They have a wonderful session IPA called All-Day IPA, an incredible stout called Breakfast Stout and other great beers like Centennial IPA, Red Rye IPA, the deliciously fruity Rubaeus, the scotchy Backwoods Bastard, Curmudgeon Old Ale... damn just typing these names in makes me thirsty. So many great beers. And then of course there's KBS, which is in it's own world. A tasty, ass-kicking world.

To use a phrase from another brewery here, but it just seems so apt... "Here. We. Go."