12 oz single in the usual Founders bottle presentation. From Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. $4.99 for the single.
Murky, honey orange pour with a thin film of wispy foam on the surface of the beer. No head and no retention. Some viscous legs greet the eye too.
Nose has some extremely large vanilla sugar notes – very big.
Tastes have some bourbon character that builds. It’s not an especially aggressive beer in terms of the depth, and to be honest it melds better than I was expecting. This is not a beer that I would normally enjoy but this works relatively well. There’s some spice flavor which seems to temper the alcohol a bit. In fact, the alcohol is quite well hidden.
Increased vanilla as the beer warms but it never gets sweet. Some bitterish honey notes (presumably from the maple) that manifest themselves in the finish.
The mouthfeel is especially viscous and syrup-like and although entirely appropriate given the style and the ABV, it remains as a prominent feature.
Better than expected for me, but still strictly a one-off in my book.