Founders Nemesis 2009

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

February 2011 Vertical Tasting: Although different beers, the 2010 & 2009 Nemesis sampled back to back. 2010 being a black barleywine is still a high octane brew although the aggressive hops have started to subdue. Mildly burnt, bitter and nutty...this one is sort of stuck in limbo right now and could likely use a couple years of age. 2009 being a wheat wine has progressed nicely compared to when I had it fresh. It's dried out considerably and the hot burn has subsided. Fruity and mature.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Thanks Dansting for the bottle. Poured from a bottle with the thinnest of heads. The aroma was sweet, bourbon, and a slight bit of alcohol. The taste was way more smooth than I expected it to be after giving it a pretty big whiff. Obviously it was heavy on malts, that seem to have a touch of roastyness to it. Nice beer, big beer, and easy to drink. I'd like to age a few of these over a couple of years and see how they hold up.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Shared by BrewerDan in a standard pint glass. This poured a dark brown with a smallish mocha nead. Lacing was decent and lasting. The nose was boozy, ripe fruits, coffee and dark chocolate. The taste was a nice interplay between rich dark malts and bitter hops with notes of chocolate, coffee, toffee and dark fruit. Some booziness was always there as well. There was a lot going on here. Mouthfeel is toward heavy, very creamy with fairly low carbonation. This was a complex and interesting brew I will try again for sure.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottle: Poured a hazy light amber gold color ale with a small foamy head with average retention and some good lacing. Aroma of vanilla, bourbon with some sugar from the maple; a lot more complex then anticipated. Taste is also a complex mix between some residual sugar from the maple with some notes of bourbon and vanilla with a wood mix originating from the maple. Not too hot or warming but alcohol is still present with a malt body that is slightly too sweet – a full bottle is almost too much. Interesting , complex though a bit too intense to have often.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Thanks to JJFodie for bringing this to Freetail the day of the OBR bottle release.. . Pours a dark copper ruby .. medium head .. sweet boozy nose, light maple, and a dose of whiskey .. . very smooth for its high octane, fun kick .. . needs maybe 6-12 months to calm down abit .. really stoked to have tried it .. .. easy monkey boy, fire's our friend..