E-Malt.com News article: USA, MI: Founders Brewing Co. to release Canadian Breakfast Stout

Founders Brewing Co. Vice President/Director of Marketing Dave Engbers announced last month that the highly anticipated Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS) will be the second release in the company’s 750mL “Backstage Series”, The Full Pint reported on September, 1.

It will be released to the market on October 3, 2011, with a taproom release party on October 1.

The taproom release at 235 Grandville Ave SE in downtown Grand Rapids will begin at 11 a.m. on October 1. There will be about 1700 bottles available for purchase at $18 each. A strict limit of two (2) bottles per person will apply, and all bottles will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Because a line is expected to form before 11 a.m., numbers will be handed out so that the line can remain intact once the taproom doors open. CBS will be featured on draft, and CBS merchandise will be available in the Founders company store, which is on the north end of the taproom. As with all Founders specialty products, growler fills will not be available for CBS.

There has been a great deal of anticipation and speculation regarding the upcoming release after the success of Blushing Monk, the series’ debut, earlier this year. Canadian Breakfast Stout is the epitome of why Founders launched the Backstage Series: it brings some of the brewery’s most sought-after beers, which have been available primarily at the taproom or at a few select events, to a much larger audience.

Canadian Breakfast Stout is an Imperial Stout brewed with a blend of coffees and imported chocolates, then aged in spent bourbon barrels that have most recently been aging pure Michigan maple syrup.

“Releasing small specialty batches is a great way for us to connect to our core beer enthusiast,” Engbers explains. “Fundamentally, we are a small brewery, and we love to do things our own way. This isn’t about flooding the shelves with a beer that we hope people will try; it’s about producing the best beer we can brew and offering it to those enthusiasts who have supported our passion for great beer.”

The company is not revealing any additional releases in the series, but Engbers says they will consist of many of the “popular one-offs” that have been offered in the taproom over the years and have become favorites among patrons and brewery staff. “I think part of what people love about Founders, besides our beer, is that we listen to what they are saying,” says President Mike Stevens. “With our new line, now we can offer them more of what they’ve been asking for.”

The company expects to release one more product in the 2011 Backstage Series later this year.

Founders Brewing Company opened their doors in 1997 with the vision of creating some of the most unique craft beer in the world. Today, Founders has a loyal following with several beers lauded as winners of national and international awards in their respective categories. In 2009, they were ranked as the second fastest growing brewery in the United States, and they are currently rated the second highest brewery in the world by RateBeer.com.


16 September, 2011