I was at Fat Jack’s in downtown Bloomington tonight for an ABNormal homebrewers club steering meeting. I was surprised and happy to see that they had Founders’ Nemesis on draft. I had read about it, but hadn’t had it, so this was a good opportunity to try it. Despite it being $4.50 for a half pint, I’m glad I got to try it.
It was extremely black in color and had a creamy tan head on it. The head fell quickly, but after it did, I could smell a nice piney Centennial hop-like aroma to it, along with a bit of a sweet malty smell. However, the hops were most prominent.
It had a full body and a smooth creamy mouthfeel to it. There was a sweet dark malty flavor up front, which was a bit like a dark toffee. That was followed by a light molasses like flavor which finished the taste off. It was mostly a dark sweet malty type molasses flavor and not the black liquorice type flavors when can sometimes creep in. There wasn’t a big hop flavor, but I was also surprised that the piney hop flavor and aroma came through as much as it did in such a big malty beer.
You should obviously pair this with a food, as I believe it is over 10% ABV. I think it would go very well with a big, rich, bold, hearty meal to match it – such as a big flavorful steak.
I thought it was a very good barleywine with a nice hop flavor present. It would probably get even better with age, but overall, a nice beer to welcome in this cool weather.
My Rating: 
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