Craig Durgy

KBS Spicy Chocolate (2023) Durgy

Chocolate with a tastefully mild chili pepper flavor. Sweet but no fouls here. Tasty with a bitter-heat & mellow bourbon in the finish, a bit of coffee and licorice. Medium body, maybe a little more. Well balanced for a BA.

Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) 2024 Durgy

First taste is beautiful mocha bourbon, smooth, medium-full bodied, and pleasantly sweet but balanced by the whisky perfectly. The coffee isn’t overdone and the chocolate is nuance. A no brainer when on tap!

Blue Hen Durgy

Mostly true to the style with bready graininess. Mildly malty, sweet but finishes with a decent, dry bitterness, relatively light & crisp. Refreshing.

Dirty Bastard (2023) Durgy

Damn this is good as ever. Big malty toffee & woodsy charred caramel. Hoppy notes to really make this pop.

Kbs (2023) Durgy

Ashy malt with clear roasty coffee dominant but all beautifully tamed by the perfect bourbon touch. Medium-full body but highly drinkable for a BA. Both coffee & bourbon linger very nicely.

KBS Spicy Chocolate (2023) Durgy

A silky thick chocolaty coffee malt beauty with notable chili pepper bite. The whisky barrel seems to marry seamlessly with the spiciness. Beautiful smooth feel.

Founders Porter(2023) Durgy

Fairly solid coffee aroma. Tasting much the same. There’s a touch of caramel but the graham cracker seems very subtle if there at all. But it’s a quality classic example of the style with a beautiful body & silky, creamy feel. Some charcoal/ash bite. 4.15

Frootwood (2017) Durgy

Smooth fruit that’s sweet with cranberry raspberry and some vanilla malt. The bourbon is a bit lost in this fruity mix but it’s a tasty variation.

KBS Espresso Durgy

A pretty serious coffee bomb that bring bitter beans and solid barrel in a full bodied pour. Strong and a bit boozy. Ashy, charcoal and licorice bite, nothing wimpy here. Smooth but not a creamy mix, more of a heavy aqueous feel that’s finely carbonated.

The Cranfather Durgy

Starts off oddly tart with cranberry-lime malt. But this rounds out to something very special as the whisky warms into the fruit nougat with a touch of malty cotton candy. Throw in some orange and light cinnamon and I’m a fan. That was for Nathaniel B.

Breakfast Stout (2023) Durgy

Smooth and deep roasty coffee & subdued chocolate malt. Silky smooth feel with modest carbonation.

Dirty Bastard (2023) Durgy

Great blend of big malty brown sugar and spruce hops, not far off from a Big Foot barleywine. Medium body with a drying feel as it finishes. A uniquely great wee heavy. 4.35

French Toast Bastard 2023 Durgy

Smells incredibly like delicious maple syrup on French toast. Tasting all that with big vanilla whisky & cinnamon as advertised. Medium to full body, not syrupy at all which makes it much more drinkable than it could be. Sweet but very doable, very tasty

Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) (2016) 11.9% Durgy

One of my favorite coffee brews with firm coffee and barrel well balanced. Nicely boozy with sweet caramel undercurrents, nearly a peppermint nuance. Rich but relatively easy drinking (says 10.9% on the menu here). So smooth but tons of personality. 4.6

KBS Blueberry Durgy

Very nice, drinkable bourbon blueberry coffee blend. Medium body, not super sweet or syrupy at all. A great mix that brings in a tart woodsy dark fruits. Slightly dry, smooth feel. Politely boozy. Good stuff as you come to expect from KBS. 4.35

Backwoods Bastard (2023) Durgy

Smooth and mellow but boozy pine caramel and coffeeish butterscotch. Medium body, not heavy at all.

Utopias Barrel-Aged 120 Minute IPA (2023) Durgy

Tasting even better than usual. Caramel port booziness. Nutmeg and raisin malt with a divine wine-like quality that’s really special.

KBS Hazelnut (2022) Durgy

Nate may not approve of me splitting this beauty of a BA stout, but I always approve of this hazelnut brew. Charcoal licorice and maple cocoa hazelnut. Great example of tempered sweetness in a big dark beer.

4 Giants IPA Durgy

Classic west coast DIPA imo. Caramel pine sweetness with lots of malty dimensions. Nice deep tropical fruits in the mix, fermenting pineapple is notable. A no brainer for the style.

Bottle Shop Series Highball Drifter Durgy

Sweet caramel malt with a luxurious bourbon overtone. Raisins and allspice, brown sugar and boozy oak. Frothy feel. Solid barrel aged stuff that does offer an unusual hint of cocktails.

KBS Hazelnut (2022) Durgy

Big fudgy chocolate-hazelnut aroma. The same comes through on the palate with a decided addition of whisky that warms quickly. Creamy & fluffy feel, not full bodied but medium-plus, almost like chocolate milk with very fine carbonation. Coffeeish edge.

Imperial Stout (2015) Durgy

Inky molasses aroma that leads to a roasty & smoky coffee malt. Smooth but finishing with a nice licorice bitterness and subtle bourbon ideas. Nice to get a taste after 8 years. Frothy

KBS Maple Mackinac Fudge (2022) Durgy

Really nice blended BA stout with bourbon fudge with a bit of coffee. Pleasantly blended without exceeding the sugar scale. Medium plus body with a frothy feel off an aggressive pour. Super drinkable for 11%.

90 Minute Imperial IPA Durgy

Big & sweet piney hops with a thick malt backbone. Feels totally west coast imo. Can’t recall the last time I had this. It’s got caramel and a touch of fermenting oranges & pecan. Super tasty with a medium plus body & solid feel. 4.65 for the style!

Frootwood Durgy

I get all the advertised flavors here starting with the tart cherry, sweet vanilla-maple & bourbon booziness. Medium body at most. Finishes with a bit of dryness but it brings a nice finely carbonated feel. I get the woodsy idea as well. Complex & tasty!

Backwoods Bastard (2022) Durgy

The usual awesome whisky ale that stands alone. Love that this is still pretty accessible. Always worthwhile and satisfying for barrel aged goodness.

Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS) (2019) Durgy

My breakfast today. Perfect!

120 Minute Ipa (2022) Durgy

Intensely hopped with boozy caramel pine malt. Pretty special sipper, as usual.

Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS) Durgy

Yep, smooth as can be, maple malt sweetness, mellow coffee & whisky. Outstanding.

KBS Chocolate Cherry (2022) Durgy

Mildly chocolaty but more of a coffee cherry malt bomb. Sweet fruit with a modest dark chocolate & roasty balance. Medium body, relatively easy drinking treat with sketchy barrel presence.

Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS) (2019) Durgy

Smooth, sweet chocolate coffee and tasteful bourbon. I get the maple vanilla as well, just a tasty and somewhat crushable BA stout with decent barrel presence & flavor. Sweet but fine for the style. Medium body.

Wake Up World Wide Stout Durgy

This may be the grand pubah of all breakfast stouts! Rich coffee roast with hints of maple & dark chocolate sweetness. Smells great and drinks great. The roast settles gently, and lingers nicely. Beautiful coffee brew. Potent but not trashy.

Sweet Repute Durgy

Mellow sweet fruit nougat aroma & golden color. Well blended malty nutty vanilla whisky flavors that build as you go. Beautiful blend. Wow! #BHBABF2023

Chocolate Cherry KBS Durgy

Charcoal edges & coffee malt with great body & feel not, cherry juice sweetness too sweet. Pleasant bourbon nuances. Very tasty luscious stuff. #BHBABF2023

Blushing Monk (2022) Durgy

Sweet & tart raspberries, more of a fruit bomb lambic than what I expected. Very flavorful but sweeter than I like.

KBS Maple Mackinac Fudge (2020) Durgy

Delicious cocoa & maple bourbon gem. Medium body with a slightly resinous feel. Very nice stuff.

Backwoods Bastard (2017) Durgy

This is such a great vintage of one of the best BA brews out there. Big blend of woodsy malt and whisky. Vanilla nutmeg. A little boozy but do special.

Raison D’Être (2020) Durgy

OMG, this is as great as I remember. Beautifully boozy raisin & brown sugar malt as advertised. Medium-plus body with a somewhat glassy feel. Fig with vague chocolate & notable prune. I get a sort of spruce in the finish. Great big beer!

KBS Maple Mackinac Fudge Durgy

Delicious chocolate stout, thick and sweet but not over the top in either category. Subtle coffee undertones. This is straight forward with a slick feel. Tasty treat without going too far on the sugar.

Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) (2018) Durgy

Another iconic BA beauty to relax with by the fire pit. Thank you Michael Q. !! See earlier reviews…

4 Giants Hazy IPA Durgy

A fair take on the standard west coast 4 Giants with a lighter citrusy side. Not your usual NEIPA. Has a bit of a dankness/funkiness to it. Finishes with an odd off-putting taste, a bit of a chemical/metallic thing I don’t love. But generally it’s good.

Tru-Action IPA Durgy

Citrus-onion grassiness. Bitter and somewhat light. Grapefruit with a vague floral hint. Very nice light ipa with a big bite.

KBS Hazelnut Durgy

Buttery malt with sweet hazelnut coffee with decent whisky booziness. Deliciously smooth and full bodied.

120 Minute IPA Durgy

Big chewy hop bomb with plenty of boozy warmth. Nearly cloying like a hop liqueur that seems to combust with floral & distant pine caramel flavors. This is a mutant brew that challenges the standard hop expectations. Some menthol herbal edges too! 15.3%?

Dirty Bastard (2021) Durgy

Backwoods Bastard 2021 Durgy

KBS Cinnamon Vanilla Cocoa (2021) Durgy

Boozy beauty chock full of luscious vanilla cocoa with subtle cinnamon overtones. Rye whisky and bitter oak. A bit of roasty coffee malt. Medium body with a somewhat aqueous feel. Excellent BA stout.

KBS Espresso (2021) Durgy

Very bitter coffee, indeed espresso. Ashy with sweet licorice, caramel hints. Touch of booziness. Very intense flavor but not particularly complex. Doesn’t need to be though.

Floridito Durgy

I thought I was drinking an IPA but fruit beer works I guess. Somewhat tastes like a mojito & is different with a mint tea-like flavor over tropical fruit. Fairly light, hazy & juicy, easy drinking. Very nice.

Curmudgeon’s Better Half (2018) Durgy

Very sweet caramel-maple with underlying molasses and a wonderful blend of bourbon. It warms up beautifully and the sweetness dissipates, gets even better!

120 Minute IPA (2021) Durgy

Beautiful pine and woodsy spruce that has a stout body. Big and wine-like. Wonderful but dangerous.

Grolsch Premium Lager (2021) Durgy

Clean and malty cereal grain with a light peppery quality. Fairly light.

Breakfast Stout (2009) Durgy

A nice blend of deep coffee malt and subtle oatmeal / herbal hops with a fair alcohol note. It's fairly bitter while delivering malty sweetness and has a velvety feel. Old review from December 2009.

Breakfast Stout (2016) Durgy

Super smooth roasty goodness. Mellow licorice malt with no bite, just subtle sweetness. Silky feel, with hints of brown sugar corn meal. Yummm.