I had one goal in mind while searching the stacks of beer at Tops this week: I was looking for a stout.

With the temperature dropping lower and lower with every passing day, the time for stouts is growing closer and closer. Rich, thick and smooth, stouts warm the soul on cold snowy days. Although we are hopefully still several weeks away from seeing the full-blown snow fall on Syracuse, I was craving a sweet stout, and fortunately stumbled upon the Founders Breakfast Stout.

I have come to refer to breakfast stouts as “dessert beers” — they are generally sweet, rich and filling. Before even taking a sip of the Founders Breakfast Stout, I knew it was going to fall into this category. The beer smelled chocolaty and sweet, with strong hints of coffee and for good reason. Founders brews their Breakfast Stouts with two types of coffee.

Poured in a glass, the beer was practically opaque and had a caramel colored head. Just as I anticipated the Founders Breakfast Stout was the consummate dessert beer, boy does it warm the soul. However, although the beer was sweet right off the bat, a pleasant bitterness lingered in my mouth, evidence of the bitter chocolates used to brew it. In my opinion this helps give the beer a fuller flavor – too sweet and the stout would practically be a chocolate soup, but with the proper level of bitterness, the Founders Breakfast Stout balances the two distinct flavors beautifully.

I think the Founders Breakfast Stout would pair perfectly with a hamburger, pulled pork and bleu cheese. With a robust ABV of 8.3%, this beer is no pushover, and combined with its rich chocolaty flavor, it would be difficult to down more than one in a sitting. However, once the winds of winter start whipping across the hill, you should look no farther than the Founders Breakfast Stout to hunker down with for the cold days ahead.