One of the most coveted craft beers in Michigan is going to be much more widely available beginning next month.

Grand Rapids-based Founders Brewing Co. announced today that Kentucky Breakfast Stout — its highly heralded bourbon barrel-aged stout brewed with coffee and chocolate, known simply as "KBS" — will be brewed and sold year-round beginning in March. It'll clock in at 12% ABV and be released on tap and in 4-packs.

"To be able to make KBS available year-round, not to mention in all 50 states, so all of our fans can find and enjoy this beer marks a significant step in growth of the brewery," said Founders co-owner Dave Engbers in a news release.

He can probably say that again.

KBS is an imperial stout brewed with "massive amounts" of coffee and chocolate, then aged for months in oak bourbon barrels in caves beneath Grand Rapids and in an offsite barrel-aging facility. KBS debuted in 2003 and is largely credited for vaulting Founders as a force in American craft beer circles.

The annual release of KBS toward the end of every winter was once considered a holiday among craft beer enthusiasts, with Founders releasing it in very limited quantities at its Grand Rapids and Detroit taprooms and in select beer stores. It was not uncommon for people to wait in long lines outside for a 4-pack of KBS, or pack taprooms across the state for special tapping events.

Now? Founders has grown dramatically. In 2018, it surpassed Bell's Brewery as Michigan's largest brewery and shipped a whopping 563,700 barrels of beer across the globe that year. Last summer, Founders became the first Michigan brewery to distribute to all 50 states.

Cap all that off with Founders' recent majority sale to Spanish beer company Mahou San Miguel, which now owns 90% of Founders, and Founders easily has the resources it needs to brew, age and ship a complex beer such as KBS in large quantities.

"There are a lot of variables when barrel-aging and moving a beer like KBS from a seasonal release to year-round really makes having a solid blending plan even more important,” Founders brewmaster Jeremy Kosmicki said in a news release. "KBS has been a large volume brand for a while now, so the days of making the entire batch exactly 12 months before the release date are far behind us.

"We’ve gotten pretty good at finding the right blend of nine-month-old barrels and 15-month-old barrels to hit the desired profile. We were able to pull off the transition when we moved Backwoods Bastard to a year-round release and we’re confident we can achieve the same consistency and quality with KBS."

KBS is the No. 27 highest rated beer on BeerAdvocate.com.

From 2016: How Founders ages KBS in underground caves

This is just Founders' latest move to expand its beer portfolio as it dives into its first year under new majority ownership and works to move past a racial discrimination lawsuit that made national headlines last fall and was settled in November.

Earlier this month, Founders introduced a new juicy IPA, Unraveled IPA (6.6% ABV, formerly known as Mucho Lupu), to its year-round lineup, and previously unveiled a new seasonal IPA called Civilized Brut (6% ABV), an extra dry IPA made to resemble champagne.

Founders also released a KBS variant, KBS Espresso, during the winter months and expects to unveil more variants down the road.

KBS is the second year-round barrel-aged beer in Founders' portfolio, joining Backwoods Bastard.

Spirits of Detroit writer Brian Manzullo covers craft alcohol for the Free Press. Contact him: bmanzullo@freepress.com and on Untappd, bmanzullo and Twitter, @BrianManzullo and @SpiritsofDET.