[Locally Available] Oskar Blues Ten FIDY

I'm a sucker for stouts. It's true. I'm that guy drinking a stout in the summer heat just as readily as in the bitter Minnesota wintertime.  Since the mercury has been dropping mighty low at night, it's just another excuse for me to reach for a great, big stout.  On one of these cool fall nights, I treated myself to Ten FIDY, a 10.5% ABV imperial stout brewed by Oskar Blues from Longmont, Colorado. Oskar Blues was one of the breweries leading the charge for canned craft beers, back when cans were considered a bit less "classy" than bottles by some beer geeks. These days, canned beers are in style, and I've gotta say I much prefer them to bottles. Now, a canned imperial stout is still a tough thing to find, which is one small part of why Ten FIDY is such an awesome beer.

Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.5%
IBUs: 98
Availability: Fall, comes in 4-packs of cans.

[Quick Notes] This beer pours as black as motor oil, immediately releasing rich aromas of milk chocolate, chocolate syrup, vanilla, raisins, figs, bourbon, coffee and oak.  The decadence of this aroma is matched in the flavor, leading with chocolate that fades into the dried fruit notes and finishes with the slightly dry coffee and oak.  The flavors are carried by a full, creamy body with just enough carbonation to keep it alive, coating your mouth in the rich, sweet flavors.  A truly indulgent beer, this one will keep you warm on a chilly fall night.

[Appearance] This beer pours an absolutely opaque, deep, motor oil black, with just faint hints of brown highlights on the edges.  The head is a wonderful toasted brown sort of color, made of very fine bubbles that stick around well and cling to the glass. This is a gorgeous imperial stout.

[Aroma] Whoa, this thing jumps out of the glass, and the first word that comes to mind is DECADENT.  There are loads of syrupy sweet chocolate, like Hershey's syrup, combined with creamy rich milk chocolate. There's some vanilla and spice character, along with sweet caramel and some raisin, like a sweet and spiced raisin bread.  A bit of bourbon flavor is present even though this isn't a barrel-aged beer.  There are plenty of roast barley and dark malt flavors, but their bitterness is just enough to restrain the sweetness.  A bit of nuttiness, maybe some almond, comes through, followed by some nice, fermenting dark fruits, with that raisin note just punching through strongly. At the end, there's a hint of coffee and a little oak, just a nice touch of dryness.

[Flavor] The beer leads off with loads of rich, sweet chocolate: a nice combination of Hershey's syrup and more authentic, rich, milk chocolate.  A really full vanilla and bourbon type flavor comes through, and I can't help but call it bourbon even though this beer hasn't been barrel-aged. I want to say "tart" when I think of that bourbon flavor, but it's really sort of a boozy sweetness that comes along with the bourbon and vanilla. The raisin and other dark or dried fruits, like figs and prunes, come through strongly, carrying a little bit of that spiced character in a really nice way.  After that wave of flavors, there is a little bit of nutty maltiness, like a nice almond sort of flavor, helping cut the sweet and pungent flavors from the start.  This leads into a little oak and coffee dryness, helping keep the finish from being too sweet or cloying.

[Mouthfeel] The body of this beer is pretty much ideal for an imperial stout: very full, rich, and not too oily.  It's more creamy than anything else, but still just a touch oily, coating the mouth with the decadent flavors the beer carries.  The word "velvety" comes to mind when sipping on this beer.  The carbonation is low enough to keep it very smooth, but not so low that it feels dead in your mouth.

[Overall] This is one amazing imperial stout, easily one of the best non-barrel-aged versions I have ever had.  It's got chocolate, coffee, vanilla, dark fruits, bourbon, and a really rich mouthfeel to boot.  And it comes in a can!  A can!  This beer is an absolute treat, and while it's a bit spendy, it's well worth it as a treat on a chilly fall night.  At 10.5% ABV, Ten FIDY will keep you from noticing the insidious, early creep of winter.

Pick up a 4-pack of Ten FIDY and pull a can out on a night when you need a little comfort from the coming cold, easing away thoughts of snow and runny noses with a glass of delicious, chocolatey, 10.5% ABV stout.

Cheers!