Oskar Blues Ten FIDY Imperial Stout: Intensely roasty!

Keith Brainard — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 03:01:42 +0100

This beer smells so incredibly dark and roasty. It is all I want from an Imperial Stout. All at once I got a raft of dark rich black burnt malts coffee and raisins. There's a hint of alcohol in the nose and just a flirtation with anything hop-like.

It is thick and black, and pouring it from a can makes it look somehow like oil. This is the blackest black, with a dark brown or even purple head, which is really just a thin ring around the edge of the glass.

The flavor is intensely bitter and roasty, from start to finish. Speaking of which, the finish is one of the longest lasting I can think of, and it is pure burnt black beauty. Although OB claims this has 98 IBU, the hops just barely peek through for a moment before they're immediately suppressed back into their little hidey hole by the attack dog of roasted flavor. This tastes like burnt toast or a really charred steak. I could imagine it going well with the blackened meat of your preference, though I had it after dinner without food. Another great match would be your favorite dark chocolate cake, or the creamiest vanilla ice cream you can find.

The feel of this beer strikes me primarily as slick. It is not too full or sticky, and not thin or watery in any way. The structure kind of drops out for a brief moment in the middle, but quickly recovers. Sloshing it around excites a few bubbles, but not too many.

Overall this is awesomely aggressive, and a total treat. It's another great example of the lack of limitations of canned beer.

Oskar Blues Ten FIDY Imperial Stout - Brew Engineer

Oskar Blues Ten FIDY Imperial Stout: Intensely roasty!