December 22 - Oskar Blues - Ten Fidy

 Oskar Blues Brewery - Ten FIDY

Oh boy, am I in for a treat tonight!  An Imperial Stout that is a hefty 10.5% with Christmas break right around the corner?  Say it ain't so...

...let me do my happy dance!

Tonight, from Oskar Blues Brewery is their Imperial Stout, Ten FIDY (named for what I believe is the ABV).  This beer is described by the folks at Oskar Blues as follows:

"This titanic, immensely viscous stout is loaded with inimitable flavors of chocolate-covered caramel and coffee and hides a hefty 98 IBUs underneath the smooth blanket of malt.  Ten FIDY (10.5% ABV) is made with enormous amounts of two-row malt, chocolate malt, roasted barley, flaked oats and hops.  Ten FIDY is the ultimate celebration of dark malts and boundary-stretching beer."

I agree Homer!  Let's get to the tasting notes!

The pour was the most opaque black that you could imagine along with a caramel colored head.  It was a sight to see.  As I enjoyed this beer, the lacing on the glass as also exquisite.  As for the aroma, there was the expected coffee and roasted chocolate notes, along with whiffs of brownies.  Yep, brownies.  I thought it was weird too, but I asked my wife to give it a go and she agreed!

As for the taste...this was a thing of beauty as well.  The flavors were simple, yet complex.  One will get exactly what they expect and much, much more.  There is the roasted coffee for sure, but along with the warm feeling that the 10%+ beer obviously will give you there were also hints of cacao nibs, as well as nutty notes to boot.  The beer never let up and finished very strong and slightly bitter.  Even after swallowing the sip (this is a sipper folks...), there was a malty coating on the tongue that sat with you for a while to allow you to take in all that this beer has to offer.

Never had this one?  You need to!  Like, as soon as possible! 

Oscar the Grouch comes in a can...so does this beer...coincidence?  Yeah, probably!
A perfect 5 out of 5 for this reviewer!

Sock Santa creeping in on my Ten FIDY.  I'll put you on the naughty list if you even think about it sir...