Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy
Brewery: Oskar Blues Brewery
Style: Specialty Wood-Aged Beer (33B)
Package: 12oz Can
Purchased: December 2019
Canned Date: Nov 13, 2019
Consumed Date: April 28, 2020
Details From the Brewer
ABV: 12.5%
IBU: 75
Oskar Blues Brewery stuffed Ten FIDY Imperial Stout into bourbon barrels for a minimum of eight months; allowing vanilla, oak, and bourbon flavors to permeate the pitch-black depths of FIDY. During maturation, the FIDY-plus-bourbon flavors mellow into a cool, drinkable, deeply complex brew
Review
Aroma – 10/12
Bourbon strikes the nose first with a decent alcohol burn. Medium notes of vanilla and ashy, toasty oak. An equal amount of dark cocoa as well. A light burnt sugar and caramel note with a touch of earthiness.
Appearance – 3/3
Pours and inky black liquid. Appears to have good clarity, with no particulates. Small and fine bubbles make up a 1cm head that lingers with normal retention.
Flavor – 18/20
Whiskey lays across the tongue with a deep chocolatey brownie fudge. Vanilla flavors blends these together with charred oak. A bit of caramel comes in with a moderate sweetness. This is balanced by a medium-high bitterness. Red apple and pear esters sneak in before the finish. The finish is slow, leaving a chocolatey bourbon flavor lingering in the mouth.
Mouthfeel – 5/5
Just under medium carbonation prickles the cheeks. Full bodied with a bit of chewiness, but not overly thick. No astringency. A strong alcohol warmth in the back of the throat.
Overall Impression – 9/10
An excellent Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout. The flavors and aroma here are exactly what you would expect from the style. Increasing the malt character to be a bit more intense, and equal with the barrel is the only thing I would do to improve this.
Rating – 45/50
It was cool to see this beer transition to a 12oz 4-pack rather than the original stovepipes. Not only is it a cheaper price per ounce, but also a better serving size. While it’s not hyped anymore, it’s still is really well executed BBA stout. Finishing drier than a lot of the newer interpretations allows this to be a lot easier to drink by yourself without having to share.
