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.