Fish Tale Poseidons Imperial Stout (Barrel Aged)

Formerly brewed at Fish Brewing Company/Leavenworth Beers
Style: Imperial Stout
Olympia, Washington USA

(750ml bottle) Pours a black body with a medium tan head. Aroma of caramel, raisins, chocolate, light roastiness, some oxidation, and wood. Flavor of raisins, soy sauce, caramel, chocolate, and plum.

Thanks to puzzl for sharing this... I really thought that I’d had this before, but I was either wrong or too stupid at the time to have entered the rating. Deep black pour with a thick tan head. The nose is intense. Lots of bright, rich, vineous character. A bit of cocoa and soft fruitiness through the middle. The barrel really shines here... not really vanilla/bourbon laden like so many others. Sweet chewy malt with a bit of dark cocoa and heavily toasted malt. A little bit of cherry and soft fruity hops. The age barely shows on this one, it’s still got loads of time left in it. Lingering herbal finish.

750 ml. green bottle. Batch #2. Bottled November 2000. Different label from that pictured. This one has an old man holding a trident and a red sea horse; a very epic label. Purchased at Bottleworks. Cost me nearly $50, but I figured for New Years 2010, what the hell. Poured rather thin, but has a nice lighter chocolate head. Nice black opaque body. Damn this thing looks pretty good despite the non-viscous pour. Aroma is a wee bit sour at first, but once you get past that you get the chocolate and wood aromas hitting your nose. A very aromatic beer I must say. If I didn’t know any better I would say there is an aroma of chocolate malt coming through as well. This aroma is very nuanced, and I am pleased with it because it just keeps me guessing. Again, flavor is a little sour at first, but then this sucker just develops from there. A touch of wood, smoke, chocolate, coffee, and some roast. Seems a bit carbonated at first, but then this sucker just mellows and provides a relatively rich texture. I wonder what this would be like fresh? I like this brew, but I am going on a 9 year-old bottle. Very good, and very happy to have tried this.

Bottled, batch 3, 2001 (shared by puzzl). Oak aged. Pruney and a little sour. Pours black with a brownish head. Taste of prunes, dark fruits. Finishes with a nice bitter and a hit of alcohol. Complex beer which I think aged very nicely.

Bottled, batch 3, 2001. As it warms the oxidation fades and gains a minor red wine note, with some saucy, meaty, and only minor sherry notes. The flavor is full, vineous, some green apple and white grape, with a more oxidized finish. Slightly thinnish in body, with a red wine note that at this age is nothing more than a mild compliment. The beer is nicely aged perhaps in only that hasn’t aged too much. The oxidation itself hasn’t really added much to the beer, unforunately, rather just thinning it out a bit. There is a bit of fizzy, champagne-like complexity here.

Bottle shared at JW77’s. I really like the Fish Tale BA beers. This one is black with a brown head. Aroma is chocolate, grapes, cherries and some woody notes. Flavor is like chocolate covered wood aged cherries. The wine does wonderful things with this beer!

Sweet, Light, crisp, with some fruitiness. More womanly than most Imp stouts- thus, I loved it. Bottle thanks to Daknole

Big thanks to Holdenn for breaking this out (and for saving some for me!) Pours pitch black with a dark tan head. Aroma is dark red fruit, chocolate, and tart cherries. Taste is much the same, big and rich, it feels like I pairing red wine and chocolate. It has a great dry finish, which helped balance some of the sweetness in the middle. I am a sucker for good wine barrel aging, and I think they pulled it off. There is no lack of deep red grapes in this one, but I enjoyed it.