Oskar Blues Ten FIDY

Can from Liquor Max in Loveland, CO. Black color with a multifinger, really dark, tan head. Aromas of coffee, chocolate and smooth burnt malt. Full bodied with creamy carbonation. Flavor is sweet burnt malt, coffee, and dark chocolate. Maybe the sweet part suggests treacle. There is a light freshness that suggests fruit, but it has bitter burnt malt as a primary. Whoa. This is an extreme amount of flavor. Finish is just great tastes.

Even though this ended up all over my shirt at Noogfest ’08, I still enjoyed it. the body was perfectly black with an orangeish colored head. The aroma was chocolate with some pancakes. There was also some bread crust. The taste had some sweet chocolate and pancakes. There was also some nice roasted coffee.

Handbottled sample from my fellow stoutie lover, Tom aka Captain Cougar, MANY MANY THANKS!!! Served in the Expedition snifter that has seen my milestone ratings. This is my Stoutie rating #600, so many incredible elixirs of dark malts and we arrive at this:

The pour is a work of art, pure heart of darkness leading towards a small foamy ring and some oily legs as well. The nose detects a rich dark 70% cocoa vapor, black licorice, blueberry, sea salt, black patent malt smoke, tobacco, and a hint of clove noted hops. Very estery and very inviting...

The taste with a first punch of those bittersweet chocolate flavor supported by a convergence of fruity undertones of blueberry, plum and licorice twang. Midsection displays more of mild oatmeal and earthy undertones before leading you off into a finish of ashy burnt malt and extreme hop and espresso complex bitterness.

If there is one point of disappointment it would be the mouth feel. After such a lush looking pour, I expected the mouth feel to be pure 10W-50 oily sticky wonderfulness, but alas the mouth feel is not worthy of a five. Not that it is bad or anything like that but still a bit of a let down. Nicely soften carbonation and mild alcohol expressions.

Overall, very much worthy among it’s place among the pantheon of worldly Imperial Stouts. Amazing from a brewer known more for high-class canned brews. GET YA SOME NOW!!!

Can at home ... Deep solid black ... rich complex malt aroma ... chocolate and liquorish ... lots of roast malts ... lots of vine fruits ... quite a bitter linger ... nice but not outstanding

Can. High brown and creamy but guickly disappearing head leaving nice curtains on the glass. Piytch black body. Coffee cocoa vanilla liquorice smooth and well rounded aroma. More hops bitterness than expected in the coffee cocoa flavor. Relatively carbonated and a long aftertaste.

Sampled at RBSG ’07 Grand Tasting room. Pours an opaque dark brown brew (probably the darkest I’ve encountered) with a creamy tan head that dissolves to a film. Nice swirl pattern on top of the brew. Aroma of chocolate and dried pitted dark fruits. Taste is thick, creamy and smooth with little carbonation. Taste flavors include coffee, toasted chocolate barley malt, and some vanilla. Finish is smooth creamy with a dry aftertaste. Special thanks to captaincougar for bringing this dark brew to Minnesota.

Thanks to CaptainCougar for the hook-up! Poured a lovely shade of black with mahogany highlights... initial cap of burnt sienna head sets up very nicely and lasts a minute or so.
The aroma begins with almost burnt (at the very least deeply-roasted) baker’s chocolate, figs, and molasses... sweeter chocolate, oats, and leafy hops follow.
The flavor had an undercurrent of sticky citrus and coffee bitterness from start to finish... blend of deeply-roasted dark and milk chocolates above with hints of figs, dates, and espresso... all excellent elements of a big stout and well-integrated with one another... long bitter, burnt finish. Somewhat thick initial feel morphs into whole milk about 1/3 of the way back... heavy roast and a hint of citrus sourness... big on the bitters too... maybe just a tad too much.
This is a fantastic creation that I could drink a whole lot of! Thanks Tom!

Draft @ The Brick Store: The beer was an opaque black color with a huge creamy dark brown head and leaving tons of creamy brown lace around the glass. The aroma started light (the beer was on the cold side) with notes of creamy chocolate and roasted malt with light coffee notes and a touch of ash in the background. As the beer warmed the chocolate got more of a mild chocolate smell to it and even a little fruitiness. The flavor was huge like a nice smack in the mouth. Big roasted malt and dark bitter chocolate. Once again as the beer warmed it turned to more of a milk chocolate. The alcohol could almost be noticed but the big roast, chocolate and bitterness manage to keep it at bay. The mouthfeel was creamy with a moderately bitter and chocolatey finish. The glass was left stained brown when the beer was gone. They nailed this one.