The History

Oskar Blues started in 1997, and opened as a brewpub in Lyons, Colorado in 1999. They’re best known for the somewhat gimmicky approach of only selling their beers in cans (claiming to be the first microbrewery to can their own beer)…

Today, Oskar Blues cans 5 beers available pretty much nationwide. Ten Fidy was introduced in late 2007 as a winter seasonal.

The Style

Russian Imperial Stouts, like Ten Fidy, are typically dark, thick, and high in alcohol. The name comes from a type of English Stout/Porter brewed for export to Catherine the Great. Much like the India Pale Ale, Imperial Stouts are more robust to survive the long journey east. They are characterized by a heavy malt taste - especially roasted chocolate - low to moderate carbonation, and little or no hops.

Ten Fidy boasts an above average 10% ABV, and an unheard of (for stouts, at least) 98 IBU.

The high alcohol, plus the 100% light-blocking effects of an aluminum can make this - or any Oskar Blues beer - a perfect candidate for long-term aging. Oskar Blues is nice enough to print dates on all their cans, and mine was filled on 12-22-2008, giving it just under nine months to stew and mellow before hitting my lips.

The Tasting

Pours as black as oil, and nearly as thick. Little carbonation. A thin head quickly disapears, leaving only a milk chocolate ring around the glass.

Aroma is not very strong, but what’s there is full of burnt caramel, chocolate, and soy sauce.

Taste is sweet and metallic - perhaps from the can? Bitter coffee, soy sauce, and molasses dominate up front. Also a slight dried fruit. Hops at the end, not much but more than your typical stout. The hops are a bit floral and not too dry, typical of popular American hop varieties, and do a lot to balance the initial dark sweetness. The flavor here is incredibly complex. The more I sip, swish, and think, the more I can detect. A sweet note here, a bitter note there, a glimmer of citrus, some burnt smoke. Alcohol is surprisingly hidden.

A loooooong aftertaste, deserving of at least five or six o’s. Finish is dry, with a slight iodine bitterness that fills the palate long after I’ve swallowed.

Mouth is bold and full. The beer coats the tongue. There’s not much carbonation or alcohol tinge. It’s smooth, not syrupy. It’s highly drinkable - but ’sippable’ rather than ‘gulpable’. I could easily put back several over the course of a few hours, it’s not heavy or filling like most stouts. I’m restricting myself to one, though, mostly because at 10% alcohol, I might not remember anything past the third.

The Verdict

Ten Fidy has been on my ‘to-try’ list for about two years, so there’s a great deal of anticipation and expectation here. I’m happy to report that my high standards were met, but not exceeded. This is by far the most bitterly hoppy stout I’ve ever tasted, yet somehow that’s desirable. A great beer all around. Catherine II would be impressed.

9/10