Ten FIDY - Oskar Blues Brewing Company

thetomG

Illinois

3.58/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Sipping on this one right now... acquired in a trade with HeadyHops81 (thanks!) poured from the can into a tulip.

Pours a very dark black with a small but nice brown nutty head. Aroma is a bit boozy & smokey overall. Flavor has a strong smokey/roasted/malty quality to it, but it is nice and smooth as you drink.

Overall I'm a bit disappointed - this is a solid stout, but not something I'd necessarily seek out again in most cases.

Serving type: can

04-29-2010 00:50:06 | More by thetomG

wyattshotmaker

Ohio

3.58/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

poured into a pint class, pitch black with a tan head. moderate lacing. overall pretty good.

nose is kinda medicore, i'm mostly getting alot of roasted barley.

taste is better than the nose, strong chocolate flavor, burnt sugar, molasses, hint of coffee,not as much roast barley as the nose would indicate but it's still prominent. a bit more dark chocolate.bit of bitterness throughout rounded out by a touch of sweetness in the finish.

mouthfeel is pretty thick, low carbonation.

overall this beer is pretty good. reminds me alot of black chocolate stout from brooklyn brewery. not sure if i'd seek this out again.

Serving type: can

07-24-2010 00:23:18 | More by wyattshotmaker

engagechad

Virginia

3.58/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

This beer was purchased as as single from Total Wine in Richmond, VA - poured into a Stone pairing glass

Poured incredibly thick and syrupy and was difficult to get a head on it but when I did it looked great. Black as night. Smelled of powdered ovaltine then as it warmed it smelled of twizzlers/licorice. Tasted good, with a present ethanol burn which was a little off putting. Felt great, thick and present not very drinkable for me.

Serving type: can

02-04-2011 16:45:49 | More by engagechad

Damian

Massachusetts

3.55/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Drank on-tap at Sunset Grill & Tap, Allston, MA

Poured an opaque pitch black with no head. A resilient, coffee-colored ring of lace clung to the edge of the liquid and left small droplets of lacing along the glass.

The aroma was rich and roasty. Bittersweet chocolate, roasted malts and black coffee came through strong along with subtle hints of brown sugar.

The taste was far darker and roastier than the nose. Intensely charred malts were apparent up front along with a noticeable rummy alcohol quality that became more intense as it moved along the palate. (The roast character of this beer was really over the top.) Bitter espresso notes came through strong mid-palate, along with super minty and citrusy hops that crescendoed into the palate shredding finish. Like the finish, the aftertaste was outrageously hoppy and puckeringly bitter. I felt like the hop bitterness was going to linger on forever.

As for body, the beer was thick and rather chewy with a smooth, creamy mouthfeel and a fine, mild carbonation.

Drinkability was moderate. While this beer was quite good in some aspects, I found the combination of deep, charred roastiness, alcohol sharpness and intense hoppiness to be quite overwhelming.

Serving type: on-tap

08-26-2007 06:27:55 | More by Damian

psinderson

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Served on-tap in a 12 oz snifter glass.

Appearance: Like motor oil. Totally blind to light. Thin, toffee-colored head.

Smell: All roast and meaty. Not much malt detected in the nose.

Taste: Strong roasty flavor with minor tastes of dark fruits. The finish is dry and roasty. No detectable alcohol.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with light carbonation.

Drinkability: Cmplex flavor lowers the drinkabilityof this brew.

Serving type: on-tap

03-25-2008 01:37:14 | More by psinderson

ewright

North Carolina

3.55/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

A: This can issues forth inky blackness that absorbs all light that falls on its surface. A thin layer of espresso-like head forms on top and slowly dissipates to a ring around the glass.

S: Faint hints of licorice, espresso and dark chocolate. I love the aroma, but it could be stronger. I'd rate this .5 - 1 point higher if the nose was more prominent.

T: Too much alcohol burn up front. Behind the burn I sense flavors of prune and burnt sugar. Late EDIT: The burn diminishes as the beer warms up. Some coffee notes are obvious. Bumping +.5

M: Thick, chewy, creamy ... carbonation is light and very fine. The only drawback is the strength of the alcoholic aftertaste.

D: This is such a mixed bag ... it looks and feels great. It could smell great if it was more pronounced. The taste ... hard to say, but the alcohol burn is just too prominent to mark this very high. I plan to hold on to one or two cans to see what six months does to it.

Serving type: can

05-30-2008 00:33:43 | More by ewright

IMincedTheKing

New Jersey

3.55/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a sludgy, viscous black with a 1/4 inch film of ruby-brown head. Like frothy motor oil--a strange combination of impressive and disgusting.

Roasted malts overwhelm the nose. It's very dark with some subtle hints of fruit and coffee.

Thick and chewy in the mouth with roasted malts standing above all else. Hints of dark fruits sneak through. Juicy on the finish with a lingering hoppiness.

This beer's too big for it's own good, and I find it rather boring. Not something I'll be running back to.

Serving type: can

06-14-2009 07:51:14 | More by IMincedTheKing

Onenote81

North Carolina

3.55/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Can received from Kiefdog in a recent trade. Thanks!

Poured into my snifter a very thick black with a thin light brown head on top. Retention is weak, and there is little lacing. Smells of roasted malts and nuts, cocoa beans, and soy sauce.

The mouth is smooth and creamy. I think I started drinking this too chilled as I was getting a wallop of soy sauce and this weird sour note. As the beer warmed more to room temp, I could sense more of the roasted characteristics as well as the deep chocolate. Aftertaste was of Tootsie Rolls. Pretty heavy brew that took awhile to consume. Drinkability was hindered for sure. Not bad, but fell short of the hype.

Serving type: can

07-08-2009 18:56:50 | More by Onenote81

TheSixthRing

California

3.55/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Pours jet black with dark amber brown edging where light can penetrate. The head is a menacing reddish brown tinge, 2 fingers thick and with good retention. Silky lace with decent stick.

Smell - Chocolate, smokiness, a dominant jagermeister-like aroma creeps in at the tail-end.

Taste - True to the smell: starts with chocolate and a bit of smoke. Roastiness is subdued in favor of a funky anise / black liquorice bitterness that rings heavily, especially in the aftertaste. Hints at dark fruit beneath. A little heat peaks through in the finish. Gets more boozy as it warms.

Mouthfeel - Full bodied, with low to moderate carbonation. Chewy, and a little tough to swallow.

Overall - I don't know that it's worth the hefty price, but it's a unique imperial stout in the least. Too much of that bitter anise / black liquorice flavor dominates much of the flavor profile. If I were looking for that, I'd grab a glass of absinthe; Lord knows I've had enough in my time. It's not undrinkable, and I appreciate it's originality, but all-in-all it's not what I look for in an imperial stout.

Serving type: can

11-09-2012 07:01:25 | More by TheSixthRing

rawfish

California

3.53/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The beer pours motor oil black with a tiny mocha head. Very slow and viscous pour, noticable from the moment the beer leaves the can. Additionally this is as black as beer gets, some deep brown highlights on the edges but no light penetrates it, impressive.

Smell is not as strong as I expected out of a RIS but it's every bit as complex. Dark fruit, dried cherries and currants with all of that roasted maltiness and raw cocoa, like fudge.

The taste mirrors the smell with depth of chocolate flavors backed with some piney hops, enough to maintain balance. I was hoping for some coffee bean but the roasted smells didn't back the flavor. A bit of astringency and soy sauce.

The mouthfeel is thick, oily smooth without being overbearing with little carbonation to speak of. There's bitterness that was expected but it creeps in metallic and harsh, not fresh or bright. While the beer leaves a sweet mouth coating it doesn't dry and the bitterness unbalances the whole act driving you to quickly sip to drive away the unpleasantness.

I was really looking forward to this beer and I found it to be an amazing canned product but not on par with the hype. Bitterness is creeping and doesn't mesh well with on the finish with other competing harsh flavors.

Serving type: can

03-01-2011 23:35:14 | More by rawfish

Kadonny

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Received in a trade. Poured into a nonic pint glass from the can.

A: A really dark, thick black almost old oil color black. A small one finger light brown head that lasts a good while.

S: Dark roasty burnt smells of expresso, coffee and burnt chocolate. No hops or minimal hops detected on the nose.

T: Wow, flavors of roasted coffee beans with expresso and burnt coffee, roasted malt and tar. I really get a lot of burnt flavors. I hardly get any hints of hops and the finish was a bitter metallic type flavor that was unpleasant. It did open a bit when it warmed and the bitterness subsided, but still.

M: Heavy, the alcohol coats the mouth and leaves an aftertaste that I said to me was unpleasant.

D: Low for me. I just didn't care for this beer. In fact, I was glad to see the bottom of the glass.

Overall I don't get what the hype is on this beer. In my eyes there are much better impy stouts and this to me tasted like a canned beer. As I said it carried a real metallic type flavor on the finish that totally turned me off. With the hype, I might have to try another to see if I got a bad batch. Sorry guys.

***Update 9/29/11***

Updating my review. I enjoyed an aged can last night of Ten Fidy. It was probably 2 years old or so and I really enjoyed it.

A: Upped score. Jet black and engine oil thick. Not much head, but a slightly reddish brown head did show.

S: Upped score. Loads of chocolate and roasted malt. I could smell the sweetness too.

T: Upped score. Ok, sweetness come out first with heavy chocolate, some coffee, caramel sweetness and roasted malt. Much more smooth and integrated. Finish is smooth and sweet but enjoyable.

M: Full, coating, sweet, not a ton of alcohol. Nice.

O: Upped score. I enjoyed this much more this time, plus the aging must have helped it out. A good impy stout, still not a favorite of mine, especially at the price point.

Serving type: can

09-29-2011 13:27:39 | More by Kadonny

craytonic

District of Columbia

3.5/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Black oil. Nice lace & head. Why is it in a can?

Smell: Coffee, chocolate, roasted malt.

Taste: I did not notice any hoppy bitterness. Mostly coffee, with some chocolate (more like milk chocolate) and malt. A tad acidic.

Mouthfeel: Somehow full but thin. Something was a tad off, a tad thin for what I expected.

Drinkability: Its decent, but nothing special.

Serving type: can

01-19-2009 21:57:25 | More by craytonic

gorby10826

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Wow for as many good reviews I can honestly say I am boggled. I do not think this has anything over any midwest stouts like northwind or blackout, and those arent even in the top 100. It looks awesome and has an awesome mouthfeel but is lacking in smell and taste as far as I am concerned.Just pretty standard in those areas. High drinkability but still disappointed.

Serving type: can

04-28-2009 03:03:01 | More by gorby10826

ElderPuma

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance is the typical motor oil stout, dark, opaque, chocolate brown 2 finger head. Decent lacing, pretty much what you expect but one of the prettier stouts both at original pour and as it laces down.

Aroma is sweet, roasted malts with a strong alcohol nose. This brew definitely smells hot. What little hop aroma does come through is very earthy as would be expected for a likely english hop schedule. A touch of burnt/chalky chocolate but most aroma is overpowered by the alcohol nose.

Taste is very much a chalky roasted malt with a touch of chocolate and coffee flavors. An enormous amount of specialty grains must be used to produce this brew. After an initial complex malt flavor up front it quickly falls off to just a hot alcohol flavor that tends to linger. However, the more aged the beer, the less bite this alcohol flavor tends to have. Great upfront but the heat of the beer leaves a bit to be desired.

Carbonation in this beer is a bit heavy and it detracts from what otherwise seems to be a very smooth beer with great mouthfeel. Again, the overall heat of this beer also seems to detract.

All in all the makings of a great beer are present but the high ABV takes a lot away from this brew. There are other great examples of high ABV stouts out there that don't have such an overly strong heat flavor, aroma, and mouthfeel. Trying to go big and bold seems to hurt more than help this beer and I would be really interest in trying this same beer made to say an ABV of 7.5% just to see how much of a difference it might make.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2012 23:23:26 | More by ElderPuma

throwitallaway

Alabama

3.48/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Fuck I already forgot who sent this to me. Thank you just the same! Poured from can into snifter. Very dark with a small brown head that fades quickly. Smells like an RIS, roasted malts, a little chocolate, and alcohol. Tastes similar, a pleasant roasted bitterness hits you first, with chocolate and alcohol following. Mouthfeel is right in middle and a little creamy.
Drinkability is hurt by the alcohol being too prevalent. Not really my thing unfortunately, but tasty enough

Serving type: can

04-30-2008 22:26:31 | More by throwitallaway

charlzm

California

3.48/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Consumed 12/05/08. Served at 52 degrees into a standard pint glass.

Beer pours a viscuous black into the glass. Thick! A two finger dark tan head erupts then subsides to a sticky foam lacing in a few minutes.

Aroma is mainly metallic (sorry, Oskar Blues, but all your beers smell metallic to me when they come out of the can). There is a slight sweet roast malt smell as well.

Thick as a milkshake and a little prickly from carbonation. Nice.

Flavors: deep roasted malt. Slight smoke. Some coffee style bitterness on the finish. A little granular and chocolatey as well. ABV not a significant component of the flavor.

This beer is almost undone by a nasty metallic taste. What's up with that? I'd love to have this on draft for comparison, as it seems to be a really good beer aside from this metallic issue (that is shared with Old Chubb and Dale's Pale Ale as well). Luckily, this faded as the beer sat in the glass a little while. It never fully went away, though.

Overall, I will not be buying another 4 pack of this stuff or anything else from Oskar Blues in cans.

Serving type: can

12-06-2008 01:56:42 | More by charlzm

hansendc

Oregon

3.48/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a deep motor oil black. Almost no discernable head. I tried to drink it out of the can at first. I figure that it's in a can for a reason: if you could take a bottle or a pint glass to where you would be drinking it, you would. Perhaps I'll keep a can or two around to drink at the top of a mountain or for backpacking.

This isn't one of those aromatic beers. I would assume that there was little dry-hopping done, if any. Actually, there is a very small amount of hops at all. At first I thought it was because of drinking it out of the can but, even after pouring into a pint glass, there is very little aroma.

It has a pretty thick mouthfeel. Could use some improvement, but not bad.

The taste is simple. Nothing offensive at all, but nothing special. I bet the barrel-aged versions add some complexity. Definitely try those if you have them available. But, unless you really have a need for the can packaging, there are much better imperial stouts available.

Serving type: can

01-13-2010 06:41:27 | More by hansendc

alexhahn82

California

3.48/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A. Pours and looks like used motor oil, I mean that in a good way. Major head like my wife on spanish fly!

S. Smells like metal, but in all fairness all stouts smell like that to me, not necessarily a negative thing.

T. Very rich and chocolatey with an almost cooking chocolate like taste/bitterness.

M. Chewy almost bitey consistency like chewing on a dark bread!

Overall. Pretty good above average stout, not sure if its worth the price point but I am not a large fan of stouts.

Serving type: can

05-08-2011 19:56:26 | More by alexhahn82

NiceGuyMike

New Jersey

3.45/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 5 | overall: 3

By far the darkest beer I ever poured from a can. Pours with a viscous yet thin tan head which is expected of an RIS. However the head disperses rather quick. Smells of wonder full chocolate malts with a hint of alcohol. As the head reduces so does the scent.

Wow...what a mouth feel. Supper smooth and thick like a shake. Strong alcohol flavor. Nice chocolate malt. Aside from that it doesn't stand out. Odd after taste.

This one is a sipper to be sure. I'm not wanting more.

I was sure this was going to be a slam dunk after pouring and smelling. The taste, although not bad, was simply average. Nicest mouth feel I can remember. I have two more cans of this so I'll try again another day.

Serving type: can

03-29-2009 14:55:52 | More by NiceGuyMike

quasimoto

Ohio

3.45/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a thick molasses droopy glug into the glass which creates a nice tight bubbled tan head. Aromas of Dark chocolate ice cream and hops come into play. The flaovr starts off chocolatey a turn into a culmination of molasses and hops. Sure, there are background notes of coffee, roasted bread, (yes, I meant roasted bread) and chocolate, but the molasses really sticks out in this one as the backbone flavor. Maybe even some soy sauce in there. The drinkability of this beer varies. Sure its a nice Imperial stout, however the weight leaves to a one serving beer.

Serving type: can

04-25-2010 19:55:27 | More by quasimoto

herman77

Minnesota

3.45/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A: Motor oil black with a small brown head that fades to nothing. Spotty lacing.

S: Espresso, a bit of dark chocolate and some light smokey, charcoal. I was expecting a lot bigger nose.

T: Roasted malt, dark chocolate and a decent amount of sweetness and hops. Char and a bit of smoke. Stock standard RIS. Has a slightly sour-ish/bitter finish, kind of metallic like, but I know its not from the can. Fresh can, date stamp is 11-11-10.

M: Full bodied, thick. Low carbonation. Smooth feeling.

D: Nothing too special for this style. The finish and aftertaste is not the greatest, but the 10.5 is hidden pretty well.

Pretty disappointed with this overall, would not buy another one, but glad I got to try it.

Serving type: can

12-26-2010 01:55:10 | More by herman77

uawildcat

Arizona

3.45/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from can. One of the thickest, blackest beers that I have seen. Nice brown head that stays around.

Smells of sweet toffee malt.

Tastes much like it smells. This is a one note beer. Needs some more bitterness to balance it out since it isn't a very complicated taste.

Super slick mouthfeel that is pleasantly carbonated for the high abv.

Overall, it is a dessert beer. Too sweet with no balance to be good for anything else. Good when you have a sweet tooth.

Serving type: can

11-02-2011 01:59:30 | More by uawildcat

Franchise

Oregon

3.43/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at the Sunset Grill in Allston, MA. Pours jet black leaving a small thin head that sticks to the glass. The aroma is chocolate, caramel, earthy hops, but pretty weak nose.

The taste starts with citrus bitter hops, then has a soft floural essence, with a sweet caramel feel that finishes again bitter hoppy dark chocolate syrupy mouthfeel. Decent imperial stout something I might visit again overall a bit sloppy and not what I expect from a great brewery like Oskar Blues.

Serving type: on-tap

06-03-2008 15:17:17 | More by Franchise

maximum12

Minnesota

3.43/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Salut to tpd975 for throwing this into a trade. That sums up the trading addiction right there!

Pours a rather molten ribbon of black into my rarely used Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence chalice of life. A rare RIS that I can actually smell the chocolate emanating from the beer.

Taste is creamy, smooth, with a hint of hoppy nuttiness thrown in, & the cool wash of cocoa. It slides down easily enough, with some nice alchohol heat.

Pretty decent RIS. I wouldn't put this up against the big boys in my personal pantheon, but it's a good beer.

Serving type: can

07-09-2008 02:20:42 | More by maximum12

MiScusi

California

3.43/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours super thick as you would expect, pretty dark tan head. Smell is thick and roasty, alcohol, chocolate but nothing really sweet. The taste is just a soup of roastiness and bitter chocolate but it's really masked by the alcohol and slickness of the body. It's pretty flavor and not so in your face, except that it's like drinking sludge. This would be hard to drink a whole glass of, and I probably would never want to do it. There are other Imperial Russian Stouts that I have drank whole glasses of and have loved, so Ten Fidy gets marked down in that area.

Serving type: can

07-27-2008 07:09:52 | More by MiScusi