Oskar Blues Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy Review: Strong, Bold And In A Stovepipe Can

Craft Beer Joe

8 years ago

I really enjoy stouts. The deep rich flavor is fulfilling and I find it soothing to just sip on a stout at the end of the day. An example of a stout that I’ve really enjoyed is Oskar Blues Ten Fidy. It’s a stout that I drink over and over again. So when Oskar Blues released Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy, I knew I had to try it.

Not only did this stout sound amazing but it came in a very unique package; a “stovepipe” 19.2 ounce can. It is quite rare to find a barrel-aged stout in a can and they made it even more unique with this can. It is no wider than a standard can; just really tall. It’s like a tower filled with barrel-aged stout.

After I got a can of it, I was ready to find out if barrel-aging improved this stout or if the “stovepipe” can was the only thing great about it?

What Is Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy?

Oskar Blues offers a huge selection of beers in very recognizable cans. Their Ten Fidy imperial stout was one of the first I tried from them. I easily rank this as one of the better imperial stouts available. Since then, I’ve tried a good portion of their beers including their very popular Death By Coconut. In most cases, I find their beer to be above average or excellent. So I had high hopes for the Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy.

To understand the Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy, you must fist get to know the base beer. Ten Fidy is an imperial stout that clocks in at 10.5 ABV and 65 IBUs. Be prepared as this is a full bodied, thick stout. Loads of malt make this beer’s aroma and flavor full of chocolate and coffee tones. It pour heavy and drinks very smooth.

This amazing beer is then aged in bourbon barrels to create Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy. Here is the brewer’s description:

Aged through four seasons and from a blend of the top Bourbons around, this Ten Fidy has morphed into a monster of cranked up flavor. Espresso, burnt sugar, rich chocolate, caramel notes are now driving alongside the vanilla, oak, bourbon from the barrel and been smoothed out during maturation. Even at 12.9% (75 IBUs) it is cool and drinkable, letting each sip add more and more complexity.

Let’s hope it is as good as the description. For reference, Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy gets 4.44 / 5 on Untappd.

My Review of Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy

Initial Thoughts

My can of Barrel-Aged Ten Fidy was sitting and waiting for the right time to be opened. I didn’t want to age this beer but I also knew that I wanted to share it with at least one other person. 19.2 ounces of a 12.9% ABV beer is more than I want to drink in one session. If you read my last post then you know all about how I feel about large cans/bottles. The perfect occasion presented itself when I had family coming over for Easter.

I’ve already mentioned it but the can is really worth talking about. The 19.2 ounce “stovepipe” can is really unique. I don’t know of any other brewery using this style can but I can see more doing it. It’s eye catching and unique. While I prefer a 12oz bottle, this is a fun option for a large container.

Upon opening the can, there is a huge aroma of bourbon that comes flooding out. The scent traveled well as a few people could smell it from across the room. It poured like oil, was pitch black in color and the head was a dark tan. After pouring, there was a slight coffee and roast scent but most of the aroma was bourbon. It’s everything you want to see in a barrel-aged stout.

Tasting Notes

The first sip was strong. It’s the kinda of beer that coats your mouth and just lays there. The aromas lead perfectly into the flavors. The bourbon flavor was a little more controlled compared to the aroma. But not in a bad way as it gave room for other flavors to come through. I got a good amount of chocolate, coffee and roast flavors. This was followed closely by a sweet vanilla which comes from the bourbon barrel.

As the beer warmed up, I found that the roast and bourbon flavors stood out more. The chocolate, coffee and vanilla seemed to fade for a while then as it neared room temperature, I got some of the vanilla back. I was eating throughout this process so I will attribute some of the flavor changes to that. However, with a big stout like this, it is common for the depth of flavor to dramatically change over time and temperature.

Final Thoughts

This beer didn’t hide it’s ABV so sip this craft beer to get the best experience. The heaviness of the beer lingered but the flavors did not. While it has a moderate IBU of 75, I didn’t taste much bitterness. In fact, it was so smooth I would have guessed the IBUs were much lower. Having such a high amount of malt in it helps to cover up the bitterness and provides a very smooth drinking experience.

I would highly recommend this to anyone that is a fan of Ten Fidy or is a fan of bourbon barrel-aged stouts. It is a very heavy beer that backs up the ABV with just as much flavor. I am just glad that I saved it to share with a few other people.