Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout

The first of two beers I drank at lunch on my birthday weekend. My wife set up the best birthday ever with all kinds of surprises and this one was part of it. Lunch was followed by beer for me and sparkling from Alsace for her.

This might be one of the oddest tasting beers I have ever had. This beer is big on everything except for aroma. It's 9.5 ABV, pours ink black, thick and chewy and has flavors coming out of it's aluminum body that I'm not sure that I would ever have thought a beer could have. After drinking only half of a 12 oz I'm not sure I ever WOULD want those flavors in any beer.

This is not a roasty toasty stout with coffee, chocolate, and flint. This is a ripe raisin, jammy, porty, flavor bomb that has a secret ingredient. Soy sauce. No, I'm not kidding. D picked it out right away and after saying it that is ALL I could taste. Raisins soaked in soy sauce. I even joked that it's actually just carbonated soy sauce. I could have poured this on as a condiment.

The funny thing is that I actually kind of liked it. I could never drink more of this than the 6 oz that I did but D thinks it would make a mean beer for a beer batter, or to braise a steak in. I could use half for food and drink the other half but that's it. Chewy and meaty this is a major sipping beer.

More impressive than their Old Chub Scotch Ale this one had a depth of flavor unmatched by most.