Oskar Blues Ten FIDY with Cherries

Bottle, provided by TAR during GABF 2008. Pours opaque with an average, frothy, dark brown head, somewhat diminishing with good lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (molasses, chocolate, roasted), average hops (grass), average yeast (leather) with notes of plum, cherries, and wood. Full bodied, creamy texture, average carbonation, and an astringent finish. Long duration, moderate sweetness, acidity, and bitterness.

Draft at Falling Rock. A hazy deep red beer with a thin brown head. The aroma is acidic malty combined with notes of brettanomyces and berries. The flavor is very acidic with notes of wood, brettanomyces, and berries.

Draught. Dark, dark brown with a small tan head. Coffe and chocolate aroma, but very little cherry. Flavor is big and chocolately, but again, I’m really not detecting any of the cherry character. A very strong and rich beer. Enjoyed it.

Pours dark with a small brown head. Aroma of coffee and cherries. Flavor is nice with a light chocolate background and mild cherry sweetness. The roasted malts are great in this one. Very well balanced flavor. Mouthfeel is sticky. A great beer.

Thanks to Jimbowood for the 1L bottle. Pours black with a medium sized creamy reddish brown head, nice delicate lacing. Aroma of cherries, and expresso. Flavor of dark chocolates, roasted malts, tobacco. Just a mild cherry flavor but it’s perfect for this brew, nothing overwhelming. Chocolate and cherries go so well together. Thick and slightly sticky on the palate. This is a wonderful brew.

On tap at Falling Rock. Dark black, inky pour with a creamy head of toasted marshmellow. Nice retention, color, and depth of the head; it also holds its shape quite well. My first impression of the aroma was much more impressive, as the beer was served in a cold condition I’d peg somewhere between the 45-50F range. Initially, there was a fantastic balance between dark cherry, roast, and smooth silky coffee. As it warmed, the cherry flavor started to get more and more pronounced, which actually degraded the balance I enjoyed initially. Additionally, the cherry flavor seemed to get sweeter and sweeter, in a marachino cherry kind of way, only not vinegary. I generally like to drink my imperial stouts close to room temperature, but this one is definitely the exception. Full bodied, creamy mouthfeel. Starts out with some rich fudge and almost raisin-like esters. The cherry flavor comes out mid-palate and builds into the finish, where notes of vanilla and bourbon start to emerge. Rich, chocolaty, creamy malt finish. Enjoyable, well crafted brew overall, but the cherry flavor gets a bit too pronounced as it warms.

On tap at OB. Deep black brown in color with an off white head. Malty caramel chocolatety aroma. Fruity cherry notes. Nice use of cherries. Fruity cherry chocolatety flavor. Wow. Full bodied. Finish is malty. Great tasting. Very drinkable.

I heard alot of hype about this beer before I acctually tried. It was a pretty tasty but, not much cherry flavor to go around. An OK brew.