Review: Oskar Blues Ten FIDY Imperial Stout

Oskar Blues Ten FIDY Imperial Stout

10.5% ABV

Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, CO

12 oz can

Served in Dogfish Head Signature Glass

Date on can: Canned on 9/28/12

Reviewed on 10/19/12 

This stout pours a thick inky black with a toasty brown head that keeps consistency.  Great lacing.  Good carbonation.

Smell has chocolate, coffee, malt, hops, licorice, caramel, slight oak, oatmeal, alcohol.

Taste has bold flavors of chocolate, malt, licorice, coffee, some raisin, some vanilla, some oats, alcohol.

Mouthfeel is dry with good, smooth creaminess on the palate.  Good balance of flavors.  A touch harsh on the back of the mouth.

Overall, this is a bold, flavorful stout with good persistent dryness and a bit of a hot kick.  Great tasting now, and probably quite interesting with some age.  It has a nice fresh appearance to boot.  Don't let the can fool you--this is powerhouse craft.

[Postscript: After working through a four-pack the last few months, Ten FIDY has become one of my favorite stouts.  It's even one of my favorite overall beers, as it's now #8 on my top ten list.] 

My score: 96

Review: Victory Storm King Imperial Stout

Victory Storm King Imperial Stout
9.1% ABV
Victory Brewing Co., Downington, PA
12 oz bottle
Served in Dogfish Head Signature Glass
Date on bottle: Best by 5/7/14
Reviewed on 2/19/12 (yes, 2012)

This stout pours dark and thick with a toasty brown head that quickly dissipates.  Some mild carbonation evident.

Smell consists of hops, slight caramel, malt. chocolate, coffee.

Taste has hops, coffee, hints of chocolate, slight oak, mild spice.

Mouthfeel is quite smooth, with a good thickness coming through.  After repeated tastes, a nice creamy texture develops on the palate.

Overall, this is a nice, tasty, bold imperial stout.  Its smoothness makes for a good easy drinking experience, even with the higher alcohol content.  Taste wise, this may not be as complex as some other stouts, but the tastes it has are bold and well done.

[Victory Storm King Imperial Stout has become one of my go-to stouts.  Inexpensive, tasty, and fairly easy to find, I find it to be one of the best values on the market.]

My score: 92

Review: Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout

Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout 
9.2% ABV
The Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma, CA
22 oz bottle
Served in Dogfish Head Signature Glass
No date on bottle
Reviewed on 3/2/13 

This stout pours a dark brown color with a frothy light beige head that has decent retention. Decent lacing.

Smell consists of coffee, chocolate, malt (even before you bring the glass to your nose).  Hints of dark fruit and some spice as well.

Taste consists of strong coffee and chocolate at the outset with a good hit of bitterness. Malt, mild hops, a definite coffee/espresso bean type flavor that sticks with you.  Like the smell, hints of dark fruit and spice.  A touch thinness here and there.

Mouthfeel has the strong coffee/espresso bean flavor that builds and sticks on your palate, almost like you've chewed on some coffee beans (or even some chocolate-coated ones, though the chocolate isn't as strong).  Good bitterness.

Overall, this is a bold tasting stout with strong coffee and chocolate flavors and some nice accompanying bitterness.  The effect on the palate is a bit rough at times, as it's almost like chewing on coffee beans.  Still, it's fairly tasty, even if a touch of thinness comes through here and there.

My score: 88

Review: Boulevard Dark Truth Stout

Boulevard Dark Truth Stout
9.7% ABV
Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, MO
12 oz bottle
Served in Dogfish Head Signature Glass
Date on bottle: Best by 5/7/14
Reviewed on 10/10/12 

This stout pours a thick dark brown with a good frothy light brown head.  Lots of evident carbonation. Great lacing.

Smell consists of oatmeal, coffee, smoky, chocolate, alcohol, some spiciness, malt, some hops.

Taste has malt, oatmeal, coffee, chocolate, slight alcohol, some hops.

Mouthfeel is thick, dry, some hotness from the alcohol that penetrates.  Decent balance of flavors.  Some creamy texture.

Overall, this is a solid if somewhat hot tasting stout with some good dryness and a nice mix of flavors.  Has a good thickness that gives the feel of drinking something substantial.  Another good offering from Boulevard's Smokestack Series, even as it rates at the bottom of those that I've tried.  

My score: 90

Review: Heavy Seas Peg Leg Imperial Stout

Heavy Seas Peg Leg Imperial Stout
8.0% ABV
Clipper City Brewing Co., Baltimore, MD
12 oz bottle
Served in Dogfish Head Signature Glass
Date notched on on bottle: May 2013
Reviewed on 2/28/13

This stout pours a thick dark brown color with a toasty beige head that retains well.  Some carbonation evident.  Decent lacing.

Smell consists of coffee, chocolate, malt, dark fruit, mild hops, slight alcohol.

Taste has coffee, malt, creamy chocolate, hints of dark fruit and maybe some hazelnut, mild hops, mild sugar, slight alcohol.

Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy, some good grainy texture on the tongue.  Good strain of bitterness on the palate.

Overall, this is a decent tasting stout with prominent coffee and chocolate tastes.  The alcohol taste comes through at times, as do hints of dark fruit and some mild hops.  Not overly distinctive, but quite solid and tasty.  

My score: 89

Brewery Tour Review - Baying Hound Aleworks

Brewery Tour Review
Baying Hound Aleworks
http://bayinghoundales.com/
1108 Taft St  Rockville, MD 20850
(301) 637-9322
     One of the best ways to sample a brew is to go right for the source. Baying Hound Aleworks is a nano-brewery located in Rockville, Maryland. Walking in the front door, you realize they take their dogs seriously. At first I thought the barking was a type of door alarm to let them know we were there, but the warning, "He's friendly, he doesn't bite.", let me know the barks were real. A few sniffs later and the dog was perfectly at ease with us being there. When you go into the brewery there is a tasting bar where you can sit and drink some samples from their custom taps. They converted a barrel into a very nice tap system. The price is $5.00 for three samples and $8.00 for six. The hostess Jayna is very friendly and knowledgeable. My wife and I were given a tour of their brewery by the founder, Paul Rinehart. We were lucky in the fact that they were brewing a test batch as we were taking the tour. They were brewing a SMASH beer (Single Malt and Single Hop). This one happened to be an all rye beer, and I believe he said Cascade hops (I had just finished my 6 beer sampler please forgive me.) It was cool to see a brewery making a batch about the same size as I would make, 6 gallons. The typical batch they make is 35-40 gallons. Currently they have four 50 gallon fermenters and two 30 gallon(I believe) fermenters. Their beer is available locally at selected stores. Although the brewery is very small, as to be expected from a nano-brewery, the tour was very informative and Paul had no problem answering questions from anyone on the tour. Anyone interested in brewing can attend a homebrew class offered on premises. In two weeks they are having a small music festival at the brewery. They are having 13 bands over the entire weekend, impressive if you ask me. The event link is here. If you enjoy brewery tours, I would add this to your agenda.  It might be a little bit of a drive, but I feel it is well worth it. Tell Paul Mike from CSI homebrewers sent you. 

Cleansing the Palate: Odds and Ends

Just cleaning out my notebook, brain, and perhaps even my palate of some miscellaneous items.

--Have you checked out Food Loves Beer magazine? Nice articles, great pictures, and free!

--Green Flash Palate Wrecker is back.  Very exciting!  My latest review of this exquisite beer is here.

--Troegs Nugget Nectar is back as well.  In my area, it runs about $12.99 a six pack (+9% tax, making it $14.16 total).  Two weeks ago, I was in Delaware and picked up a 6-pack for $10.99 + $0.24 total container tax, making it $11.23 total.

--Founders is in negotiations to begin distribution to Maryland (as well as Texas and Florida).  If this comes through, it'll be very exciting to not have to go out of state to purchase some excellent Founders beers.  As I understand it, Founders has been in discussions in previous years to distribute to Maryland and things haven't materialized.  Maybe '13 will be the lucky year. 

--A few quick scores on some previously sampled beers:

Oskar Blues G'Knight Imperial Red
Pint draft at the Frisco Tap House and Brewery, Columbia, MD, 9/1/12
Score: 91

Brewer's Alley Oatmeal Stout
Pint draft at the Brewer's Alley Restaurant and Brewery, Frederick, MD, 8/4/12
Score: 88

Rivertown Hop Bomber
Pint draft at the Brazenhead Irish Pub, Mason, OH, 6/21/12
Score: 88

--A note about scoring.  As you will see, Mike and I have different scoring.  Mike is using the BJCP scoring guidelines for his scores, which allows for a maximum raw score of 50.  So, for instance, his recent review of Crispin Prepare to Die scored a 40, which is 40 out of a possible 50.

As for me, I've always operated on a 1 to 100 scoring system, though it's only recently that I've adapted the BJCP scoring guidelines.  So, I'm adding up to the same raw score of 50, but I'm then multiplying by two.

Did I mention I'm a generous scorer?  I blame it on my love for beer.

--According to the journal I keep, I tried 206 different beers in 2012.