It was Father’s Day, you see, and my wife wanted to buy me some beer. Far be it from me to say no to my wife when she wants to buy me beer, so beer would be bought! Draft beer from Stout’s Growlers was the decision, and one of my selections was Brunch Junkie from the Heist Brewing Company of Charlotte, North Carolina. I paid for my order online, specified curbside pickup, and headed to the store.

There was, however, a problem, as you may have surmised, since this review is not about Heist Brunch Junkie, but rather is about Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout. As sometimes happens with draft beer, the keg of Brunch Junkie kicked when they went to fill my crowler. When upon arrival I called to get my beer, I was so informed and asked, would I like to choose another? The keg that replaced it was Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout, and I was all over it.

For one thing, I had never had Ten Fidy before. At least, not the straight up version. I had indeed enjoyed Barrel Aged Ten Fidy and Barrel Aged Java Ten Fidy before, which only furthered my desire to try the original. So, here we are. Oskar Blues says of the beer on their website:

This titantic, immensely viscous stout is loaded with inimitable flavors of chocolate-covered caramel and coffee, hiding 65 hefty IBUs underneath a smooth blanket of malt. A black hole of burly malt flavor, Ten FIDY (10.5% ABV) is made from immense amounts of big, dark malts including rich caramel malt, flavorful Munich malts and fluffy oats resulting in a giant, opaque, cosmic beer entity.

They further say that the beer is released in September, so my crowler has a bit of age on it from the keg. Not a worry with an imperial stout of this magnitude. Draft beer sales are down due to the coronavirus lockdown, which may account for this, but my sample was wonderful. I paid $13 for the 32-ounce crowler.

Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout pours to a jet-black color with a light creamy tan head and a rich nose of roasted coffee and chocolate. A hint of smoke is apparent, too. Taking a sip, the beer is full and lush in body with notes of coffee, chicory, caramel, roasted malts and grassy hops. There are undertones of licorice and the beer is gently smoky again in the palate. The whole affair is wrapped up nicely by a big and beautiful roasty warming alcohol finish.

Just a wonderful, wonderful beer. My apologies to Heist (I’ll make it up to you with a purchase next time I see your beer), but I’m glad that keg kicked. Oskar Blues Ten Fidy is a beer I should have tried a long time ago. Now, I’m glad I finally did.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

(G)=Growler

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