Mixing Beers #6

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale (2012) "VS" Oskar Blues Ten Fidy (2012)

WHAT'S GOIN' ON?: Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale was one of the first craft brews that I had ever tried. It may have been the fourth, maybe the fifth. I love it, always have, no doubt always will and every time I look at that artwork and those colors, I get a funny feeling of fond remembrance. And I think of snow. Man, do I love me some snow. You know what goes good with snow? What goes good with winter and the holidaze? Some rich ass Imperial Stouts, that's right. Have a dirty cookie. I drank the first three of my 4$ each 12 oz. cans of Ten FIDY in a row and it was a pretty damn good experience. I saved one for whatever, at the time I didn't know... but when I brought home a 3-Pack of Celebration later in the week, I decided that the first Fresh Hop Ale of the Winter would be a mix brew review. 

HOW IT WENT DOWN!: The beautiful orange-reddish tones from the SN Celebration were slowly flooded and corrupted by the black spreading shadows, eventually turning this beer dark as night. The head is white with drops of tan inside, looking a bit like hot chocolate with melted marshmallows.

The strong hops in this take precedence and are not to be outdone by the roasted characteristics from the 1050. But eventually a hurling malty flow comes forth and sits along with it side by side. I do definitely prefer the scent of the Celebration alone over this combined form, since it's just so beautiful, however this mingling isn't half bad either.

Taste is a very strange one. You get a battle in the mouth starting off with a smooth texture, then crackling hops and after the swallow, a roasted bitterness and some intense toasty burn. If anything, the Fresh Hop Ale really adds a lot to this stout, by bringing forth some tingling hop driven persistence. It's got a very deep taste to the whole thing, very rich and creamy, and soothing yet eventful. Hops dance around through this tingling smoky haze and both beers play off of each other very well.

Mouth feel is syrupy, thick and extremely coating. And even then, it's surprisingly smooth. 

Though spicy and popping up front, the beer mellows just before the swallow and leaves a grassy aftertaste and a fire roasted burnt sensation. This was a pretty neat mixing of beers overall, and did a number on my tastebuds. As much as I liked it, I wonder to myself now if anything will ever top the mix of Pumking and WWS. Is it all downhill from here? That worried thought shall do nothing to deter me from mixing additional beers in the future and posting my results right here, however substandard they may seem compared to that utterly wondrous event.

Oskar Blues TEN FIDY

Oskar Blues TEN FIDY (2012)

Brewed and Canned by Oskar Blues Brewery, in Longmont, CO. USA.

Year Round Brew.

12 fl. oz. (x4) / 15.99 USD / 10.5% ABV

About: "This titanic, immensely viscous stout is loaded with inimitable flavors of chocolate-covered caramel and coffee and hide a hefty 98 IBUs underneath the smooth blanket of malt.  Ten FIDY (10.5% ABV) is made with enormous amounts of two-row malt, chocolate malt, roasted barley, flaked oats and hops. Ten FIDY is the ultimate celebration of dark malts and boundary-stretching beer."

Thoughts: Look what just showed up in town (I never see this stuff anywhere aside from trips to NH), and hell, it's only two and a half weeks old. Nice.

Ten Fidy poured a super dark brown that turned instant black in the goblet. It's got a dark milk chocolate head, and tiny black bubbles that move slowly towards the edge of the glass. It looks like floating forward through space. I'm officially tripping out while staring into this beer.

Smells like cold ass coffee, and after that fades, chocolate cereal... like syrup covered smacks or something. Thick and sludgy, notes of chocolate and toasty oats. It smells very sugary.

Tons of roasted malt explode in the mouth, followed by a sweet haze of booze, an extremely gentle bitterness and a warm feeling all over. Getting some dark fruit notes, and after a while the hops start tingling all around the place. Coffee in the taste is laying low, and there's a dominantly roasted and toasty quality to the whole brew. Lots of oats and barley, with caramel and chocolate in the background.

Finishes with some grassy tones and a haze of thick, foggy booze.

Mouth feel is pretty amazing. Probably the best thing about this beer. It's full, and just pops all over the place. It leaves a thick film in the mouth and coats after expanding really quick. This ones got a real warmth to it and I'm feeling the head down below. I like this one, but it's doubtful I'll buy another four pack anytime soon considering the outlandish price. It's all relative, but still.