Fish Tale Barrel Aged Poseidons Imperial Stout

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Batch 4, November 2002 Bottle Date; Sampled November 2007
A careful pour produces a thick, initially three-finger thick, tightly beaded, light brown colored head. The is simply opaque and black in color. As I pour this interesting aromas of a jammy, definitely oaked, new world red wine are noticeable. A deeper exploration of the nose confirms these notes, but amplifies them and adds to them. Aromatic notes of raisins, brandy and berries quickly succumb to oak driven notes of vanillin, butterscotch and lightly spicy oak. It is interesting the oak character is definitely pronounced, but it is fairly smooth, and not nearly as objectionable as I think it should be (I wonder if I am getting use to copious oak in beer). Touches of the roast malts used in this beer are just noticeable under the oak; touches of chocolate and espresso are the most easy to pick out.

Served lightly chilled (65°F / 18°C or so), the beer is thick, though I wouldn't characterize it as chewy and is actually fairly light for an Imperial Stout. Lightly sweet, and in fact lightly tart too, both of these notes accentuate a roasted fruit character reminiscent of a mix of raisins, plums & figs left for a little too long under the broiler (brightly fruity, sweet, yet definitely a bit burnt). I am quite happy about the sourness, this has really added a great dimension to this beer; it is noticeable enough that it is definitely from some unintential bug, yet it is not overwhelming and somehow marries quite well with the substantial roast and oak flavors. Speaking of which, the roast notes in this beer lean towards flavors of chocolate, a light breakfast roast coffee not up front, but a deeper, burnt note towards the finish as well as a dusty cocoa note in the finish. There is some substantial malt sweetness here as well, it is always held well in check by the other flavors of this beer, but it contributes significantly to many of the other noticeable flavors. I am actually quite surprised / intrigued by the substantial berry-like note that is in this beer; it really is reminiscent of a fruity / jammy, rich, red wine grape varietal. This note seems to be contributed by a combination of the malt sweetness, the tart infection, and probably something from the used wine barrel used. Oak flavors, that are muted compared to the aroma, contribute soft notes of butterscotch, vanillin, tannic wood and a lightly spicy oak component.

Now that I have acknowledge the wild influence in the flavor, my second pours sees me noticing the funkiness in the nose quite a bit more. It certainly contributes substantially to the fruit aromatics, but also adds a sort of fruity, funky cheese note to the aroma which hid out in the oak notes the first time around. I didn't mention that this beer is quite well carbonated too (another sign of the fortuitous infection), this definitely helps to make this more drinkable as well. Of course the extra attenuation in the bottle has, I am sure, contributed to the relative lightness (only when looked at as an Imperial Stout of course) of this brew as well. The berry flavors & tartness also yield a substantial flavor of sour pie cherries. The barrel character here is quite smooth overall; my guess is that the tannins have substantially mellowed since this was first bottled. The sourness in this brew, while definitely lactic, has touches of balsamic and a berry vinaigrette; the sourness is very reminiscent of the notes one expects to find in a Flander's red / brown. The sourness, while just part of the cast here (along with the light funk), would most likely be dominating in a beer of lesser strength; this beer is so complex and huge all ready that this just adds another layer to the flavor palate.

This is really quite interesting, for some reason I have been thinking of the original Porter beers recently, and with this sourness this beer is definitely a throw back to those beers. I would not have guessed that sourness & roast malt could marry so well together. I would expect that the two would almost be mutually exclusive and when found together, creating an jarring discombobulated, almost bi-polar drinking experience. Instead the tart flavors meld so well with the roast character that I am having a hard time imagining this beer being nearly as good without the infection. This beer is substantially more oak driven in the nose than it is in the flavor; this is definitely a good thing from my perspective though. From the perspective of the flavor experience & my particular taste preferences, this is easily one of the best Imperial Stouts I have ever had; the oak, the roast notes, the sweeter malt notes and the sourness just work so well together here in the flavor. The nose is just a bit too oak focused to be as good, but even it is really quite nice. Flavors of cherries, espresso & chocolate, how can you go wrong here.