Ten Fidy v. Big Eddy

The specs:

Ten Fidy
Russian Imperial Stout
Oskar Blues Brewery LLC
10.5% ABV
98 IBUs
2010 vintage poured into a New Belgium globe on 02/07/2010

Big Eddy
Russian Imperial Stout
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co.
9.5% ABV
2010 vintage poured into a New Belgium globe on 02/07/2010

    Both pour very very dark brown and look jet black in the glasses with big, dark brown heads that rose up in cascades. The head on Ten Fidy is a shade darker and the head on Big Eddy is visibly creamier. It's amazing that both the heads took almost the same (long) time to fall into thinner caps and laced their glasses beautifully, with Big Eddy doing a visibly better job. Beautiful looking stouts!

    The nose on Big Eddy seemed stronger at first but later the intensity seemed similar for both beers, with none being too intense. I am not a big fan of either, and it's pretty much the usual dark malts. Big Eddy seemed more acidic and spicy while Ten Fidy leaned more towards burnt, roasted notes, that were almost meaty. Either way, none if these is significantly above average in my opinion. As they warmed up, the alcohol in Ten Fidy got noticeable, but that's alright. However, the anise-licorice notes in Big Eddy got a little too strong. Not bad per se but doesn't smell much like an RIS. Moving on to taste...

    Big Eddy, although named Big, seems like the younger cousin of Bell's Expedition Stout (an RIS that can kick a lot of ass). Strikingly reminiscent of Expedition in its dark and acidic "tartness", this beer tastes like prunes and dried strawberries! Ten Fidy on the other hand is more about powerful presence of roasted malts. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of dark fruit notes but roast and hop bitterness rule this beer.

    At this point, I am going to drink some water and a small sip of Scotch to clear my tastebuds before proceeding with the scores... alright, all done!

    Ok, so Ten Fidy is chocolate like bittersweet, slightly acidic, and rich, with sweetness coming (seemingly) more from alcohol than from sugars. Low on carbonation, high on silkiness, the roast doesn't affect the thick mouthfeel negatively. A very delicious aftertaste of roasted coffee beans lingers after a medium finish. Could and would drink more of it. Good stuff!

Back to few swigs of water.

    Although the tartness of Big Eddy reminds a lot of Expedition, Big Eddy doesn't even seem like a RIS at this point. It's dark and black alright, but the roast is entirely missing. The acidity is all fruit and no coffee and that comes as a disappointment. A good beer, and perhaps the best to come from Miller-Coors, but not what the label promises. Warm temperature is perhaps the true test of a beer, and Big Eddy has lost all its "bigness". While it could have been a decent something else, it sure doesn't have the mouthfeel to live up to the tag of RIS. The alcohol seems solventy at times and the spiciness gets overwhelming. Very very average if viewed as a stout.

	Ten Fidy	Big Eddy
Appearance	4.5	5
Aroma	3	3
Taste	4	3
Mouthfeel	4.5	3
Drinkability	4	3