Fish Tale Poseidons Imperial Stout - Barrel Aged
Aged in casks formerly used for Cabernet wine, this big Imperial Stout is brewed from Northwest ESB, chocolate, and caramel malts, with Columbus hops to bitter and Cascade hops for flavor.
4.1
313 reviews
Olympia, United States
Community reviews
Bottle with friends, courtesy of ratman197. Thanks Ratman! Black appearance with a dark brown head. Tart, red fruity, vinous, tangy, dark roasty aroma. Sour, cherry, blackberry, vinous, charred, roasty malty flavor.
750 busted out at Bill’s big stout tasting. Thanks to Ratman for this cool rarity. Poured a dark brown with a small tan head. Nose is filled with dark fruits and rich coffee. Taste is rather malty with hints of raisins and sweet chocolate on the backend. Not much barrel left in this, but still held up nice for it’s age. Glad I got to try this one...
Bottle pour big thanks to the Ratman, bottle from 2002. Dark brownish black pour with thin to no head, aroma brought big notes of tart grape and berry notes, hints of caramel, chocolate and coffee notes with a touch of roast. Taste is slightly tart with a a rather thin body, but nice chocolate and wine notes complement well into a bitter roasted malt and slightly sweet finish.
Bottle at Borefts 2011. Fish washington state poseidon imp stout. Touch of oxydation. But hugely intense some soy sauce touch if sherbert. Ok but it was better first sip. Bit too much all over the place as went on. Soy sauce. Ok 3.2
750mL bottle, bottled Nov. 2001 cellar’d in Bottleworks’ cellar since, split with manuchampions, Matts_Property and uhlan. Pours pitch black with a small light brown head - looks beautiful. First sniff reveals a perfectly kept beer, especially for the age (over 10 years!), with notes of rich roasted malt, maraschino cherries, cabernet red wine, almost a bacon / smoke note, light molasses and many other subtle complexities I cannot find words for. Flavour is immensely rich and complex - hasn’t gone off at all - with roasted malt, red wine, slight smokiness, maraschino cherries, vanilla, light molasses, etc. etc... so many layers of depth and complexity. A bit port-like on the finish, especially as it warms up. Glad to have had the opportunity to try this, despite the hefty price tag. Too bad Fish Tale does not brew this anymore. Amazing beer.
Bottle generously shared by daknole -- who else could actually track this down? Pours coffee black with a fleeting brown head and minimal lacing. Smells and tastes predominantly of vanilla, cocoa, sweet malts, and dark fruits. A bit thin on the palate and slightly oxidized. Finishes with tannins and a trace of alcohol. Still holding up well!
Bottle 750ml.
[ Courtesy of hannont ]. [ Vintage 2000 ]. Clear dark black brown colour with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, beige head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, roasted, chocolate, berry, wood, light coffee, initial oxidide notes. Flavour is moderate to heavy sweet and light moderate bitter with a long duration, tart, roasted. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20110923]
Thx to Todd , Derek and Brandon for bringing this to borefts with you !
btw how old was it again ? 10 ? label had no fish on it ...
Head: almost none
Colour: black
Smell: coffee, roasted, bit boozy, sweet, malts, chocolat
Taste: start is malts, chocolat , bit sweet , coffee, roasty , end is kinda dry and bitter , great for such a old impy !!
A mighty thanks to Hannont for this one! Bottle @ BBF’11: batch 2:
Light brown head on top of a black colored beer.
Smell liquorice, sour, hint of salt, light roasted malts, pretty smooth.
Taste nicely sour, liquorice, yeast, coffee, hint of alcohol, bitter, dark fruit. Tastes good.
Warm roasted malty light sour aftertaste.
Low carbo, full body, soft mouthfeel and a light creamy texture.
Well balanced and guess the aging worked well on this one.
bottle at Borefts festival 2011 ... deep black ... thin tan head ... deep complex roast malts nose ... dry dak chocolate malts ... little cherry malt ...
Sample from bottle @ BBF 2011, gift from Hannont. Batch # 2, november 2000. Apple syrup and seaweed in the aroma. Full bodied, (still) syrupy and sour. Dried red fruit. Still traces of grassy hops. Very well matured.
Huge thanks to Some Dude who came by the Struise stand at BBF 2011 with one of these babies and generously poured for all. Nearly black color, scant head and lacing. Aroma of vanilla, chocolate. Taste is vanilla, coffee, chocolate, whiskey finish. Thin body. Interesting stuff.
A: The beer pours black in color with a big, tan head on it.
S: The wine notes really come through quite strongly on this beer. Lots of red fruits and grape aromas along with the expected roasted malts and chocolate. There is a touch of vanilla as well as some oak.
T: A light booziness to the flavor, but otherwise quite good. Lots of roasted malt and chocolate flavors along with tons of wine, berries, and a bit of molasses. Some lightly charred oak with a light tannic feel to it.
M: A really sticky feel on the tongue with a very long finish. Quite nice.
O: Much better than the regular Poseidon, and better than the BA Leviathan I tried previously.
Big thanks to Alex for sharing a bottle I really didn’t think I’d ever come across. Tasted at the post-Christmas tasting in Chicago. Served in my Cantillon tulip.
Pours near black with a pretty good tan head and a than cap as that falls down. The nose is really quite complex with a nice amount of the red wine place some nice fruit and sweet malt plus a bit of chocolate. The taste is really nice and I love the red-wine character in this one. Really complex and smooth. The mouthfeel is pretty full and has held up well over time. Really quite drinkable and tasty; I’m really glad I got to try this.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 01-05-2011
Thanks to Alex, the King of Obscurity, for this 9 year old beer I’ve never heard of...Awesome pour that is totally black with at least two full fingers of medium tan head that settles to a nice cap with good lacing...Complex aroma of oak, red wine, and chocolate. Great balance...The taste is almost as good but loses a lot of the wine character except for the finish.
Enjoyed this. If you like winey stouts this for you.
750 ml bottle (batch 4, Nov. 2002) shared by shigadeyo. Pours dark brown with a medium sized fine tan head. The aroma was a combination of roasted malt and dark ripe fruits with a strong vinous character. Additional notes of raisins and figs, woody with a splash of vanilla. The flavor is still quite bold with some alcohol showing up, but not in a bad way. There is the same combination of dark ripe fruits and vinous notes sharing time with the dark roasted malts. Additional flavors of sweeter malts, cocoa, raisins and figs, red wine woody, vanilla with little in the way of hops left. Medium plus to full bodied with some oxidation (surprisingly not as much as I would have expected). Thanks Craig for the opportunity to try this one!
2002 bottle shared by ? at maproom. Aroma is big marshmallow, dark chocolate syrup, sweet. Flavor of tart cherries, cherry pie, brett, chocolate, held up pretty nice.
750ml bottle, unknown vintage, probably at least 4-5 years old. Consumed at RBWG in March 2010. A surprisingly staunch head of dark brown foam crowns a dark mahogany body with a slight translucency at the outer edges. Fat lacing spots are spaced out on the glass. The nose is exceptionally fruity, giving notes of raisins, figs, and general hints of drier, more tannic dark fruit. Dry oak gives a soft suggestion of vanilla to the rich malt base, which shows deep cocoa, caramel, and nougat. Flavors have held up well, showing just mild oxidation in the cocoa profile, giving notes of stewed figs and earthy raisins amidst the rich caramel malt base. Hops are long since faded, as this one definitely comes across on the sweeter, fruitier side of balanced. Mild vanilla and wood again emerge, but for the most part play second fiddle to the deep malt blend. The palate is big and sugary, coating the mouth in a dense film and feeling considerably viscous and weighty. Somehow, it manages not to finish all that sticky. Alcohol is very well concealed. It was a pleasure to finally get a chance at this long-time want. Why more brewers don’t opt for wine barrel treatment over the ubiquitous bourbon variety is beyond me. While I didn’t think this was as vinous as some others here have, the fruity subtleties that the Cab barrel add are a nice variation from the norm.
Dark thick pour with minimal head but descent retention and legs on the glass. Aroma is sweet, some vanilla and wood with a good amount of alcohol but not overdone. Pretty smooth flavor, a bit sweet and sticky.
In short: A surprising imperial stout that is both very roasted and very vinous.
How: Bottle 750ml. Forgot to write down the vintage. Old. Sent to me by my man after4ever. Thanks a million Tom
The look: Very dark burgundy body (near black) topped by a medium tan head with medium retention
In long: Nose is very fruity with strong vinous notes. Stupid me I thought that this was another Bourbon Barrel aged Imperial Stout and because of the strong sour vinous nose I thought the beer was infected. The nose (and the taste) leaves no doubt about the nature of the beer. One of the most vinous imperial stout I’ve ever had. Taste is very complex. First I was surprised at how roasted the beer still was despite its strong vinous character. Very roasted in fact, and this dries out this otherwise juicy vinous beer. Vey roasted and very vinous are two first things that stroke me about the beer. Other flavors included, raisin bread, various dark fruits, wood barrel, banana cake. As expected with a carbernet barrels aged beer there was a juicy sour grapes flavor in there but it was mostly kept in check by the high roasted level of the beer. Named after the all powerful god of the seas, now on the payroll of British Petroleum.
Batch 4. Black body with a small tan head. The nose is nutty bourbon, vanilla, chocolate and molasses. The taste is very sweet, lightly bitter with citrus, bourbon and chocolate. Full body is rough with moderate carbonation. Doesn’t work for me.
Batch No. 4 / Bottled November 2002
3/17/2010: Fish Tale Poseidon’s Imperial Stout (barrel-aged in oak wine casks)... Aroma: Port-like aroma (tending toward red wine), very dark chocolates. Appearance: Still plenty of carbonation; pours out in a smooth dark brown color; decent tan to brown-colored head that perpetually bubbles. Flavor: Vineous with quite a bit of dark and semi-sweet chocolates; wood-soaked alcohol; interesting red wine/grape sourness that actually works well with the other flavors. Palate: Medium-full; hefty body; smooth and slightly sticky. Overall: Very good and holding up quite well.
750 ml capped bottle (10% alc. by vol.) from bitbucket via trade. Thank you very much Bob. I really appreciate it! Rating #274 for this beer.
bottle at RBWG, pours thick black, medium dark tan head. Aroma is strong oak and vanilla. Very good sweet chocolate malt and creamy coffee with a thin tart cherry in the finish.
Bottle shared by shigadeyo. Poured clear dark brown with a large frothy light brown head that mostly lasted with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy toasted chocolate, coffee malt, small hop with a small alcohol aroma. Medium to full body with a creamy smooth texture and flat carbonation. Heavy toasted dark chocolate malt flavor with a heavy bittersweet finish of long duration. This is a standout beer.
Sampled via a very generous man at RBWG 2010! The aroma and flavor are very sweet and fruity, but the background in there is dark, malty, ashy, and more.
Posiden 04 RBWG@RLRL-thanks to growler-750ml bottle– pours a light brown ring and brown color that sheets the glass. Aroma is earthy, funky. Taste is earthy, dark malt-roasty, dark fruit, oak. Soft carbonation.
(750ml bottle) Pours a black body with a medium tan head. Aroma of caramel, raisins, chocolate, light roastiness, some oxidation, and wood. Flavor of raisins, soy sauce, caramel, chocolate, and plum.
Thanks to puzzl for sharing this... I really thought that I’d had this before, but I was either wrong or too stupid at the time to have entered the rating. Deep black pour with a thick tan head. The nose is intense. Lots of bright, rich, vineous character. A bit of cocoa and soft fruitiness through the middle. The barrel really shines here... not really vanilla/bourbon laden like so many others. Sweet chewy malt with a bit of dark cocoa and heavily toasted malt. A little bit of cherry and soft fruity hops. The age barely shows on this one, it’s still got loads of time left in it. Lingering herbal finish.
750 ml. green bottle. Batch #2. Bottled November 2000. Different label from that pictured. This one has an old man holding a trident and a red sea horse; a very epic label. Purchased at Bottleworks. Cost me nearly $50, but I figured for New Years 2010, what the hell. Poured rather thin, but has a nice lighter chocolate head. Nice black opaque body. Damn this thing looks pretty good despite the non-viscous pour. Aroma is a wee bit sour at first, but once you get past that you get the chocolate and wood aromas hitting your nose. A very aromatic beer I must say. If I didn’t know any better I would say there is an aroma of chocolate malt coming through as well. This aroma is very nuanced, and I am pleased with it because it just keeps me guessing. Again, flavor is a little sour at first, but then this sucker just develops from there. A touch of wood, smoke, chocolate, coffee, and some roast. Seems a bit carbonated at first, but then this sucker just mellows and provides a relatively rich texture. I wonder what this would be like fresh? I like this brew, but I am going on a 9 year-old bottle. Very good, and very happy to have tried this.
Bottled, batch 3, 2001 (shared by puzzl). Oak aged. Pruney and a little sour. Pours black with a brownish head. Taste of prunes, dark fruits. Finishes with a nice bitter and a hit of alcohol. Complex beer which I think aged very nicely.