Surly Darkness

Brewed by Surly Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota USA

Tap @ Blue Nile (rating from notes Dec 2006). A solid black color with a big foamy brown head. Creamy, chocolaty, plum, raisins and caramel. Lighter chocolate and coffee elements than I would have expected. Strong cherry flavors that finishes with a long bitter chocolate and tart fruits.

Bottle at tasting at T&M’s. Pours black with a brown head. Sweet and dry with aromas of whisky malts. Also aromas of chocolate. Hints of metals. Bready hints. Some residual sugars. Full bodied.

Thanks to my Secret Santa for this one! Been wanting to try this. Unfortunately, not quite my favorite - not that the beer wasn’t well made, just that the flavors didn’t quite work for me. Pours deep black, brown at edges, decent head that fades away. Aroma is dark chocolate, some fruit, and resiny hops. Flavor matches. The hop bitterness for me just didn’t hang with the chocolate notes of the stout. Honestly, the bitterness of the hops was reminiscent of that smell you get of hop blow-off in a homebrew. It actually reminded me a bit of the sludge at the bottom of the Dark Lord that one year. Too bad, not for me, but I can understand how it could appeal to many. Should note that this was Imperial stout 100 for me.

Big thanks to MrPickles!
Shared with 12many. Of course this thing pours extremely dark and has a thick brown head. Aroma is a mix of chocolate, hops, and some kind of candy. Flavor has loads of chocolate, dark licorice, and a peculiar hoppy fruitiness to it. Palate is damn near perfect with it’s smooth, thick, and soft texture. Definitely different than anything I’ve ever tasted and I can’t wait to experience it again.

2009 Bottle - Big thanks to Toby for cracking this! - Pours out thick and oily almost black with a medium dk brown head...aroma is bold, roast, dk fruit, some resin and dark malt, bitter cocoa....flavour is similar, damn that is one nicely hopped stout, terrific bitterness from the astringent dk chocolate and hops, very nicely balanced with the creamy and thick molassas and brown sugar...very smooth and easy to drink...very tasty stuff...

Sampled at the great Boise tasting 1/16/10
Appearance: Black with a large tan head and lacing left in the glass
Aroma: Molasses, dark fruits, coffee, chocolate
Taste: Roasted malts, dark fruits, chocolate, coffee
Very smooth beer. One of my favorites of the night of many good Imperial Stouts.

Bottle (Vintage 2007 - #253) at home - Thanks to Me.Pitch black - brown head. Nice hoppy, burned, chocolate, sharpness, licorice, bitterness, white sugar, sweetness, coffee, fruity. And a lot more - Fantastic. Powerfull.

Bottle: The aroma consists of dark chocolate, perfume, pine, roast, black licorice, and faint caramel. The aroma is nice, but is somewhat lacking in comparison to everything else about the beer. It pours a dark brown, virtually black, and a quarter inch beige head that leaves sporadic lacing. The flavor starts lots of chocolate, fruit, and caramel. The finish is moderately roasty with some light-moderate citrus and piney hops. Medium-full bodied with soft carbonation and creamy mouthfeel.