Surly Darkness

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

Bottle from Timbeer. 2009 vintage. Dark (shocking, I know) pour, aroma of coffee, chocolate, soy sauce. Really nice looking beer with a big fluffy tan head. Flavor was coffee and hops, with some chocolate. Fairly thin. At 85 IBU’s this is one hoppy stout. Pretty good, but I do have to admit that the hops throw me off a bit.

Shared by BA’s FooFaa. Thanks for sharing Dan. A 2009 vintage. Pours dark brown with a tan head. Smells of cola, coffee, citrus, grass, and molasses. Tastes of brown sugar, purple sweet potato, maple syrup, citrus, and coffee. Very complex but much more hoppy than I like my imperial stouts. The fruitiness from the hops and a good deal of sweetness just didn’t sit well with my palate.

2009 bottle opened at the MU "Blackout" game. Pours a rich, almost chunky, black with a brown head that clings like a champ. Nose is cocoa, heavily roasted malts, and a bit of cane sugar. Flavor on this is surprisingly acidic, with tart fruit (could be pineapple as previous rater mentioned, could be tart cherry), and more of that raw sugar. Crazy high on the tart/sweet/bitter mix, almost no coffee presence when compared to a typical RIS. Good, maybe even great, but not worth the hassle of a special release!

bottle courtesy of stfun, thanks a tun! as soon as i popped the bottle i got a very unusual odor. no, can’t be! sure enough, the main thing i smell is pineapple! wtf? super sweet, unmistakable pineapple! this is especially weird for a stout, but i am enjoying the being taken somewhere other than expected thus far! and now to taste.... wow!!! the flavor is as unreal as the smell! i have def never tasted a stout with this level of hop presence! has a huge body with an almost port like feel and sweetness, but then the huge hops kick in, very citrus and sweet, and clean it off the back palate nicely! drinks very smooth, and is well rounded. again, the notable level of hops in such a big dark beer is something i have never experienced before! i want more!

On tap at Barley House in Algonquin well this is how it went down I went to Binny’s in Algonquin today today pick up a 4 pack of Tyranena Dirty Old Man that they had put aside for me well when I walked in there was an old friend there and it was Travis formely of Sams wine and spirits now owend by Binney’s who is now working for Winbdy city Distibution we talked for a while when the beer guy at binnys said that the barlry house had darkness on tap still so you know what did B-line straight to the house the snifter goblett came black with a nice size tan head and a meduim body everything is mediuim in body compared to the lord aromas were of hops roasted malts,chocolates and vanilla taste of the same with a long lasting finish’ very fresh I think that this one could do with a little cellering time to let the hops mellow out they did take to the forefront. this one has hard time cracking my top ten of RIS and it won’t’ it is still very easy drinking and tasty but its just not in my top ten

Thanks to dmac for this. Aroma and appearance were perfect. Totally opaque with nice lacing. Flavor is amazing lots of chocolate lots os hops. I can’t really describe the mouthfeel. Sooo smooth and velvety. Perfect in almost every way

Bavarian Lodge; Surly Darkness tapping! I’ve done this backwards: had the barrel aged version before the main bottle. Anyway, in the 12 oz. snifter goblet, it seems suitably black. Deep brown head shows some staying power. Smooth nose of dark malts with little distraction. Taste starts with some coffee and chocolate. If this had been my first RIS instead of Goose Island BCS years ago, it would have been the same revelatory experience. I find this has a ton of flavor, making the BA version seem like overkill. I’ve got a lot of Imperial Stouts in my cellar, but there’s something to be said for having them fresh. Still a lot of hops and unfermented malt here, too. And a lot of attitude.

2007 Vintage. Dark amber red to brown hue. Nose is dark fruits, thick coffee and cocoa malts, cherries and vanilla, slight vinous scents. Flavor is dark fruits, vinous tones, thick malts, cocoa and coffee malts, overriding flavor is a chocolate-covered cherry, finishes sweet. Medium-full body, light carbonation, thick and chewy texture. Very complex and drinkable at <10%abv, this has mellowed out nicely with age, very delicious and strong all around.