Surly Damien

Brewed by Surly Brewing Company
Style: Black IPA
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Sampled on draft at the XV Anniversary party. I guess all hoppy black ales are black IPAs now? Not sure I’d consider this all that similar to the other beers in this category but I digress . . . Dark brown to black pour, tan head. Aroma of chocolate, caramel, mild hops. A fair amount of roast . . . perhaps more than I was expecting. Flavor is smooth and nice. Chocolate balanced out with bitterness derived from the roasted malt as well as the hops. Body is a touch on the light side but that’s not necessarily a knock on the beer. All said, I feel like it was pretty good. Enjoyable, sessionable hoppy black ale.

Tap @ Darkness Day 2012. Pours a dark brown appearance with a cream colored head. Pretty roasty, dark chocolate, light coffee, quite piney hoppy aroma. Big grapefruity/piney hoppy, roasty dark malty flavor. Pretty interesting.

On tap. A good diversion to this cousin of Darkness - but overall I’ll take other Black IPAs over this one. Respectable though.

Decent black ipa. Obviiusly some elevated malt complexity. It isnt too mish mashed. Solid.

Draught at Darkness Day. Wonderful aroma. Of the best beer aromas i have smelled. Had floral and citrus notes. Slight notes of pine as well. Dark brown/black color. Slight sweet and bitterness. Not a bad beer. The aroma was so amazing, it didnt seem like the taste and palate could live up to it. Seems a little lacking. But overall a good beer with an amazing aroma.

16 oz. pour, on tap at Buster’s on 28th. Consumed on 11-4-12. Pours a clear, dark brown with an amber hue and a small amount of beige head. Weak but enjoyable, dry and hoppy aroma features coffee with cream scent. Pleasant taste is well balanced, both hoppy and malty: Coffee, caramel, and some citrus elements. Light to medium body. Lively in the palate. Easy to drink. Overall, the beer is nice but not special.

Pint pour at hopleaf... Pours a darker cola dark brownish black hue with less intense reddish brown wedges with a creamy light tan head that quickly recedes to a thin wispy film... Potent with a roasty piney citrus notes. Extremely hoppy but the roast really comes through. Nice... Flavors fall a bit short with semi-roasty notes to pair with the citrus and piney aspects. Body comes across as a touch too light. Adequate carbonation but the aroma left me quenching for more than what was actually delivered.

Minnesota Winterfest 2013. Black color with a small head. Piney hop and chocolate malt aroma. Piney flavor. Fairly thin body.

I also had this at Hop Leaf. Pours a black with a nice enough off white head. Nose is lots of citrus, faint pine and some onion. As it warms, some soy sauce comes out. Odds nose. On tasting, it is far better chilled than warm. Nice level of bitterness with some faint roast. as it warms it grows savory with soy sauce and earthy notes. Some onion also comes through as well. Initially a solid beer but it just turns on itself and becomes unlikable. Not inherently bad but, like darkness, not particularly good.

draft at XV... I was really looking forward to trying this, but its very forgettable, just too light in all respects, if they used the runnings and made a mild session beer it would much better received but at 5% lots of better more flavorful options