Surly Darkness

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

Serve in Snifter

2008 Bottle for rating #3000:   Darkness is right, light cannot escape even the pour, the head builds slowly, cresting a fingers width before settling down, beige in color, surprised its not darker, still... Leaving a hefty trace on the snifter.   If Nestle made a chocolate milk mix with a hint of hop bitterness, this would certainly be it.   As I sip on this elixir, I wonder what the bounds of beer really are.   Heavy cream, chocolate sauce, and some herbal bitterness are not attributes I would have thought of calling "beer". But this is just that, a heavy chocolate milkshake that says "I hope you don’t mind the bitterness".   Well, what bitterness there is at least.   Smooth, malty, roasty, chocolatey, graham cracker, milkshake like. This is a treat among treats.   Seems like a faint woodiness on the backside.   Happy that it has had a few years on it.   I am thoroughly enjoying this one.   Again, this is beer?   Simply outstanding!

750ml Bottle. 2009 Vintage. Courtesy of peteinSD. Pours pitch black with a nice layer of dark brown foam. Interesting nose with hints of blackstrap molasses, vanilla, raisins and a hint of dried leather. Tastes like a stale cup of coffee with a heavy astringent bitterness followed up by a solid dose of malt sweetness. Maybe a hint of dark cherry and vanilla in the flavor as well. Palate is heavy but not cloying with a medium carbonation. Has a mineral flavor in the finish that leaves a lingering leathery taste a bit like chewing on the strings of a Rawlings baseball glove. A very well made beer, but definitely a little over hyped.

’09 bottle (thanks Sean!). Aroma is bitter, charred leather, maybe some slight vanilla, and somewhat thin. Molasses in there as well. Taste is peat, bitterness, and some acidity from the roasted malt. Decent IRS but no particular aspect of the beer stands out.

UPDATED: OCT 8, 2010 09 bottle. Dark brown beer with big light brown head. Big nose full of rich molasses and roasted malts. It’s a unique taste full of roasted malt, toffee, carmel, and soy sauce. Actually, the more I drink of this beer, the more the soy sauce comes out, disturbing. Oh well, at least the good people of Minnesota have Randy Moss back........

Huge thanks to daknole! Bottle pours deep brown/black with a khaki head. Aroma shows chocolate, molasses, roast malt and dark berries. Flavor shows the same with additional notes of vanilla, raisin, plum, and cassis. Overall body is full, moderate to heavy sweet, and finishes with some nice warming alcohol. Nicely balanced.

Draught. Love work trips to beer towns! Pours dictionary definition black with a thin deep tan head. Rich caramel and sweet earthy molasses. Definately on the sweet side. Balanced with a tad bit of chocolate and a tiny bit of roasted malt. Great brew!

’08 bottle at Summer gathering grand tasting - thick and chewy, soy sauce, umami prune and some roasty chocolate malts. Mouthfeel is plenty of carbonation. peppery, some salts and dark malts.

Had on tap at the Chicago release party at Sheffields. Very good stuff. Syrupy but not too much. Serving: Tap