Surly Darkness

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

Serve in Snifter

09 bottle. Pours dark brown with a medium brown head that settles. The aroma is sweet with lots of cocoa powder, chocolate, a little coffee, some booze, prunes, raisins, and vanilla. The flavor is very sweet with chocolate covered orange slices, caramel, raisins, coffee, and a nice subdued roasty finish. The mouthfeel is thick with soft carbonation. Very enjoyable and super tasty, just not the most complex stout I’ve had. The flavors of chocolate and oranges kind of dominate, but also set this apart from the rest of the Impy stout pack. Glad I had the opportunity to try this and will make an attempt at future releases!

2009 750 ml. thank you madvike! this pitch black light lightish brown head is the real deal. roasty but yet hoppy. smooth drinking imperial stout that is world class.

This is finally mine!! Thanks to Boltz7555 for the trade. Aroma is vegetable, bread, then chocolate, vanilla, alcohol, fruits like raisins and plums, toffee, molasses. The beer starts off like a dopplebock, and it takes a second for the other aromas to come out. The appearance is deep black, like brown head. Pours like motor oil. Nice lacing. The flavor is awesome, fruit, raisin, molasses, chocolate, toffee. Slightly different experience than the aroma. The beer is full in body, maybe slightly less so than Dark Lord or Bells Expedition. Creamy mouthfeel. The finish is sweet chocolate, booze, then a lingering piney hop bittering. Beautiful beer. Worth the effort to get. If I lived in Minnesota, I would be all over Darkness Day. Thanks Jason.

Bottle@RBNAG 09.Pours black with a nice brown head.Aroma of floral hops,roasted and sweet malt ,chocolate,molasses and bread.Flavor is sweet and roasted malt ,coffee, soy sauce and warming alcohol with some honeynotes.Bitter finish,full body,soft carbonation.Lovely complex and bitter imperial stout.

UPDATED: OCT 31, 2011 750 ml bottle, vintage 2009, cortesy of Bryan, thanks a lot! An opaque black beer with a large. frothy, lacing, mostly lastiing light brown head. The aroma is moderately malty and moderately hoppy. There are notes of roasted grains, chocolate, grapefruit, pine needles, resin, dark and dried fruits, alcohol and a hint of licorice and coffee. The flavour is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly to moderately sour, lightly bitter. Thick mouthfeel, but not as much as many other Imperial Stouts. Medium to full body, average carbonation, very long finish with medium to heavy bitterness, moderately alcoholic. Wonderful aroma and very good appearence, perhaps too hoppy in the mouth and a bit abrasive for this reason and not as roasted as expected, but definately tasty. (9/5/8/4/17=4.3) 2010 vintage, 740 ml bottle. An opaque black beer, with a large. frothy, lightly lacing, mostly lasting, light brown/orange head. The aroma is moderately malty (roasted grain, chocolate, coffee), moderately hoppy (grapefruit, resin, grass), with notes of blueberries, blackberries, alcohol, some dried dark fruits, perhaps a touch of vanilla. The flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium to full body, velvety, near to creamy texture, soft carbonation, very long finish with moderate to heavy bitterness, moderately alcoholic. Again, a very good and hoppy rendition, a little bit better than the 2009 version IMHO, due to the big depth and the lower acidity. However, not the biggest Imperial Stout out there, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing... (9/5/9/4/18=45)

Bottle of the 2008 at the Grand Tasting during RBSG. Pours a deep black with a thin beige head. Bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, smooth roast. Medium to thick bodied, chocolate sweet. Soft cocoa and pudding. Big cocoa and light alcohol on the finish.

2009 vintage bottle at Jimmack’s epic invitational. Pours black with tan head. Nice motor oil pour. Nose and taste of bourbon, toffee, oak, smoke, chocolate cherries, vanilla, coffee and roasted malts.

A: As dark as night. tan/creamy brown head. great retention rate with some decent lacing. S:burnt malts. chocolate, toffee, light coffee notes. some bitter berries. T: rich roasted malts, raisins, figs, chocolate and toffee. nice burnt malt flavor. light hints of coffee. M: velvety. mellow carbonation level. full bodied.