Surly Darkness

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

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

A-2011 vintage, deep deep black with one finger of nice medium tan head. S-enjoyable but unassuming aromas of coffee, dark malts and chocolate upfront, with toffee, chalk, earth, cacao nibs, faint rhubarb, molasses, licorice, vanilla and mild toasted coconut. Some masked fruit appears as it warms. M-Full bodied. Creamy and smooth with some mild carbonation with warm, long finish. T-while the smell is subtle and alluring, the taste is a relative (and welcome) punch in the face. Rich dark chocolate and tangy cacao lead. Joining tin he middle are Dough/batter, molasses and syrup, vanilla, toasted coconut, graham cracker, stronger rhubarb and some sweet dark fruit notes (raisins) that add the right amount of diversity. The ending is long and sweet with chocolate and vanilla notes. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bomber to oversized snifter (2010 vintage; from notes). Looks good; dark brown with beige lacing. Smells good too; chocolate, caramel, and dark malt with hop notes. Tastes like it smells with a nice, silky mouthfeel. An outstanding example of the style.

750ml bottle purchased at a store not far from my hotel in Minneapolis. Werewolf - 2012 vintage. Pours a jet black color with a big tan head and lots of lacing. Aroma is roasty, coffee, some hops, citrus, grapefruit I think. Medium to heavy on the palate with light, soft carbonation. Flavor is sweet, malty, roasty, chocolate, coffee, dark fruit, raising, some grassy hops, nutty, toast, with a warm, chocolate finish. An excellent Imperial stout. Surely one of the best non-barrel aged imperial stouts.

2010 bottle. Long time want! Pours out pitch black with a short brown head. On the nose there’s gorgeous slow-rolling waves of molasses plus hints of toffee, cherry, fudge brownies and dark fruits. Really nice aroma. By contrast the taste is more mysterious and harder to pin down, but I pick up more of that molasses and some liquorice hints in amongst the dark maltiness. The sweetness gives my molars a hard time once or twice but it’s not too bad. The mouthfeel might let this down a tad, just because it’s not quite as thick and full-bodied as it might’ve been. Slight bit of heat remaining. Overall Darkness is certainly one of the best non-BA stouts I’ve had but there’s still a bit of room for improvement.

Zombie bottle thanks to Ronnie. Pours black with thick, resilient head. Aromas is malty, sweet dark fruit (cherries, plums), Chewy texture with no carbonation. Finish is sugary, heavier body is apparent. Praising half way through the glass once used to viscosity.

UPDATED: JAN 17, 2013 2010 Bottle. There is a nice maltiness and chocolate scent. The flavor was delicious. Everything comes together nicely. The roasted malts are wonderful. The Darkness is very smooth and leaves a nice flavor in the mouth. Overall a must have stout.

Type: 750-ml bottle Glass: Oversized wine glass From: My cousin Sam Price: N/A Misc.: 2012 batch (Werewolf); Original art on bottle by Brent Schoonover; Beautiful bottle, but red wax (I think) on the bottle neck was tough to get off. Poured a black color with 2-3 fingers of thick, frothy, khaki tan head. Healthy layer of the khaki tan lacing on the side all the way down. Good retention on the top, some parts heavy and bubbly, others a bit thinner. Smelled a big whiff of alcohol first. Once the dust cleared, I got dark cherry, plum, dark red wine (sherry?), raisin, toffee, caramel and chocolate. Surprisingly just a back whiff of coffee or coffee beans. Not too strong. Tasted better and stronger than the smell. Also unlike the smell, the alcohol was hidden. I got toffee, dark cherry and chocolate, mostly, but so smooth. Also sherry (I think), blackberries, caramel and light coffee notes. Very, very good. Medium body (surprisingly). Sticky-to-slick texture. Average-to-soft (below average) carbonation. Long, smooth, warming finish. A very, very good Russian Imperial Stout. Really hit the spot. Would love to try a few more of these bottles again.

Est-ce une autre RIS à la hauteur des attentes? L’arôme ne dévoile pas tout mais semble ouvrir le chemin vers ce que j’espérais. En bouche c’est l’assaut!! Cerises, chocolat, moka, vanille, cuir mouillé dans un corps qui redéfini la notion de confort, un véritable gâteau forêt noir avec la cerise qui s’élève plus ça avance. Fantastique.

Chilled 75 cl brown bottle with red wax and werewolf poured into a snifter at a JStax tasting. Pours black with small brown highlights. Little lacing, thick body, medium carbonation, and raisin aroma. Taste is roasted malt (mostly dark chocolate), raisin, salty some cherry, hint of coffee, and dry hop bitterness. The saltiness is not that good and it is hard to drink.

2011 version

Head: almost nothing
Colour: black
Smell: quite boozey, bit of coffee and roasted malts, candy sugar
Taste: start is boozey with hints of coffee,but mostly dominated by a roasty candy sirup flavour, bit of chocolate as well, oily texture, dry end, quite good !