Surly Darkness

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

2008, 22oz black/gold wax-dipped bomber into snifter. Split seven ways with some friends at FFF’s. Poured a enough to make a nice review, but not pass out. A - Jet black, coffee/cream colored head, sticky lacing along the side of the snifter. Pretty much similar to all other top-notch examples of this style. S - Sweet chocolate, molasses, raisins. Smells so good I would like to eat this beer instead of drink. One whiff and I’m ready to dig in to my dessert! Nothing overly complex, but damn good nonetheless. T - Chocolate cake with chocolate cream filling topped with chocolate sprinkles and chocolate syrup. In other words, lots of chocolate here! No real alcohol burn present and when compared to Dark Lord, almost zero (I realize DL is 13% though). Very sweet, no real hops/bitterness at all. It’s like drinking chocolate syrup (in a good way). M - A little more thin then what I was expecting but oh-so smooth. It just covers your mouth in sweet goodness! D - Very easy to drink for the style. I will revisit in another six months or so to see how it’s coming along. All in all, a great RIS, worthy of the rating and hype.

pours dark black with tan head, good lacing. Thick and rich, creamy, very sweet, but in an excellent way. Lots of flavors collide, chocolate, vanilla. coffee. Make sure you take your time drinking this one. as the temp goes up the flavors get better.

2008 bottle into snifter. Pours opaque black, as expected, with a small, light brown head that lingers for a moment, then fades to a light top layer of bubbles. Aroma has a lot of raisin, red wine scents, maybe a little citrus. What I didn’t expect was the sweet hop aroma. On the other hand, there’s not the usual coffee or chocolate on the nose. Flavor is initially sacchariny sweet, but after you get past that you can make out a lot of sweet fruit (cherry), dark gourmet chocolate, medium maltiness for the style, espresso oils. Alcohol is well hidden. I really have to emphasize that this is one sweet pancake syrup. And this is coming from one who likes huge, sugary impys and barleywines. But the sweetness in this one has even my ass kicked, otherwise it deserved a 10 in flavor because of complexity and richness. Mouthfeel is full and gooey like an impy should be. Overall, excellent plus.

Bottle. Thanks to hrking for this gem. Pours a black color with a longlasting tan head. Has a roasted malty coffe and chocolate aroma with some hints of vanilla. Roasted heavy malty chocolate flavor with some hints of coffe and some weak hints of dark fruit. Has a roasted malty chocolate finish with a long bitter aftertaste.

From the Jug at the GABF, Colorado Convention Center 13/10/2007 Roast aroma. Small beige head. Black strong in alcohol and hoppy with a crisp and bitter slightly dry full roast finish.

Bottle 75cl. @ home.
[ Trade by Bobby91w ]. Clear dark black color with a large, frothy - creamy, excellent lacing, fully lasting, light brown head. Aroma is heavy malty, chocolate, moderate roasted, coffee, vanilla, alcohol, berry sweet - cherry ? Flavor is heavy sweet, light light acidic, and moderate to heavy bitter with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily - creamy, carbonation is soft, finish feel is light alcoholic. [20090608]

Originally reviewed 11/10/2008... 750 bottle #174 (2007), black over maroon wax into Reidel Vinum Cab glass... Pours a black coffee brown with a maple/peanut butter-colored head (1 finger) that comes and goes, leaving sparse bubbles in the middle of the glass. Very viscous...sparse to decent lacing but solid trails up and down the glass. One word...bountiful. Hearty malt candy sweetness with salty roasted peanuts and extremely deep caramel and chocolate malt. Alcohol wraps up in the thickness of it all. Is there enough room for hops? A cool bitterness of grass and slight pine detected. Aroma mellows slightly after pouring and with time. This, for all its depth and complexity, is much drier on the palate than on the nose. Grass hop profile comes about with slight pine in the back. Salty peanut brittle forward malt taste. I know the sweetness...I know there’s alcohol, but it’s quite contained. Bittersweet chocolate emerges and strengthens with warmth. Absolutely love the dryness of this. After a while the alcohol gets a little warm but it works in Beautiful Chemistry with the dry, chocolate coffee texture along with solid hop wilderness. Slowly slides down the palate in its extreme viscosity. Finish is slow and sultry. In spots there’s slight emptiness but the holes get filled in right quick. Oh, it’s a sipper alright, but a damn fine one at that. One of the ultimate examples of balance in overabundance and utter depth. One of the best!

2007 Bottle @ Anders37. Black with dark brown head. Roasted soy chocolate herbs alcohol.