Surly Barrel Aged Darkness

Formerly brewed at Surly Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota USA

I have been lucky enough to have this beer twice, both times at the FoBAB. This year’s vintage was a bit thinner than the last one, at least from what I remember. Pour is black with a thin brown head. Aroma is huge malt, light bourbon, vanilla, and a very fain hop character. The barrel seems to have diminished the hops a bit. Flavor is still exceptional as far as Im concerned. Not quite as full bodied as I was hoping. Lots of huge malt, mild but present bourbon, and light wood and hops. I like it.

FoBAB 09. This was the first beer I went to go taste and I thought it was good...but a little let down from the normal Darkness beer. It is still sweet, but now has wood and bourbon added in as well. Good, but plain Darkness was better.

Fobab 09. Pours black with a small brown head. Aroma is of oak, bourbon, chocolate, malt, vanilla, and rubber bands. Taste is a big mess of oak, bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, smoke, and some dark fruit. All the flavors mix into a big, muddled mess that doesn’t work. There was also a strange rubbery presence, that apparently several other had people noticed, too. The malt base is lost somewhere in this mess. Mouthfeel is a thick, sticky mess. I was horrendously dissapointed by this beer, which really sucks since I love the regular Darkness.

FoBAB tasting 09. Really dissapointed in this beer, expected a better version of the regular but actually didn’t like this one. It was a mess of sweetness and rubber. Poured thick looking, smells like wood, coffee, vanilla, and malts. Taste is too strong of sweet stuff. I wanted to like it but really missed on this one. Had to have a huge glass of water to clean the palate off.

Sampled at FoBAB 2009. Pours a pitch black opaque pour, small brooding dark brown head, dies to a small head. Aromas are chocolate chip cookies, caramel, some smoke, faint hopping, light bourbon oak and sweetness. Thick, initial is thick, full, sweet, brooding. Chocolate, coffee, cookies, caramel, bordering cloying but the oak and bourbon pull it back a little, sweet, hops have faded, coats well. Vanilla, full, smoke on a smaller level. this grows on me and the big pour doesn’t hurt. Warming, bourbon comes in fuller further in. This is nice, coats and sticks well, but is far too sweet for normal consumption.

The first beer I tried at FoBAB 09. Thick, dark, ugly pour with little head. Aroma of chocolate, bourbon and smoke. Sweet god this is delicious. I get some hops, dark chocolate, smoke, earth. Creamy, boozy, an absolute beast of a brew. This beer could make me a religious man. Only while I’m drinking it, though.

On tap at FoBAB ’09 (#3) Poured very dark brown from the pitcher with a substantial frothy brown head. Aroma was burnt sugar, coffee, vanilla and chocolate. Flavor featured all of the above, but was cloyingly sweet. Almost undrinkable. Thick and creamy mouthfeel. I actually enjoyed the non-BA version of the ’08, but was incredibly disappointed with how this turned out. Perhaps the hoppier ’09 will fare better.

FOBAB - 2nd beer tasted- 2008 vintage tap. Pours a deep brwon with a small tan head. Notes of bourbon, vanilla, sweet malt balls, black locorice, spoiled milk, molasses. Dry. nice body. This was okay, but there was some moldy character to the taste that was a little offputting.