Surly Darkness

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

TAP: at Stub & Herb’s in Minneapolis - was lucky enough to get a pint at the 2008 release party. Pours jet black with a tan head. Aroma is rich, roasty, chocolate, dark fruits, hops, and the taste is similar, along with caramel and the higher ABV presence. Tremendous beer with lots of character - quite possibly the best beer I have ever had. Re-Rate: was able to try 2008 (tap) and 2009 (tap) side-by-side (thanks Al!). I get a little more fig/port flavor out of the 2008, and a little more hop out of the 2009. The hop profile may be a function of aging, but it seems as though the flavor is different as well. I prefer the 2008.

courtesy of tpd975. Pours a murky pitch black with tannish-yellow head that clings to the sides of the glass. Aroma is roasted and malty with notes of floral hops, ripe dark fruit, chocolate, molasses, some caramel and honey notes. Flavor is intense with notes of roasted malts, coffee, toffee, dark chocolate, ripe dark fruit, molasses, candy sugar, chocolate fudge. Full bodied with a pleasing malty and chocolatey finish. Truly worth the hype.

Medium brown head, good retention and lace. Black body. Nose of hops surprisingly hits first, sorta piney and citrusy, backed with dark roast and chocolate notes. Medium body, slick on the palate though light for an Impy, some extra carbonation i guess? The usual chocolate, roast notes with the hops sliding in there for an extra flavor boost. Hints of coffee and light dark fruit notes. A nice fairly dry roasty, long finish. Nice Impy., Over rated? Ummm yeah, but nice none the less. The first batch must of been killer?! Props to GMCC2181 for sharing this highly rated brew. You rock Gabe! Almost forgot, props to footbalm for one of these badboys to age and try at a later date, thanks Eric!!

Wow, another embarrasment by GMCC2181, offering up a finer selection that I even have in my cellar at the SSSSLT. Pour was dark black with chocolate colored head, steady retention. The Aroma was strong Pac-NW hops, citrus and pine, really way more than anything in the base beer, not sure I would even have told you blindly the style. Flavor was very nice although not what I expected, the hops playing a flavor role (not adding a ton of bitterness), chocolate notes at the fore, yet vinous and dark fruits very prominent. The mouthfeel was much thinner than I expected and also featured some acidity and carbonation to keep it pretty clean. A nice brew, but overhyped a bit too. Thanks, Gabe, very generous of you, finally the Darkness is downed!

Huge thanks to Turd for sharing this. Pours a thick viscous dark black that allows some light on the edges, sits black. Nice two finger chestnut brown head. The nos is rich and fruity, mild soy, roasty, bitter chocolate and coffee, some phenolic character, mild alcohol. The flavor is rich and chocolaty, definitive hop feel, dark fruits, waxy hop bitterness, sweet. Has a very young feeling about it. I would love to try this in about 6 months. As Jason said mouthfeel is above and beyond a 5. Very full and silky, rich and warming. George Kastanza would love to drape this velvety treat about his squat frame.

Bottle shared by Turdferguson - thanks, Sam!!! First of all, palate is a hardcore 5! One of the most enjoyable mouthfeels of all time. You kind of knew from the creamy, inky pour, almost like Guiness on cask but with a big aggressive nose. Oddly, the aroma was fruity and yeasty, much like a Belgian stout or something (Sloth?). But there are enough hops and roasted malts in the flavor to balance this out. They manage to strike just the right balance between these two, mostly opposed stout tendencies, and have created a memorable beer that lives up to the hype. YUM.

Massive heavy metal thanks to beastiefan2k for this one! Pours black with creamy tan head and nice evil lacing. Aroma = whoa. Dark malts, coffee, chocolate, alcohol, hops, roast, licorice, dark fruits, black cherry. The flavor matches the aroma - roast, darker malts, dark fruit, coffee, chocolate, hops, oak, licorice, lingering coffee, roast, hops bitterness. The mouthfeel is smooooth creamy, thick, and warming. Good heavens this stuff is great. Lives up to the hype, and now I want to taste this side by side with the Dark Lord.

2008 bottle courtesy of BDR. Thanks Brad! Shared with cdumler and Alraomon. Pours pure black with a medium, thick brown head. Excellent head retention and lacing. Aroma is roasted malts, caramel, bitter coffee, spicy hops and coconut. Taste is very sweet with bitter hops, caramel, soy, coconut, slight coffee and roasted malts. Full bodied and very sticky. Just a bit too sweet for my taste.