Surly Darkness

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

Review #400 so let’s make it Darkness. Bottles courtesy of a couple of super generous traders in Surly country poured into a snifter. Not surprising, it’s dark...pours jet black with hints of mahogany as it comes out of the bottle. The head is tan and three fingers high before receding to an inch-thick cap that lingers throughout with tons of lacing. While not typical of the style, I found the aroma fascinating. The first smell was of floral hops, especially pine, along with some citrus. As it warmed, some of the dark malts and chocolate came out, but still with a heavy hop presence. It smells damn near like a DIPA. Crazy. The taste steers back toward an RIS, but not all the way there. The initial taste is a quick citrus hop kick that tingles the tongue before the dark roasted malts and bakers chocolate melt the tingling away to a thick malty coating. The finish is a tad dry with a slight hop bitterness as well. The sweetness of dark fruits comes out much more as it warms, but again this is probably the hoppiest tasting RIS I’be had. The mouthfeel is truly exceptional. Very, very creamy but with the perfect amount of carbonation to help the flavors pop. Well, this may not be the best RIS I’ve had, but it is probably the most original. I’d heard it was hoppy, but I just had no idea.

Hoppy for a stout, great aroma. Sweet maltiness, but seemingly lighter in body than expected. Components of hops and malt seem not well balanced and separated, perhaps some age would help. Thanks to iowaherkeye.

Update: 2009 edition on draft at Kuma’s. Full pint pour of this bad boy. Much better this year than less, better attenuated, though still a bit sweet. Some chocolate and dried fruits. Big NW hops. Really hoppy and reminds me a lot of Storm King, but a whole lot more body. Will increase rating as much better this time. 8-5-8-4-16. 2008: Draft at Kuma’s. This was one of the most underwhelming beers I’ve had to date. Pours a pitch black with dark brown head. Nose is slightly hoppy and smokey, though mostly I get a ton of sweetness, which is what I get in the taste department as well. A very sweet beer with an unbalanced hop bitterness. Astringent and cloying. I’ll have to revisit, but I was sorely disappointed... 7-5-6-3-12

10oz goblet. Nice to have tried it! Better than Darklord for sure. Poured a dark black color with brown edges and an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of strong pine, chocolate, smoke, and some dark fruits. Taste is similar with a huge chocolate silkiness. Ultra full-bodied with a mouthfeel resembling a fusion of mineral oil and heavy cream. Subtle carbonation. Lengthy, lightly sweet, burnt, medium bitter finish. Pretty damn good and exciting.

(Thanks John, Kosko20, for hooking me up with this one!). Popping this Friday afternoon to start off the birthday weekend with a bang. 2008 bottle. Easy 5 on appearance: pitch black (though not an oily) pour with a great large mocha head that has great retention and leaves dense beautiful lace. Aroma is… holy shit! I am not a huge fan of hops in stouts, but this is unbelievably well done. Great doughy, chocolaty malt backbone that is complemented by an incredibly fresh and juicy citrusy grapefruit hop presence in perfect balance with each other. The flavor is not as hoppy and perfect, but still very enticing – very chocolaty and rich upfront and fades into a bitter roasted coffee finish. The finish is a bit hot, but generally the alcohol is hidden remarkably well. The chocolate character is unlike any I have ever experienced for reasons that I can’t put my finger on. Some hop bitterness is beginning to accompany the hot alcoholic finish, and works well with it. There is so much going on in the flavor and, unfortunately, that is darkness’ slight downfall. To me, this is an example of where extreme brewing goes a bit over the line. IF surly toned this down a bit (towards 9% alcohol) it could be a 5. The palate is much thicker and richer than the pour would have had me guess – very little carbonation with a velvety smooth and voluminous body that lends to a very creamy mouthfeel – easy 5. Overall: truly world-class beer that is a slow sipper, yet proves impressively drinkable – but when it gets really warm the alcohol really pulls through. The one think that keeps lingering in the back of my mind is that this might be just a tad bit overdone and is a tad bit too sweet, but not enough to detrimentally affect its true beauty.

Sample courtesy of some kind stranger at the lost abbey barrel tasting. Pours a dark thick black with a nice brown head. Aroma is coffee, licorice, hops, burnt cocoa, molasses. Flavor is huge thick black chocoloate and coffee, significant hoppiness balanced out with a rich yet delicate and not cloying sweetness. I was very surprised that this lived up to the hype, great stout!

Bottled, thanks Marsblursi! Very black, rich beige head. Concentrated coffee aroma with some black currant. Hops mixed with brandy and licorice. Vinous and not overly full sized. Very well made in that ther is no stickyness at all. Creates elegance out of a chaotic orchestra of flavours: chocolate. molasses, oat flakes, port and licorice. Finishes salty and very bitter.

Bottle thanks to StFun, thanks a ton for hooking me up dude! Poured a deep brown color with a moderate beige head that faded to a ring. Aroma of dry, lightly earthy hops with some light pine and a hint of chocolate. Very one dimensional. Smooth, sweet entry with an overpoweringly sweet chocolate malt and molasses flavor and a hint of earthy hops, but not nearly enough to balance the flavor. I didn’t detect any fruit whatsoever. Low carbonation, and far too thin on the palate. One dimensional in all aspects, and nothing very ’’imperial’’ about it, just a very sweet stout. I hate to be a party pooper, but this beer was just incredibly average. Still nice to try, thanks again Josh.