Surly Darkness

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

shared by I forget at the cuvee de tomme release....good stuff. lives up to the name colorwise....tastewise it is a bit smoky and a good but not great imp stout....not worth the hype in my opinion.....want to try another bottle though

Tasted at the February Northern California Beer Tasting. OK This beer is worthy of the hype. And thanks to Garret for sharing this gem. This Imperial Stout pours a deep black color from the bottle. Small to medium sized tan foamy head. The aroma is chocolate, raisins, coffee, vanilla, molasses and dark fruit. A medium to full bodied Imperial Stout. The malts are chocolate, coffee, dark fruit and roasty malt. The hops are earthy. There is a lot going on in this beer, very complex, yet each of the flavor components seems to blend together well. Very rich and smooth. Hides the alcohol well. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Bottle shared by fiver29. Thanks John! Black as night with a big brown head. Aroma is bitter hops, roasted malt, chocolate and bacon. Flavor is sweet chocolate and a bitter finish. Full bodied, smooth and creamy. Not bad, but didn’t quite live up to the hype. I will get to try this again later in the month, so it will get a rerate if necessary.

Bottle number 082. Pours pitch black into a schott zwiesel glass with a dark tan head at 51-52 degrees fahrenheit. Smells like alcohol, hops, earth, and a slight roasted malt sweetness. Has a medium mouthfeel with some carbonation. Taste has a chocolate character, is hoppy, sweet, smooth, creamy, coffee, licorice, with a side of dark fruit. This beer looks good in my schott zwiesel glass. Overall, a nice brew all around. I think I had this one built up in my head to be something more than it was. It was still a great brew to try.

22 oz bottle, shared by acrdz. Pours a pitch black body with a nice foamy dark brown head. Nice roasty nose with some burnt malt and light alcohol. It took on a little more of a maple surgar character as it warmed. Heavily roasted malt with lots of coffee and moderate hop bittterness. Not a whole lot of bitterness from the malt, which I liked. Finished with a slight salty note. Kinda reminds me of a burnt steak. Mouthfeel is soft and gentle with prefect carbonation, slightly oily in texture. Overall, a really great beer, not a cookie cutter Imperial Stout.

Bottle #530, it was slightly smudged but pretty damn sure it was #530. Pours a deep dark viscous black with a small tan head. Aroma of a fantastic DIPA, yeah thats right tons of hops and pineapple notes. As it warmed some roastiness and chocolate make an appearance. Thick full creamy body that makes you want to keep on sipping this one. Flavor starts with a big burst of hoppiness, floral, pineapple and citrus that then fades into lots of roatiness, licorice, anise, coffee and dark chocolate. Great beer now where can I get another one??

Much thanks to Dmac for sharing this one. Pours out black with a small to moderate off white head. Aroma is more like that of a double IPA, grapefruit hops with slight earth lingering in the background. Taste is nothing short of remarkable. Chocolate, roasted malt, slight coffee, some dark fruits, earth and solid hops. Very hoppy for an imperial but wonderfully balanced. Smooth and extremely drinkable. Top notch, and once again much thanks to Dmac.

Black pour, rich malt nose full of sugary smoke. Rich malt flavor, alcohol and candi sugar with some chocolate and coffee. medium bodied, tangy and sweet. Loved it.