Surly Darkness

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

Draft @ GABF – numerous samples: Penetrable black with maple-brown edges. Poorly retained light-beige head. Decent but uninteresting aroma consists of grapefruit, ink, black licorice, tar, burnt custard and smoky char. Loose prickles of hard carbonation. Seductively viscous body. Astringently rubbery and sharply charred, yet somewhat juicy and explosive beneath, with grapefruit and mango intermingling with a gooey fudge undertow. High concentration of hop-derived sappiness virtually seals the lips. Roast is pungently smoky and quite earthy. Tar-soaked grapefruit and peach continually prevail over the crisp malts, but are aided by dabs of ink and licorice which add to the chewiness. Solid malt core is enormous and saturated with charcoal, plummy esters and hop oils, but sorely lacks complementary malt softness. Oily java coincides with chocolate pudding, fudge cake and bitter black chocolate. Crunchy char continues its relentless assault on the palate and somewhat compensates for the overly tacky residuals which line the finish. Forceful char perpetually lingers alongside the equally potent hop acids and ink-soaked citrus medley. Extensive dry-hopping yields a flavorsome assortment of citric hop burps. Although the robust char makes the oppressive resins tolerable, I still find this to be far too resinous and acidic for me. Yeast character is also boring and slightly unclean. Malts are well-structured, though.

Tap at the Map, Nov 07. I don’t know if I’ve ever given a 10 for flavor. This absolutely qualifies and here’s why: the vastness of Dark Lord with the drinkability of something drinkable. I was floored. I still am. This is a beer for the ages.

On tap at Blue Nile, and followed up at Stub & Herb’s following day. Presented in both cases in a goblet (Blue Nile being a really nice Surly goblet). Great looking beer- black as night as expected with a chocolate milk head. Nose is heaven- spicy roasty chocolate. Taste- waves of flavours- all the usual suspects in a great imperial stout- dark roasted coffee, dark and milk chocolate, hazlenuts; plus a wallop of hop bitterness. The hops were really well done, and I think I’m lucky to have tried this fresh while the hops are still battling out with the malts. Adds a really nice dimension to the beer. The pineyness of the hops plays well with the decadent desert of the malts. Very smooth mouthfeel and absolutely no booze heat. Damn fine. If I didn’t have these at the start of my drinking day, I could have had many but stopped at two. I can’t think of any other imperial stouts that I’ve enjoyed more. I’m very happy I could time my trip to Minni and get my lips on this sucker. well done Surly- you never let me down.

Tap @ Cafe Twenty Eight. Looks like I have the honor of providing the 100th rating, which seems fitting considering I drove 7 hours this morning, (with another 7 hour drive back home tonight) just for the chance to try this beer!

Idiot? Yes. Obsessive? Yes. Worth it? Well, let’s find out.

Pour is dark black, with a full, creamy dark brown head that lingers and maintains a thinner, yet complete cap throughout; lacing is thick and almost solid all the way down the glass. Aroma is packed with cocoa, bittersweet chocolate, molasses, vanilla, espresso, brown sugar, and some light citrus/pine hops present. Not overpowering, but still roasty, decadent and captivating. Flavor brings out a surprising amount of hops bitterness, which intermingles well with more bittersweet chocolate, espresso, molasses, and vanilla. Everything comes together very nicely, centered around the hops. Palate is full, smooth and creamy, good coating, with a lasting but mild hoppy bittersweet finish. Overall, this is a fantastic beer, albeit ever so slightly rough around the edges. I can only imagine a more blended, well rounded experience if this would be aged a bit to tame the hops some, but stellar none the less.

On tap at Cafe 28 in Minneapolis. Served at a cool temperature in proper glassware. Aroma is dark roasted malt, dark chocolate, mild hops, and cream cheese. Dark brownish black with a thick foamy head of good durations and excellent lacing. Flavor is very rich but even. Good flavor changes in the initial sip, pops back and forth between sweet and bitter, woody and cheesy. Chocolate, cream cheese, caramelized sugar, cream, mild oaken flavors, and bourbon. Flavor is complex enough. Alcohol is not noticable. Palate is rich and creamy but not syrupy. Pleasant chocolate duration. Good combination of sweet and bitter with a slight dryness on the finish. Excellent and well balanced. Only weakness is that the aroma could be more potent. This is one creamy beer. Very very good.

Tap at Small Bar- Division, Chicago (thanks to pantanap). What a wonderful stout. Has the smoothness of Founder’s Breakfast stout with maybe a little more complexity-- especially in the aftertaste. Not quite as in-your-face and thick as Dark Lord 07. Nice thick mouthfeel-- but not too thick. Could drink this all afternoon as a session beer (and almost did). Really impressed with the lingering aftertaste-- something to almost chew on after the beer is already down the hatch.

2007 bottle. (Fresh) Dark coffee color, minimal head. Sweet nutty aroma. Big thick body, but not heavy. Oh so smooth and creamy. Smoked nuts, iced coffee, dark chocolate. Deep full roasted malts. A bit of hops on the back end, but the malts really take over on this one. Well worth the hype. Seems that many locales are already out of this beer, so get it while it lasts!

Dark thick creamy and on tap oh how i love my RIS and this did not disappoint,lived up to hype and wish i could find some closer to home.CHEERS!