Darkness - Bourbon Barrel Aged - Surly Brewing Company

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BA SCORE
99
world-class
-
59 Ratings

rAvg: 4.58
pDev: 12.66%
Reviews: 16
Hads: 43

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Brewed by:
Surly Brewing Company

Minnesota, United States

Style | ABV
Russian Imperial Stout | 10.30% ABV

Availability: Rotating. cask (8), on-tap (6), bottle (2).

Notes:
Huge Imperial/Double Stout aged in a fresh bourbon barrel.

View: Beers (31) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by AdmiralDiaz:

AdmiralDiaz

Minnesota

4.78/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

A: Jet black with a one-finger brown head with great retention and good lacing. Someone next to me left their beer sitting for about 30 minutes and the head didn't lost any retention and ended up leaving a full glass of lacing.

S: Strong bourbon with molasses, chocolate, brown sugar with very little hop profile. Very sweet and very appealing. In a way reminds me of Goose Island Bourbon County with a hop profile.

T: Rich! Very strong sweet molasses and boozy bourbon turns into burnt brown sugar with sort of a funky taste accompanied with a little bit of hop profile that's faded during the aging. Very complex with a finish that leaves a sugary bourbon taste in your mouth for quite some time. I've heard some people complain that Darkness gets too sweet over time, but I feel that it's just right and still well-balanced...even more so with the bourbon notes.

M&D: Very syrupy, but well carbonated, which gives an overall very silky texture leaving a thick coating in your mouth and stickiness on you lips (lol)...really though, it's pretty much perfect in my opinion. Drinkability is pretty good considering the thickness and the alcohol content. I ended up having two glasses and wasn't tired of it yet.

Overall: Very, very impressive. I wasn't expecting a whole lot, since Darkness hasn't been my absolute favorite. With the bourbon and age added this beer is even more complex and very delicious. As unique as Darkness is by itself, this beer is one-of-a-kind. If you ever get a chance to sample it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Serving type: on-tap

12-23-2009 01:17:23 | More by AdmiralDiaz

More User Reviews:

xtrastoutalex

Illinois

4.75/5 rDev +3.7%

04-25-2013 12:50:18 | More by xtrastoutalex

Sparky44

Illinois

4.25/5 rDev -7.2%

03-23-2013 22:17:48 | More by Sparky44

Coldsnack

Florida

4.75/5 rDev +3.7%

03-11-2013 15:55:19 | More by Coldsnack

Jayman931

Mississippi

4.79/5 rDev +4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

A: Dark....minimal head
S: Superb
S: Sexy
T: Not quite Darklord but damn its good..
M: GREAT

Top Tier Beer.

So my comment must be 250 characters so let me wax poetically about the greatness of this beer. Tastes greaaat!

In all seriousness its exceptional...second only to 3F Darklord.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2013 02:09:58 | More by Jayman931

CaptainNomihodai

Illinois

2/5 rDev -56.3%

02-25-2013 05:37:27 | More by CaptainNomihodai

Hopsiam14

Minnesota

5/5 rDev +9.2%

01-24-2013 03:38:17 | More by Hopsiam14

spycow

Illinois

3.5/5 rDev -23.6%

01-10-2013 00:56:07 | More by spycow

jrallen34

Illinois

3.75/5 rDev -18.1%

01-09-2013 03:27:32 | More by jrallen34

josephwa

Minnesota

5/5 rDev +9.2%

01-08-2013 17:31:54 | More by josephwa

benjaminahudson

North Carolina

4.75/5 rDev +3.7%

01-04-2013 19:34:32 | More by benjaminahudson

joedevivre

Illinois

5/5 rDev +9.2%

12-21-2012 16:27:36 | More by joedevivre

Philly82785

Minnesota

5/5 rDev +9.2%

12-18-2012 18:37:07 | More by Philly82785

Curt1

Minnesota

5/5 rDev +9.2%

11-30-2012 23:17:52 | More by Curt1

KingCharles

Minnesota

4.75/5 rDev +3.7%

11-30-2012 17:00:10 | More by KingCharles

Samwhyz

Minnesota

4.75/5 rDev +3.7%

11-28-2012 04:15:54 | More by Samwhyz

sliverX

New York

4.25/5 rDev -7.2%

07-12-2012 11:30:06 | More by sliverX

jimelee108

Illinois

4.5/5 rDev -1.7%

04-28-2012 22:24:55 | More by jimelee108

hansgruber

Indiana

4.5/5 rDev -1.7%

03-15-2012 23:33:36 | More by hansgruber

KAF

Iowa

4.5/5 rDev -1.7%

01-18-2012 22:43:37 | More by KAF

brycelarson

Minnesota

4.9/5 rDev +7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

This is a simply magical brew. Darkness is, on it's own a powerful brew. It's nutty, fruity, malty and as the bottle says - dark as hell. This adds a new layer to that fantastically complex and powerful beer.

This beer pours almost like a syrup. It coats the glass with a thick, dark film. The head, since it was a cask pour was moderate - but the thickness held it well. It's utterly light-proof in the glass.

The nose starts a bit harsh - the high alcohol content mixed with the bourbon note hits you immediately but mellows to the background aromas quickly. The overall list of what you can smell is nearly unlimited. There are fruits, malt, there's a hop back end and some spice. There's a moderate sweetness in there as well - caramel, coffee, chocolate, cherries, raisins and tons of other scents. The bourbon lays on top of all of those - adding a second layer to everything.

There's a density of flavor that makes this beer extremely difficult to pin down. It rotates in your mouth through almost every descriptor you could apply to a beer.

The mouth feel is heavy and thick and pleasing.

Overall this is a utterly fantastic beer.

Serving type: cask

01-10-2012 16:14:18 | More by brycelarson