A Whale A Week: Surly Darkness 2011

Surly Darkness 2011

This week we return to our continuing A Whale A Week series on Surly Brewing's Darkness.  This beer is Surly's take on the Russian Imperial Stout, and was first brewed in 2006, in a very small batch and released in growlers.  I never got to try that first year's release, but at the time it was pretty "ballsy" to put out an expensive-to-brew RIS for a very young upstart craft brewery.  They are called Surly after all.

The second year they released a limited run of bottles (under 500) that they released in the very first Darkness Day event at the brewery.  The event went well and the beer met with high praise.  The bottle for 2007 Darkness featured a Grim Reaper, and while I have held an unopened bottle in my hand, I have yet to taste that batch.  Anyone still have one of these gathering dust in a cellar?

For 2008 Surly increased production of Darkness to around 5000 bottles, a big increase from the previous year, but still a small run.  The bottle was wax dipped and the demon label was a sticker placed on the glass bottle.  The next year they began screen printing the bottles and scrapped the sticker.  Check out my previous A Whale A Week post on the 2008 vintage HERE.

For 2009 the label featured a mummy.  They sold the same number of bottles (5000) that day, but had another 2500 or so that they released to liquor stores a few days later.   My review of the 2009 vintage is HERE.

In 2010 they increased Darkness production to about 14000 bottles, also wax dipped and screen printed.  About 7500 were released at that year's October Darkness Day, and the rest to retailers later in the month.  That year the label featured a vampire and my review is HERE.

Next up: 2011!  I couldn't dig up details on the batch size for 2011.  The label art for this vintage is a very creepy zombie done by local artist Michael Berglund.  Currently he's Creative Director at the new new Surly Brewery in Minneapolis.  I think this is the freakiest label of the entire lot, so good for you Michael!

This A Whale A Week tasting took place fairly spur of the moment, since our friends Tyrone and Annette Babione were out to Victoria and Waconia for a brewery tour.  We started with Sunday Bloody Mary's at Floyd's, then over across the street to Enki Brewing for a pint.  Next up we went to Schram Vineyards Winery & Brewery in Waconia, though unfortunately they were unable to sell beer on Sunday so we settled for some good wine and sandwiches from a food truck.  And then to Waconia Brewing for a pint and a board game (Ticket To Ride!)  What better way to cap off a great day?  Why not try some vintage Darkness back at my bar...

Our cast of characters:  Me--BJCP judge, beer geek, regular geek.  Tyrone--BJCP judge, great guy.  Annette--Has taken the test for BJCP but still waiting on her scores... Bill Schmiedlin--JAB member, skilled homebrewer.  And Sarajo--my wife, woman of few words when it comes to judging beers.  This bottle has been aged in the basement in utter darkness (see what I did there?) for almost 5 years.  I served the precious fluid into stemmed snifter glasses.

Aroma: (In which we all get different aromas from this complex melange.)
Eric: Sweet!  Slightly zippy alcohol and tartness after the sweet fades.  Mild oxidation character.  Roast present but subtle.  Raisins as it warms.  Slight coffee aroma as swirled.  No hop aroma.
Tyrone: Slight soy sauce.  After initial aroma blows off, a dark, dark roast develops.  Nothing burnt or acrid--more like a fire from within a wet forest that has smoldered for days.  No hop aroma.  Very faint chocolate in the fringe.  Just a tint of vanilla.
Annette: Heavy chocolate aroma with hints of coffee.  Roasted malts are heavily present.  No hops detected.  A liquid candy bar is the best representation--or a Bailey's hot chocolate.
Bill: Dark fruit notes...Fig?  No hop notes.  Typical of a Russian stout.

Appearance: (In which Bill gets no head...)
Eric: Deep and dark as night--opaque. Fine tan head that lingers.
Tyrone: Black-opaque body.  Head is long-lasting, dark brown with fine tight bubbles.  Head low but persistent.
Annette: Very opaque.  Nearly black in color.
Bill: Very dark, nearly ruby.  Light won't penetrate the goblet.  Only a small amount of bubbles around the glass.  No notable head.

Flavor: (In which we discover that this is a very thick beer...)
Eric: Powerful sweet and dark fruit flavors of raisin, prune, and dark cherry.  Well balanced roast and dark malt smoothing out the sweetness.  No hop flavors, but the beer is not overly sweet to cloying.  Slight sherry notes of oxidation but not cardboard yet.  I do get some chocolate and molasses cookie as it warms.  There is an umami rich flavor as it warms.  Medium/high carbonation.  Body is fairly rich and thick.
Tyrone: Oxidized paper.  Medium high carbonation with slight carbonic tingle up front tip and side of tongue but not a bite.  Balance to the sweet end.  Molasses/syrup sweetness.  No particular hop flavor.  Medium body with alcohol viscosity.  Weight of the beer lingers and coats the tongue but not unpleasant--rather a warming and filling sensation that warms the oral, nasal and chest cavities.  Slight tartness.
Annette: Heavy on the chocolate and coffee flavor with a little hint of oak involved.  No hop flavor, medium hop bitterness.  Very heavy on initial chocolate sweetness.
Bill: Sightly sour and metallic finish.  Unsalted soy sauce.  Bitterness increases as it warms, as does the complexity.

Overall: (Where we find that we are all over the board on this one...)
Eric: Very well balanced for such a big beer.  Not overly sweet, but still plenty of thick warming complexity. Not as oxidized as the previous beers in the series but less carbonation than the 2010.  Slight tartness that I can't quite figure out but doesn't seem infected. I actually liked the 2010 slightly more. 4.75
Tyrone: For a RIS, it is filling and alcoholic.  Sweet with the right amount of bitter as one would expect.  It lacked the chocolate and roasted complexity that this style typifies. 3.5
Annette: A very heavy, malty beer that has a great emphasis on the roasty, chocolaty, coffee aroma and flavor.  Hop bitterness is on the back end which balances with the heavy malt sweetness.  Perfect beer for an evening in January by the fireplace. 4
Bill: 3.5
Sarajo: A little tart.  4.5

Overall Score: 4.05

So there you have it!  This one still got a decent overall score but not as high as 2010.  Interesting that Annette picked up on more chocolate and coffee in this, while I just got a little bit, and Tyrone got none.  Proof that every one's palate is different and that's why we judge in groups!  Several of us also picked up on soy and oxidation as well as a slight tartness.

Has anyone else tried this beer recently?

A Whale A Week: Surly Darkness 2009

Last week I took a little hiatus from A Whale A Week due to the Fourth of July holiday and CONvergence.  But this week we are back stronger than ever with another vintage Surly beer!

Surly Darkness 2009

This week we return to our continuing series on Surly Brewing's Darkness.  This beer is Surly's take on the Russian Imperial Stout, and was first brewed in 2006, in a very small batch and released in growlers.  I never got to try that first year's release, but at the time it was pretty "ballsy" to put out an expensive-to-brew RIS for a very young upstart craft brewery.  They are called Surly after all.

The second year they released a limited run of bottles (under 500) that they released in the very first Darkness Day event at the brewery in Brooklyn Center.  The event went well and the beer met with high praise.  The bottle for 2007 Darkness featured a Grim Reaper, and while I have held an unopened bottle in my hand, I have yet to taste that batch.  Anyone still have one of these gathering dust in a cellar?

On October 25, 2008 Darkness Day was much more organized as well as publicized and by 10 in the morning, a line snaked all through the neighborhood around the brewery.  I arrived there around 9:30 or so and was able to get a spot fairly close to the front of the line.  A few folks from out of state had camped out overnight and shared some epic beers the night before.  They were feeling no pain.  That year Surly increased production of Darkness to around 5000 bottles, a big increase from the previous year, but still a small run.  If you were in the first 700 people in line you got a wrist-band allowing you up to 6 bottles for a total of $100, about $16.67 a bottle.  The bottle was wax dipped and the label was actually a sticker placed on the glass bottle.  The next year they began screen printing the bottles and scrapped the sticker.  Darkness Day itself featured live metal music, various Surly beers, and limited food options.  Check out my previous A Whale A Week post on that vintage HERE.

And we move on to October 24 of 2009 for another run at Darkness Day.  I was able to make this event as well, but now that the cat was out of the bag, crowds were getting bigger, requiring me to get there early--8 AM or so--and I was still pretty far back in line.  The first 800 people in line got a wristband, allowing them to buy 6 bottles for $18 apiece once they finally got into the brewery.grounds later that day.  I made it!  As had been the case in the previous year, folks had camped out the night before and had epic bottle shares through the wee hours.  Some people were already drunk/hung over before we even got into the brewery!  Pace yourselves people!  The Surly crew did have a keg of Coffee Bender for those in line in the morning--a perfect way to stay happy and awake.  They sold the same number of bottles (5000) that day, but had another 2500 or so that they released to liquor stores a few days later.  The event again had metal music, Surly beers on tap, Smoke right out of the bright tanks, and tons of swag to buy.

The 2009 bottle label art was done by local artist David Witt (or DWITT) and featured a creepy mummy in bright white and orange.  Since then, DWITT has done several other beer related projects including can design for Indeed Brewing and the art for Zombie Crawl.  This was the first year that the Darkness bottle was screen printed instead of having a sticker label, though was still wax dipped.

For this tasting I had over Steven Mathistad, fellow homebrewer and convenient neighbor to help me out.  Also as usual my wife Sarajo helped us out with drinking...We served these into Darkness snifter glasses for proper effect!

Aroma:
Eric: Molasses or slightly burnt sugar.  Sherry cask/oak tannin--bordering on cardboard.  Almost an herbal or minty quality as swirled.  Hints of red grape or red wine.  Raisin and prune as it warms up.  No hops to speak of.
Steven: Caramel.  Licorice and dark sugar.  Not much dark fruit.

Appearance:
Deep black and opaque, but with slight ruby highlights at edge of glass when held to bright bar light.  Fine to nearly absent tan head that fades quickly to nothing.  Pitch black.

Flavor:
Eric: Very sweet up front. Strong flavors of molasses and bitter licorice root.  Oxidized but not overwhelming.  Body a bit thin for the style and much more so than the thick 2008 vintage--more like an Imperial porter.  Stronger roast and and dark baker's chocolate than previous year, but still subtle flavors compared to many RIS style beers.  Some bitterness, but no hop flavor.  Some alcohol warming but not hot.  Lots of prune flavors present--this one might keep you regular!
Steven: Plums or dark fruit is strong.  Slight tannin flavors.  Medium body to almost thin, but not watery.

Overall:
Eric: Actually improved from previous tasting of this vintage.  Smoother than remembered.  4/5
Steven: Not bad, but lacks something.  4.25/5
Sarajo: "Very anise-y...not to be confused with anus-y, which is completely different..." 3.5/5

Total average score: 3.9

This beer has always been my least favorite vintage of Darkness.  I will say that compared to about 2 years ago, I liked it more this time.  The oxidation has actually added complexity to this batch, but I think another year will push it over the edge into cardboard territory.  Drink this now if you have any stashed away.  So far I like the 2008 better.  Continuing on with my Darkness series, we will do the 2010 Vampire bottle next!  Stay tuned...

Limited Release Episode 9: Surly Darkness, Steel Toe, Fulton!

Here is a link to my friend's show Limited Release.  This month they visit Steel Toe and Fulton breweries, culminating in Surly Darkness Day!  Including a cool interview with one of the best MN brewers Jason Schoneman of Steel Toe, and with Alvey from the Four Firkins.  I'm not in this episode but you should watch it anyway! Catch up on old episodes if you haven't seen them yet!

http://www.limitedreleasebeer.com/the-beer/darkness-day/

Limited Release Ep. 3: Surly Darkness Day

Rob Wengler and Ron Johnson, some old friends of mine from High School, have been working on a web-based show called Limited Release over the last 2 years.  The idea is to get to some of the special release days for those incredibly hard to find and rare beers that most of us beer geeks only dream of getting to try.  Since most of these events require lots of time waiting in lines and often travel to other states, this is a great way to see what the fuss is all about without actually getting there.  The downside?  Not getting to actually the amazing beer they are talking about! (Follow the link above for the current episode and the website.)

What sets this show above a lot of podcast/blogs is the work that goes into each episode. There is a lot of post-production and prep to get these looking and sounding good.  The first episode's sound quality was a bit suspect, but that apparently was due to a computer crash causing a loss of the better sound files.  They have greatly improved that over the next two episodes.  Also included in each episode are some fun animations ranging in style from South Park to Atari computer graphics.

Rob and Ron always include a good amount of background info on the beers and the breweries, filming in places like my bar, The Four Firkins and The Bruery's Barrel Room.  They usually manage to organize an exclusive interview with the brewer, and in this episode they get to talk a bit to Todd Haug from Surly.

Hard at work or checking Facebook?

My favorite part of the episodes so far is where Rob lets me try the rare and expensive beer and give my impressions as a "Beer Expert."  I like the free awesome beer part, but always feel a little (a lot) weird about being on camera.  Last month Rob brought over his camera and a bottle of 2012 Darkness for us to try.  We filmed at my basement bar over a couple of hours, ending up with a clip about a minute long in the final version of the episode.  Post-production and editing can make anyone seem like they know their stuff!  There was a brief cameo from my cat Freya, and I think she handled being in the lime-light better than I.  During our filming she actually started licking the crap out of the Darkness bottle sitting on the bar, but we didn't get a good enough shot to use in the episode.

Freya enjoying her time in the spot-lights

The next episode is The Bruery's Black Tuesday (currently in post-production) and I'm hoping I get tapped as expert witness again!  They plan on heading out to film Pliny the Younger as a break from all those Imperial stouts, but since that one is draft only I might not get a chance to try it.  Dang!

I'm a big fan of these guys and what they do.  If you like what you see in the episodes like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.  In the past they have given away bottles of Dark Lord and Autumn Brew Review tickets as special prizes for their fans.  Share the links with your beer-geek friends too!  For now this is purely for fun, but they would love to be able to get some funding/sponsorship for the show to allow for more travel and better equipment, and the best way to do that is getting the word out.  Also tell us what you think!  What do you want more of?  What do you want less of? (and don't say me!)  http://www.limitedreleasebeer.com/the-beer/darkness-day/