A Whale A Week: Surly Nein

Earlier this year for A Whale A Week I did a series on the Surly Anniversary beers starting with Surly Three.  I know, I know, I'm a Surly Fanboy...but hey they're my local brewery putting our sought-after beers that I can actually find!

A quick recap of what came before:  The Surly Anniversary beers have been quite a mixed bag over the years, but I appreciate the brewers stretching their brewing chops to try new things.  One was a Quad/Doppelbock concoction that I never got to try.  I assume it was good.  Two was a cranberry milk stout that I first tried at a charity benefit--very tasty and tart.  That one made it to a small bottling run, but I've never actually seen one in person.  Three was a braggot made with a huge amount of honey and I reviewed it HERE.  Four was the first of these that I loved from the get-go and is reviewed HERE.  Five was their first sour beer and is reviewed HERE.  Syx was a 15% multi-wood aged monster, and is HERE.  Seviin was a Belgian strong ale finished off with brett and was reviewed HERE.  Eight was a strong oat wine aged in High West Rye Whiskey barrels and is reviewed HERE.  And now...

Surly Nein

I did get to try a preview sample of Nein at All Pints North this year but decided to wait on this post until I had a bottle in my hands.  Nein is a 10% ABV monster Hefeweizen brewed with oak smoked malt, fermented with German Hefe yeast, and aged in charred oak barrels.  Apparently the idea for the beer came after a brewer's trip to Bamberg Germany (take me next time!), the home of smoked beers.  The 750 ML bottle is dipped in yellow wax and has the most intricate bottle art of a Surly beer yet.  The art is done by Erica Williams--a wonderful local Minneapolis artist who also did the Darkness 2014 bottle.  Check out her website HERE for some other awesome organic and ominous art!  Nein beer just came out this month so reviews are still trickling in. Currently it has a score of 87 on Beer Advocate and 97 on RateBeer, but both have under 20 reviews so far.

For this tasting I had over fellow homebrewer and neighbor Steven Mathistad on the spur of the moment.  He's always willing to come over on short notice for beer!  Also, my wife Sarajo and our cat Freya helped out.

Freya scopes out the competition

Aroma:
Eric: Strong smoked malt--oak or hickory aroma.  Subtle bacon on the back of the tongue.  Some herbal and almost fruity esters as swirled and as it warms up.  Hint of Band-aid phenol.  Some alcohol present for sure.  Sweetness.  Some tannin/oak character as well. Hefe yeast character not as strong as expected.
Steven: Slight smoky aroma.  Some roastiness.  Not as much here as I expected to find.

Appearance:
Eric: Deep ruby to amber-brown color.  Clear at edge of glass but difficult to see all the way through this.  Almost no head on mine when poured and dissipated quickly to nothing.
Steven: Dark brown color.  Virtually no head.

Flavor:
Eric: The oak is strong in this one!  Slight malty sweetness at first, but quickly fades to dry middle.  As it warms up I get a hammy flavor mixed with banana...somewhat strange.  Strong smoke and firm bitterness and tannin presence.  Alcohol warming for sure.  Body is medium.  The end is very dry--clean and crisp rather than astringent.  Not sure if bitterness is from hops or from oak and smoke, but I do get a bit of citrus as it warms more.
Steven: Bitter smoky malt flavor.  Not quite a fruity flavor...but close.

Overall:
Eric: Not bad.  Not as complex as I expected from such an unusual combination of ingredients.  I think the intensity of the smoke phenols really overwhelms the German hefe yeast character.  Still a good beer that I'd recommend trying.  I like Surly Smoke much better.  3.75
Steven: Not very complex (lacking in different flavors).  Dry with an even dryer finish.  Not getting much "Hefe" character.  3.75
Sarajo: This made me think of honey baked ham.  3.75

Overall Score: 3.75


Photo info:  Not very complex this week.  Taken on my iPhone, Freya was very interested in her new big cat bartop rival!

A Whale A Week: Surly Darkness 2014

Surly Darkness 2014

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.

I couldn't dig up details on the batch size for 2011.  The label art for that vintage is a very creepy zombie done by local artist Michael Berglund.  My review of 2011 is HERE.

The 2012 vintage was as usual released in October to much fanfare and an increasingly crowded Darkness Day celebration.  They gave out 1500 wrist-bands to get 6 bottles of Darkness--making that year's brewery release about 9000 bottles.  The art for that bottle was an angry looking werewolf (is there any other kind?) done by Brent Schoonover.  You can check out his cool stuff including a lot of comic work HERE.

For 2013 they continued the 1500 wrist-bands for Darkness day, again selling up to 6 bottles per person for $20 apiece. The bottle art this year was done by Josh "Jawsh" Lemke, (the artist behind the Surly Eight label) and features the demonic horned Brewcifer.  Last week's write-up is HERE.

And now for the crowning achievement of the Darkness family (as of now): 2014!  Darkness Day was handled pretty much the same as previous years, with the same number of bottles sold.  This year, however the bottles were aged in High West Rye Whiskey barrels!  I missed the release again but managed to snag a few bottles from local liquor stores once they made their way out to the Western suburbs and exurbs.  Shortly after this, I did happen upon a un-oaked tap version in one of our fine local eating and drinking establishments that was selling 20 oz pours at happy hour prices.  My wonderful wife drove me home from that particular visit.  I didn't actually get to try the oaked version until we made it to the new Surly Brewery for an Easter Brunch and tour and was quite impressed. I've been waiting for an excuse to crack this one and give it a proper tasting.  This year's bottle featured a typically dark illustration by local artist Erica Williams--a harpy crouched over her cauldron of Darkness and a mess of dead and dismembered seafarers.  I love this illustration and encourage you to check out her website HERE for some of her other works (known to have graced album covers, concert posters, and beer bottles of course!) Oh, and it looks like she's also the artist behind the art for the soon-to-be-released Surly Nein!

First off our panel of "experts!"  Myself: BJCP National ranked judge, homebrewer for over 20 years, geek.  Mike Lebben: excellent homebrewer, entrepreneur.  Ann Osborn: homebrewer, greyhound collector.  Steven Mathistad: homebrewer, busy father who needs a beer.  So all of us are skilled at the brewing arts and ready to try this beast of a beer!

Aroma: (In which my panel is very concise and I talk too much...)

Eric: Boozy whiskey aromas waft out the second I'm finished peeling off the wax from the bottle and crack the crown.  Even more of this wonderful boozy sweet cloud bubbles into the atmosphere as I serve the beer into snifter glasses for everyone.  Rare that I can get that much aroma without even putting my nose in the glass!  On closer inspection there is a lot of sweet maltiness and some milk chocolate and well-creamed coffee once the whiskey blows off a bit.  Mild vanilla and cinnamon mixed with fresh Bing cherry as it warms.  Hints of marshmallow.  No hop.
Mike: Boozy, malty, roasty
Ann: Boozy.  Coffee.
Steven: Dark fruit--plums.


Appearance: (In which we find that Ann is much more poetic than the rest of us.)

Eric: Deep brown but not black.  Medium tan head with fine lacing that fades slowly and is easily roused.  Thick and leaves legs on edge of glass when swirled.  Almost opaque but has a hint of clarity at edge when held to a light.
Mike: Dark.  Cloudy--unfiltered?
Ann: I thought it would be darker.  Nice carbonation.  The swirls in the beer are hypnotic.
Steven: Dark brown.  Thin tan head.


Flavor: (In which we discover that this beer really opens up and gains complexity when warmed.)

Eric: Initially served fairly cold and the main flavor component right away was straight up rye whiskey booze.  As the tongue acclimates to that powerful flavor profile I start to get light umami notes that are pleasant and unusual.  Strong carmelized to almost burnt caramel flavors arrive late--like licking the crystallized top of a creme brulee.  There is a very slight tart finish, but not sour.  There is hop bitterness here, but not much flavor.  As it warms up it gets even more complex with vanilla and marshmallow drifting in on a boozy wave.  Definite alcohol warming going down.  Lighter colored dark fruit (plum, sweet cherry.)  There is some chocolate and coffee to the beer as well. Mouthfeel is fairly thick and coating, but the alcohol and roast give a dryer impression than expected.
Mike: Less boozy than aroma.  Mellow (well balanced.)  Vanilla and wood as it warms.
Ann: Tingles on my tongue.  Boozy.  As it warms--molasses and caramel.
Steven: Raisin.  Rye whiskey.  Mild molasses.  More oak character as it warms.


Overall: (In which we find that I am the easiest grader...)

Eric: Much more complex than expected, especially after warming up.  Alcohol and booziness are strong but this beer is easy to drink due to good balance.  Warming and pleasant--almost like sipping a whiskey but more interesting and less burning.  5
Mike: Better warmed than cold.  Delicious! 4.75
Ann: Thank you!  I enjoyed it.  Nice balance. Probably my favorite Darkness. 4.25
Steven: Very good.  Needs to be warmed to be enjoyed.  Very boozy but not a hot finish. 4.5


Overall Rating: 4.625

So having had all the vintages of Darkness within a short time, I would easily put this as my favorite.  Now this is almost comparing apples and oranges since this is barrel aged, but still...  I'd love to try the non-barrel aged version for this series.  It looks like 2015 barrel and regular Darkness is currently fermenting/aging away and the artwork for the new bottle is already out as well.  I'll update this series when I get my hands on those!  Also some will notice the my wife Sj did not have any pithy and concise comments this time--she was off at Beadfest in Philly and left me to my own devices.  Don't worry I have another bottle to share with her!  

A Whale A Week: Surly Darkness 2013

Surly Darkness 2013

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.

I couldn't dig up details on the batch size for 2011.  The label art for that vintage is a very creepy zombie done by local artist Michael Berglund.  My review of 2011 is HERE.

The 2012 vintage was as usual released in October to much fanfare and an increasingly crowded Darkness Day celebration.  They gave out 1500 wrist-bands to get 6 bottles of Darkness--making that year's brewery release about 9000 bottles.  The art for that bottle was an angry looking werewolf (is there any other kind?) done by Brent Schoonover.  You can check out his cool stuff including a lot of comic work HERE.

And then our next vintage is 2013!  This year they continued the 1500 wrist-bands for Darkness day, again selling up to 6 bottles per person for $20 apiece.  And continuing with my lameness, I didn't get out to Darkness Day again.  The bottle art this year was done by Josh "Jawsh" Lemke, (the artist behind the Surly Eight label) and features the demonic horned Brewcifer.  I actually haven't tried this vintage since it was released so was excited to taste it after a couple of years cellaring.  I was out of town when this one came out and I believe I sent my wonderful mom out all over town to find me a couple of bottles for my hoard...

Cast of Characters:
For this A Whale A Week tasting, we had a couple of friends over to help us out.  Calley Donath-Beardsley and Joshua Beardsley are friends we met at one of The Happy Gnome's beer dinners and they live not to far from us.  Joshua is a seasoned homebrewer and should be taking the BJCP test based on his job with this tasting.  Matt Finnesgard, also a homebrewer who now lives in within walking distance from The Gnome, was able to come out to visit as well.  And of course my fine wife Sarajo took part as always.

Aroma:
Eric: Sweetness and malt aromas right away.  Slight oxidation coming off as oak or tannin.  An alcohol zip on the nose.  Mild coffee and a subtle chocolate as swirled.  Slight minty hop.
Joshua: Mild oxidation, grapeseed and sherry.  Cabernet fruitiness and brewed coffee.
Calley: Cardamom.
Matt: Toffee, sherry, astringent, rubber-band

Appearance:
Eric: Deep and dark--nearly black.  Fine medium tan head that stays around for a while. Opaque even up to the lights.
Joshua: Slightly darker tan foam.
Calley: Head lighter than expected.

Flavor:
Eric: Sweetness up front but balanced by hopping.  Very malty.  Some cocoa (milk chocolate?) and light coffee flavors.  Black cherry as well.  Mouthfeel is fairly thick and coating, but not syrupy.  Some alcohol warming on the back of the throat.  Balanced to the sweet side, but has some bitter and roast to back it up.  Mild oxidation adds complexity without detracting.
Joshua: Chocolate covered Indonesian espresso bean.  Wet cardboard oxidation.  Berry juice tang.  Dark malt extract.  Mouthfeel syrupy but not too thick.
Calley: Molasses flavors.  Mouthfeel light for a stout.
Matt: Weird after-flavor (cardboard).  Dark fruit--hints of prunes.  A touch hot.  Sherry/Port flavor.  Hints of flowery hops.

Overall:
Eric: The balance on this version is probably the best of the bunch, making this my favorite Darkness of this series of tastings so far. More roastiness makes this a legitimate stout, but still not a very roasty beer compared to some (Old Rasputin).  4.5
Joshua: 4.5
Calley: Aged better than the 2012.  3.875
Matt: More complex than 2012.  Good balance of sweet, roast, and bitterness. 4
Sarajo: "I like it."  4.5

Overall Rating: 4.275  (Thanks Calley for making us have a crazy overall score!)

This one was great!  Just one more in the series to go: the 2014 Barrel Aged Darkness!  Stay tuned for next week and feel free to drink along and add your own comments to this blog.

My friends Rob and Ron from Limited Release camped out for the Darkness Day 2013 release and documented the whole experience for your viewing pleasure!  Check it out below if you dare!

A Whale A Week: Surly Darkness 2012

Surly Darkness 2012

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.

I couldn't dig up details on the batch size for 2011.  The label art for that vintage is a very creepy zombie done by local artist Michael Berglund.  My review of 2011 is HERE.

And here we are at 2012!  The 2012 vintage was as usual released in October to much fanfare and an increasingly crowded Darkness Day celebration.  They gave out 1500 wrist-bands to get 6 bottles of Darkness--making that year's brewery release about 9000 bottles.  The art for that bottle was an angry looking werewolf (is there any other kind?) done by Brent Schoonover.  You can check out his cool stuff including a lot of comic work HERE.

Cast of Characters:
For this A Whale A Week tasting, we had a couple of friends over to help us out.  Calley Donath-Beardsley and Joshua Beardsley are friends we met at one of The Happy Gnome's beer dinners and they live not to far from us.  Joshua is a seasoned homebrewer who brought along an aged bottle of his own Imperial Stout to share, nervous to put this up against one of the most famous beers in the state.  Matt Finnesgard, also a homebrewer who now lives in within walking distance from The Gnome, was able to come out to visit as well.  And of course my fine wife Sarajo took part as always.

Aroma: 
Eric: Sweet malt and soysauce up front.  Slightly sharp tang to it.  No hop aromas.  Some dark fruit--predominantly prune as it warms up.  I can tell there is some alcohol in this.
Joshua: Not picking up much trademark Imperial stout coffee, chocolate, etc.  Significant aged hop character, Formosa black tea, burnt caramel.  Faint vinous currant scent.
Matt: Roasty.  Hints of smoke.  Dried berries.
Calley: Tannic.

Appearance:
Eric: Very dark brown to nearly black in the bar light.  Nearly opaque appearance.  Medium tan head--lighter in color than expected.  Head is quite persistent with small to medium sized bubbles.
Joshua: Motor oil after a 500 mile rally.  Surprisingly light head, darkening to tan where thick.
Matt: Dark and oily.  Head is lightly colored--more cream than brown.
Calley: Lace is thin.  Head a bit lighter.

Flavor:
Eric: Very sweet and cloying up front.  I get flavors that remind be of blackberries (sweet, slightly tannic, a bit of tartness.)  Some oxidation leads to a mild papery flavor midway through the taste. Some alcohol warming but not hot.  Balance is to the overly sweet side with not enough hop or roast bitterness to balance the beer.  A bit of harshness on finish but not quite to the point of calling it astringent--almost a lingering tartness.  Not very much roasted grain/coffee/chocolate for the style.  Body is medium but with a mouth-coating effect nevertheless.
Joshua: Malt bomb--tastes like straight malt extract syrup.  Less complexity than I expected from Darkness.  Slightly tart.  Strong dark crystal malt or caramel.  Low hop bitterness.  Low roast bitterness.  Mild alcohol burn.  Mouthfeel with oatmeal smoothness, thick with low attentuation.
Matt: Very sweet forward--nearly honey-like.  Sweetness tastes a bit like refined sugar, almost like drinking simple syrup.
Calley: Very sweet in the beginning.  Underattenuated?  Back sweetened?  Mouthfeel is watery and syrupy at the same time.  How is that possible?

Overall:
Eric: This seems more like an aged Belgian Dark Strong/quad to me than an Imperial stout.  Just very little of the roast and dark grain that I like in any stout.  This is so overly sweet that it just coats your tongue and won't stop until you drink some water.  I remember (and Untappd tells me) that I rated this higher when fresh 4.5.  This tasting I initially rated this a 4, but after it warmed and seemed even sweeter I cut it down to 3.75.
Joshua: Needs complexity and balance.  4
Matt: Sweet and lacks complexity.  My mom could drunk off of this.  Cloyingly sweet. 3.5
Calley: Seems unfinished.  Would have expected more backbone after this much aging. 3.75
Sarajo: I taste something weird...cinnamon?  Hits me like a kinda flat Coke. 3.75

Overall Score: 3.75

This was an interesting tasting.  We came out expecting this to be amazing and complex but were all startled by how overly sweet the beer was.  Pretty much all of us were on the same page all across the board here.  I think the beer could have used more hop bitterness and more roast/dark malts to add complexity and cut that sweetness.  Not our favorite vintage so far in the series.  The crazy part was that Joshua's homebrewed RIS had all the character that we were missing in this one, and our entire panel rated his higher.  This being the first of his homebrew's I've tried, I was heartily impressed!  

This particular year my friends Rob and Ron from Limited Release were able to take their cameras to Darkness Day and document the crazy action there.  Click the video below for a 20 minute romp into debauchery, lack of sleep, and hypothermia.

A Whale A Week: Surly Three

Recently for A Whale A Week I've been going through the Surly Darkness vintages in order to make a dent in my stash, as well as to try them all in close proximity to decide which one is currently the "best".  Earlier this year I did a series on the Surly Anniversary beers starting with Surly Four.  I know, I know, I'm a Surly Fanboy...but hey they're my local brewery putting our sought-after beers that I can actually find!  As of this weekend at All Pints North in Duluth I was lucky enough to get a glass of Surly Three to test out and figured I'd jump back in time in order to work on completing my rare Surly beer series.

A quick recap of what came before:  The Surly Anniversary beers have been quite a mixed bag over the years, but I appreciate the brewers stretching their brewing chops to try new things.  One was a Quad/Doppelbock concoction that I never got to try.  I assume it was good.  Two was a cranberry milk stout that I first tried at a charity benefit--very tasty and tart.  That one made it to a small bottling run, but I've never actually seen one in person.  Three is below!  Four was the first of these that I loved from the get-go and is reviewed HERE.  Five was their first sour and is reviewed HERE.  Syx was a 15% multi-wood aged monster, and is HERE.  Seviin was a Belgian strong ale finished off with brett and was reviewed HERE.  Eight was a strong oat wine aged in High West Rye Whiskey barrels and is reviewed HERE.  I did get to try a preview sample of Nein at All Pints North this year, but will wait to do my official review until I have a full bottle to try!

Surly Three

Surly Three was a braggot--an unusual hybrid style that combines the malted grain of a beer with the honey of a mead.  The style is a very loose one, but the overarching definition requires a balance of the honey and grain characters.  This would rule out many of those summer honey wheat beers that use only a tiny percentage of honey in the recipe.  Commercial braggots are rare these days, though the style has been around since probably the 1300's.  This particular beer has an estimated ABV of around 10% and has very little hopping to it.  The beer was brewed with 50% honey and 50% dark German Munich malt and fermented with a Belgian yeast strain.  They also aged it on toasted white ash--something I've never heard of doing before.

I first tried Three when it was released in early 2009 (Winterfest I believe) and was shocked by how cloyingly sweet and boozy it was.  Frankly I was unimpressed.  The beer was never bottled and quickly faded into obscurity.  Every once in a while it will pop up at special Surly tappings and goes quickly due to it's rarity.  The beer currently has a rating of 88 on BeerAdvocate and 96 at RateBeer but there aren't many ratings from the past year or so.

This past weekend in Duluth there was a special tapping of some rare beers in the basement bar (Rathskeller) of Tycoon's Ale House.  Some cool guys from Indeed that I ran into at Endion Station earlier clued me into this semi-secret event--thanks so much!  Tappings included special beers from Indeed, Steel Toe, Fitgers, Bent Paddle, and of course Surly.  We met up with several friends there and shared around an embarrassment of riches from the local beer scene.  One of these was Surly Three.  My favorite was the Bent Paddle Mocha Double Black.  I'd love to get back to the Rathskeller at some other time since the dark basement bar with exposed brick arches has a huge amount of character.  They also supposedly have at least one of the best mixologists in the state on staff!

I'm not going to lie here: this was not the most controlled or accurate tasting I've done for this series of reviews.  It was dark, loud, and amazing beers were circulating around while I tried to jot down my thoughts.  But I still couldn't pass up the opportunity to fill in this gap in my Surly anniversary beer reviews!

Aroma: 

Sweet honey right up front.  Molasses and caramel notes after that first hit of SWEET.  No hop aroma at all.  Light roasted or toasted notes as it warms.  Plenty of dark fruit like raisin or prune.  This makes me nervous to taste how sweet this might be...

Appearance:

It was dark in there.  Very dark.  So bear with me.  This was a dark beer, but not opaque, with a deep brown to dark amber color (near as I could tell).  Carbonation was quite low and whatever head was present on initial pour was gone promptly.

Flavor:

The flavors in this were complex and layered, changing with each taste.  The predominant character was a nearly overwhelming sweetness, but the type of sweet flavor seemed to change during the tasting. At one point I would get strong marshmallow, at others caramel and vanilla.  Molasses or dark buckwheat honey sweetness was a strong flavor profile in this beer.  Fig, raisin, and prune all twist briefly across the tongue.  There was moderate oxidation in the beer, resulting in a young sherry or barrel aged note that was not present when this was fresh.  Mouthfeel was coating and somewhat thick.  Bitterness was minimal, but enough to keep this from being cloyingly sweet.  No hop flavors.  Carbonation was low, accentuating the sweetness and thick mouthfeel.

Overall: 

This beer is a completely different beast from its humble initial presentation.  Age has increased the complexity and impact greatly.  Where some of the anniversary beers have not aged as well (Seviin) some seem to really come into their own with time (Syx) and this one certainly fits that latter category.  Color me impressed!  I think a bit more bittering hop or more carbonation would make this beer more balanced, but Three is still a very cool beer to get a crack at.

Overall Score:  I give this one a 4.25 out of 5.

So the upshot here is: if you can get a taste of this, jump in line to do so.  Finishing off a half pint of it got a little tough as that sweetness started to get out of hand, so stick to sharing or small pours.  Now I just need to find a Surly Two!

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 2010

Surly Darkness 2010

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.  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.  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.  Last week's review of the 2009 vintage is HERE.

Which catches us up to 2010.  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.  This was the last Darkness Day I was able to get to.  My mom came with for her allotment and to keep me company in line, oh, and to drive me home after.  We arrived just at sunrise, about 6 AM and was several blocks away from the front of the line.  Most of the folks in front of us had camped out the night before and many were either half frozen or half-in-the-bag.  Not thinking about it, I hadn't brought anything to share in line so we just watched folks drinking beers, cooking breakfast on portable stoves, serving from portable kegerators, etc.  Yup this event had turned into some kind of crazy brewery tailgating thing over the past 2 years. We got our beer, enjoyed a couple of pints at the brewery, and headed out.  A good time, but getting much too crowded for my comfort level.

The bottle art for 2010 features a close up of a vampire, done by local commercial art and printmaking studio Aesthetic Apparatus.

For this particular tasting, my wife Sarajo, friend Anna Osborn, and I were invited over to Brian and Tina Ackermann's place for dinner and games (Pathfinder card game for my geek readers.)  Not until that day did I realize that it was Brian's actual birthday, so I quickly threw my 2010 Darkness into the car with our games to take along.  A little background on our cast of characters:  Me--BJCP National ranked judge, president of our brewclub Jack Of All Brews, and geek.  Sarajo--my wife, dark beer lover, with no problem judging me but less likely to judge beers. Anna--one of the few female homebrewers I know, proprietor of Irate Princess home brewery.  Tina--beer judging novice, but willing to give it a try!  Brian--a very good homebrewer who has recently started up the hobby again...and our birthday boy!

Aroma:
Eric: Deep dark bitter chocolate with a mild roasted malt aroma.  Sweet toffee.  Notes of sherry.  A bit of alcohol zip.  Dark bing cherry or almost dried cranberry aromas as it warms up in the glass.  No hop aroma.
Anna: Lovely--so vanilla!  It reminds me of that Creme Brulee from Southern Tier (that I love).
Tina: Coffee notes.  Toasted something...couldn't quite place my finger on it.
Brian: Chocolate covered cherry.  Toasted coconut or something else elusive.

Appearance: (Normally I combine these, but I loved our panel's descriptions so much I left 'em.)
Eric: Black in color.  Very deep tan colored head that is amazingly persistent for this style of beer.  Larger sized bubbles.  Completely opaque.
Anna: Black as night!  Beautiful.  Great carbonation.  Black is beautiful.
Tina: Deep ebony with a beautiful caramel head.  Even after 20+ minutes there was notable presence of head on the beer.
Brian: Dark as midnight.

Flavor:
Eric: Sweetness up front.  I get a very light acidic tang that combined with the raisin and cherry flavors reminds me of a chocolate covered craisin.  Roast malt present but subtle, this is dark, but not a bitter roasty stout.  Sherry cask flavors from age and oxidation.  No hop flavors.  Mild coffee notes.  Slight anise or licorice flavors.  Moderate to almost thick mouthfeel.  Some alcohol present but not hot.  The elevated carbonation really helps to keep this from being cloyingly sweet.
Anna: Full flavor--lingers nicely and feels like a warm blanky.
Tina: Very smooth finish.  Something fruity up front.  As it sat there was a richness that wasn't present at first.
Brian: Full bodied, rich and velvety.  Chocolate and fruits.

Overall:
Eric: A very good beer!  This reminds me of a dark chocolate and cherry milk shake.  There is oxidation here, but it adds complexity to the beer.  So far my favorite of the three vintages I've tried recently.  This one seems to be at it's peak, so I'd drink it now and enjoy! 5
Anna: I feel this has aged and held up nicely over time.  My opinion is that this is at it's peak, and may start decreasing in enjoyment over the coming year. 4.5
Tina: Very warm and restful--use in place of cognac.  I think this is the best dark beer I've tried. 5
Brian: Delightful and heavy.  Sweet and sticky. 5
Sarajo: "Vanilla and licorice shouldn't go together.  I'm a hater apparently".  4.25
And in response from Tina: "She'll shake it off."

Overall Score: 4.75

So what did we discover from this tasting?
1) That the 2010 vintage is very good and that you should drink it now.
2) That the women in our group are much more descriptive than our guys.
3) Darkness goes great with birthday cake and cherries.
4) Brian and Tina's cats can open all the cupboards in their house when being ignored by guests.

Stay tuned for our next A Whale A Week!  Next week will likely be Surly Darkness 2011...

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...

Surly Brewer's Table

Surly's Beerhall as empty as you are likely to ever see it!

I think it's time for some Food Porn on this site!  Those who follow me know that in addition to being a huge craft beer geek, I'm also a foodie.  I've already done a review of Surly's new Beerhall as of February of this year HERE and I've been back several times since for food, beer, and even made one of the cool tours over Easter Sunday.  It will be known that while I don't love every single Surly beer, I would certainly qualify as a "Surly Fan-Boy" by most people's reckoning.  Just look at the number of Surly beer reviews I've done this year!  Well, how can you make me even more excited about Surly's new digs?  You open the upstairs restaurant, that's what!

A view of the Brewer's Table

While the food down stairs at the Beerhall is still well above average brewpub quality fare, many of the dishes have a hearty and rustic bent well suited to the surroundings.  That pork shoulder is a wonder for Minnesota BBQ!  However, the seating is all first-come and "get to know you neighbor" and it gets very busy and loud down there. Coming in from almost an hour drive away, I want to know I'm going to be able to get a seat!  The Brewer's Table is Surly's answer to these issues--a smaller fine dining restaurant located on the second level of the building, aiming at the more adventurous eating crowd.    They take reservations (Yay!) and also walk-ins if you are lucky, with some additional seating at the small bar within.  The restaurant is visible from the upper level hallway through sound-damping thick glass, but you can barely tell you are in a crowded brewery once inside.



We were greeted and seated quickly at a two-top table along the outside window, with a view of the huge derelict granary building at the back of the property.  I so want Surly to paint a huge mural on that thing!  The warm spring sun was just dropping in the sky and shone through the windows onto our table with a welcoming glow.  A few more people were seated outside on the small upper patio area, overlooking the busier Beerhall patio below, but it was a bit too chilly for us to want to be out there.



Our server, Sam, came over to meet us promptly and gave us a little run-down on the menu.  The menu consists of several smaller snack plates, appetizers, and some larger meat courses.  Everything can be shared tapas style, or ordered for individuals.  There is also a pre-set 5 course Chef &Brewer Pairing Menu where each course is paired with a 4 oz beer--the only caveat is that the whole table has to order this so that all the plates come out at the same time.  This is pretty much like having your own little private beer dinner!  Sam was very knowledgeable about the food and beers, and she offered to pair any dish we wanted with a beer as well!

The beer list was impressive--with a whole separate bar and tap system for the restaurant itself.  Most of the beers listed in the Beerhall were available, as well as a couple only offered at the restaurant like the food friendly sours Pentagram and Misanthrope.  One can order 4 oz sample of anything for a slightly hefty $3 (which allows more tasting, but adds up a bit in cost), 8 or 16 oz versions of most regular beers, or 10 oz pours of the higher gravity or sour beers.  Lots of options for different drinkers!  We each ordered a different sour to taste along with the dishes, and I had to get a Todd The Axe Man since we can't find that out my direction.

We started out our epic dinner with the mysterious Beer & Bump--a secret frequently changing special from the Sous Chef paired with a mystery beer.  Roll the dice and see what you get!  We were incredibly excited by this first dish and it set the tone for the rest of the evening.  Our beer was Mole Smoke (the Mexican spiced version of Surly Smoke and one of our favorites).  This was paired with a cold fresh shrimp ceviche with a jalapeno-lime-cilantro sorbet, fried plantain chips, and bright fresh citrus.  Holy cow was this amazing!  Spice level was on the edge for your garden variety Minnesotan, but for us this was stellar.  This dish was fresh and happy, very evocative of the summer to come.

Next we shared the fried green tomato--not bad, but Sj is from The South and it didn't quite stand up to her standards.  This was probably the least favorite dish of the night, but still good.  With this we also shared the panzanella--a fried bread crumb salad with pickled grape tomatoes, olive puree, and white sardines.  The flavors and textures of this dish were very bold and unusual.

Fried green tomato and Panzanella

At Sam's suggestion we ordered the cauliflower, which I'll be honest is one of my least favorite vegetables.  But hey, live a little and try something new!  This dish was lightly fried and served over a carrot puree with Thai flavored dressing and topped with fresh chili shavings and cilantro.  The Thai fish sauce laced dressing really brought in a lot of flavor and umami to an otherwise bland vegetable, and I was suitably impressed with the dish!  I would order this again in heartbeat.

And then time for our shared main dishes.  We started with the lamb sweetbreads.  Nope, these aren't really bread.  Sweetbreads are an organ meat (usually thymus gland) and are rarely seen in restaurants that aren't high-priced and usually French.  I've never seen lamb sweetbreads before so we had to try them.  The dish was more a take on Greek flavors with a yogurt and citrus based range of flavors that really complimented the distinct lamb-iness of the dish.  While we both liked the dish a lot, we have had better treatments in the past.  This is a challenging dish for the uninitiated.

The winner of the whole shebang for me was the Pork Jowl.  Again, using an unusual cut of meat, the Chef knocked this one out of the park.  Served with faro grain, hazelnuts and picadillo, the star of the show was the pork with that perfectly crispy skin, and amazing no-need-for-a-knife tender meat.  This is one of the best dishes I've had all year and will dream of it.  You owe it to yourself to try this one.  Oh, I was so busy eating that I forgot to take pictures of the main courses so you'll have to use your imagination!

And of course we had to have dessert!  The dish sizes were not huge, so I wasn't feeling quite as full as some restaurant visits, leaving me with a bit of room the course I usually ignore.  Sj ordered the bright and fruity avocado panna cotta, while I ordered the chocolate peanut sphere.  Both showed excellent technique and presentation, appealing to the eye and creating even more enjoyment from the dish.  Both were excellent, but the best part of my dish was the pairing with a 4 oz pour of Barrel Aged Darkness.  Yes, that was a great way to top off a fantastic meal!

Tastes even better than it looks!

We both heartily enjoyed our visit to Surly's Brewer's Table.  The setting was clean, polished, and professional.  The service quick, educated, and friendly.  The food options were somewhat adventurous and might be a little intimidating to some, but I recommend trying something even if it sounds "weird" to you--based on our experience you won't have a bad plate here!  For a little reference, I would already put this place in my top three favorite places in Minnesota for an amazing dinner with a great beer selection, along with The Happy Gnome and Butcher & the Boar.  None of these are cheap dining experiences, but they ARE true experiences and worth the money and time involved.

A Whale A Week: Surly Darkness 2008

Ok, we are back to weekly posts about crazy rare beers with A Whale A Week!  This is my excuse to stop hoarding these beers and share them with friends who will appreciate them.  The catch?  Everyone taking part has to help me critique each beer.  I've enjoyed seeing the differences between these write-ups from BJCP judges, seasoned homebrewers, and craft beer fans.

Surly Darkness 2008

This week we return to my stomping grounds of Minnesota, with a look at 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?

And that catches us up to the chilly morning of October 25, 2008.  2008's 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 art for this year was done by local tattoo artist Nik Skrade featuring a demon with an upside-down skull in his palm.  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.  I had a great time!

So I have been hoarding (like I do) my 6 bottles of 2008 Darkness over the years since, drinking one every so often on a special occasion.  Now, over 6 years later, I dusted off this beauty for a last bow. I've stored it in the dark in my mid-60 degree basement.  I invited a couple of friends over for the tasting, since we decided to try a couple of rare beers in one day and spread the wealth.  We poured into Surly Darkness glasses and some Steel Toe Snifters for this particular tasting.  Here is our cast of characters: Me (Eric)--homebrewer for over 25 years, beer judge, beer geek.  Sj--my wife who inexplicably is a woman of few words when it comes to reviewing beer.  Sean Kampshoff--Winner of National Homebrew Competition medals, beer judge, cool guy.  Jim & Cindy Moldenhauer--a very fun couple of craft beer geeks we got to know at several McCoy's Public House beer dinners.

98.7 % of demons enjoy a Surly Darkness...

Aroma:
Eric: Prune, raisin, dark dried cherries.  Sherry cask tannin and woody aroma from oxidation.  Slight dark chocolate notes.  There is a slight sharp tinge that seems almost minty--hops?  Some roast malts but not as roasty as I expected.
Sean: Super roasty, sherry notes, and toffee.  Minty/herbal hop aroma--menthol cigarettes?
Cindy: Chocolate, sherry.
Jim: Chocolate

Appearance: 
Jet black (Sean)  Black as Sin (Eric).  Sexy Dark (Cindy) Dark and lovely (Jim)  Also Opaque.  Off-white to tan head that fades quickly. Fine bubbles easy to rouse with swirling.

Flavor:
Eric: Very sweet and malty up front--bordering on cloying at first.  Strong sherry notes after the initial burst of sweet, almost cardboard but not quite.  Deep blackberry (almost tart) and prunes.  Earthy hints, not vegetal, but more herbal or minty.  Moderate roastiness.  Burnt/dark candy sugar.  Mouthfeel thick and syrupy, coating the mouth.  Finish fairly sweet but not overly so.  Not as boozy as I remember, but light warming.
Sean: Thick roastiness with dark fruit character and deep toffee notes.  Finishes slightly sweet, but lingering hop bitterness helps dry it out.  Mouthfeel medium-high body, medium-low carbonation.  Slight creaminess and alcohol warmth.
Cindy: Toffee, chocolate.  Thicker mouthfeel, smooth.  Nice bourbon finish.
Jim: Chocolate magic.

Overall:
Eric: Still a very good beer!  This tastes a lot different from previous tastings, mainly due to increased oxidation.  This oxidation is still more sherry than wet cardboard, but is right on the edge of turning.  Complexity of the beer is fading in favor of the oxidation.  Could use just a touch more Satan. 4.25
Sean: Fantastically aged Imperial stout.  Big, bold roastiness but not overdone and the sherry notes from its age add a great depth to an already complex beer. 4.25
Cindy: 5
Jim: Hello Darkness my old friend.  More please!  Ages very well. 4.5
Sj: "Withstands the test of time".  4.25

Overall average score: 4.45

Interesting to try such an old version of this famous and rare beer.  Sean and I ended up at the same score overall, but he felt there was more roastiness than I did, perhaps because I've tried the beer before and found it faded this round.  We all enjoyed the beer a lot.  I have another bottle and feel that I want to drink it soon before it goes over the precipice.  I've got another from each year since and will work my way through those this year as well...tune in and play along!  If you have tried this vintage recently, feel free to comment--I'd love to see what other folks get from this beer.

A Whale A Week: Surly Eight

Hey folks, time once again for A Whale A Week!  Last week we tasted Surly Seviin, and this week we finish up our series (until next year's Nine release) of Surly Anniversary Beers!

A quick recap:  The Surly Anniversary beers have been quite a mixed bag over the years, but I appreciate the brewers stretching their brewing chops to try new things.  One was a Quad/Doppelbock concoction that I never got to try.  I assume it was good.  Two was a cranberry milk stout that I first tried at a charity benefit--very tasty and tart.  That one made it to a small bottling run, but I've never actually seen one in person.  Three was a braggot, made with half honey and half grain.  I did not like that one fresh, but a year later it was much more balanced and mellow.  I'd love to try this again now!  Four was the first of these that I loved from the get-go and is reviewed HERE.  Five was their first sour and is reviewed HERE.  Syx was a 15% multi-wood aged monster, and is HERE.  Seviin was a Belgian strong ale finished off with brett and was reviewed HERE.

Let the Wild Rumpus begin!

Surly Eight

Surly Eight just came out November of 2014 and one can still run across a bottle here or there in the hinterlands of the Twin Cities.  As such it is perhaps not as rare or "whale-like" as some other beers, but I felt that I should really go ahead and finish up my run of the Surly Anniversary beers with it.  Not to rest on its laurels, Surly decided to try making a new category of beer: an Oat Wine.  This is a strong ale made a generous proportion of oats, that was then aged for many months in High West Rye Whiskey barrels.  Currently the beer has ratings of 93 on BeerAdvocate and 98 on RateBeer.  The beer comes in a bomber bottle dipped in white wax and decorated with a disturbing bit of artwork by local artist Josh "Jawsh" Lemke.  He's famous for his aerosol mural artwork and has done a couple of other things for Surly including one of their Darkness labels.  

This beer was released very late in the year (their actual anniversary is February) because Surly found they needed more time in the whiskey barrels to even this beer out.  I first tried this at Autumn Brew Review in a preliminary form before the final bottling.  At that time I felt the beer probably needed a bit more time, but was quite an unusual experience.  I've been waiting to crack a bottle and officially review it!

For this week's review Steven Mathistad, myself, and my wife Sj all gathered up in the basement bar to taste this new addition to the Surly cannon.  I served the beer in Surly stemware glasses and we got to work!  We all agreed pretty much on the review, so I just combined our thoughts together below.

Steven waiting patiently for his serving of Eight...

Aroma:

Initial aroma has a hint of unexpected sourness.  Some vanilla and toffee or sweet caramel.  Has an alcoholic zip to it.  Peppery.  As it warms I get increased tart and sourness as well as a subtle vegetal note.

Appearance:

Deep gold to almost amber in color.  Slightly hazy.  Large off-white head with medium sized bubbles.  Head fades slowly.

Flavor:

Initial sweet toffee that was hinted at in the nose.  Mouthfeel is medium, not as thick as I expected.  Lingering boozy finish rife with vanilla and marshmallow.  The end is actually off-dry despite the boozy notes.  As it warms I get more of the sourness that I can smell in the aroma.  Steven pointed out that he also got more whiskey as it warmed up.

Overall: 

The big issue here is that the beer is souring.  I remember getting a tiny hint of that tartness the first time I tried it, but I assumed that might be from the wood or the rye whiskey.  The beer is not very complex, likely because oats have almost no flavor of their own, so they don't add much to the body and flavor of the beer.  Most of the flavor present comes from the whiskey barrel, so this is pretty one-note.  I feel that this beer will probably get more sour with time.  If you have some in your stash I would probably drink them now or throw them in the fridge to slow that process.  I have four of these bad-boys and will age a couple just to see what happens over time.

Ratings: Since both Steven and I had such a hard time deciding on a score, I decided to allow quarter increments on this one.

Eric: 3.75
Steven: 3.75
Sj: 3.5  "Meh"

So that concludes our review of Surly Four through Eight!  My personal favorite?  Probably Surly Five, just because it has matured into something so much better than what it once was.  Least favorite was the Seviin--we had a bad bottle initially, but even the retry wasn't amazing.  I would say that the Surly Anniversary beers have been a bit of a mixed bag, but I do appreciate Todd Haug take some risks.

Next up on A Whale A Week:  Goose Island Madame Rose 2012 Vintage