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.

By The Ravens Of Odin! A Hammerheart Brewing Review

So my readers may not know this about me (yes you do) but I'm a big geek.  I grew up reading Tolkien before the movies made it more accessible.  I played D&D.  I read every last tattered science fiction, fantasy, or horror book I could pick up at Goodwill or garage sales.  I read books on mythologies from various cultures--for fun, not because school made me do it.  Eventually, in college, I ended up with a degree in Anthropology (the study of mankind ranging from prehistory to culture to biology).  Look, teaching myself about cultures and history (and a good helping of Indiana Jones) led me to that!  Do I have a point?  Yes, I'm getting to it!

A particular favorite in my study of history and mythology was that of my own Norse heritage.  Norse and Celtic mythology is rife with battles, swords, wolves, dragons, magical hammers, tricksters, and betrayals.  All the stuff that makes for a good rousing story.  The idea that my ancient forebears sailed longboats on the open seas, pillaging, berserking, and downing horns of mead certainly appeals to the 15 year old boy that still lives in my head.  I even named my tuxedo cats Loki and Freya to celebrate their ancient Norwegian roots.

When I finally got a chance to visit the HammerHeart Brewing Company's taproom in Lino Lakes, I was struck by what a good job they did to set themselves completely apart from any other taproom I've been to.  Ever.  From the outside the taproom and brewery doesn't look like much, though there is a small carved stag's head over the door lintel to warn of what is to come inside.

As I entered the taproom proper, I was struck by the rustic Nordic glory of an ancient meadhall.  A grouping of age darkened oak casks were situated on-end with a cluster of stools to provide seating. The walls were all lined with rough wood paneling.  Pillars hosting metallic stag's heads and wire-and-bell-jar lamps supported the low roof.  Antler chandeliers dangling from above put out a low overhead light.

As the door creaked open, the bright afternoon light flowed slowly across the expanse of a thick wood bar across from the entrance.  A couple of likely viking patrons, (one with a thick beard and the other sporting a long pony tail), at the bar quietly continued their conversation over tankards of ale without looking toward us.  The door shut behind, returning the room to a dim gloom lit by the small lamps and rays of sun from the arched windows by the doorway.  A group of drunken barbarians off to the left of the bar sat and sprawled about upon a picnic table, banging their fists on the scarred wood to a chorus of slurred shouts.  The high-pitched shriek of guitars and the inhuman wail of a tortured voice sang out nearly incomprehensible lyrics of doom and destruction from hidden speakers.  Viking longswords, axes, and the horns of cattle adorned the walls behind the bar, glistening with danger in the indirect light.  I could feel the atavistic Norse blood rise in my veins, beginning to pound to the pulse of the music, singing some lost ancient song of rampage.  This was...unexpected.

A row of tap handles of carved wood and antler bristled from the top of the bar, promising rustic ales for the thirsty and adventurous drinker. The lone barmaid, skin decorated with twisting patterns of ink, solemnly gathered up several small chalices of beer for me to sample, serving them on thick hand-carved wooden trays, stylized dragons cavorting upon their surfaces.  The aroma of roast, smoke, and the citrus tang of hops wafted from the tray as I settled it on top of a barrel.  Rays of light glinted upon the glasses, a multitude of colors reflected back from the array of samples.  Continued sounds of drunken revelry from the rear burst in waves over the Banshee howl of the music, tables still vibrating with the slapping of ham-like fists.

Despite the chaos, I dug into the plethora of ales, ready to taste the history and future gathered withing those dark and sometimes murky depths.  Many of these liquors had been brewed with smoked malts or were aged in oak barrels, which made this one of the most unique beer samplers I've ever tried.  Many of the beers sported odd names reminiscent to ancient mythology.  My favorite of the bunch was the Barrel Aged Hokan's Brown Ale: a good base English brown with a hint of whiskey and leather.   Gorm The Old was a smoked strong old ale that stayed with you long after the sip was done.  Dublin Raid was a well crafted Irish Red with a strong but pleasant peat smoked flavor and aroma redolent of a true turf fire in a small countryside pub. While some quaint names are fun and easy, others are unpronounceable and mysterious like Brekkefossensvann.  I can only imagine trying to order a few of these at a busy and loud Minneapolis bar: "I'll have the Von Winterhherz Verhasst please!" Bartender gazes at you blankly.  "Um, I'll have the HammerHeart beer?"  Bartender shakes head and sullenly pours pint for you.  The only beer of this day's sampler that I didn't really get along with was the Fautzrauch--a smoked pale ale that was just not balanced.

Most of the beers were good and drinkable, some outstanding.  I'll admit that I really like unusual styles and am drawn to smoke and barrel aged styles.  Many will find these beers difficult or challenging, but I respect what HammerHeart is doing.  With their axes and swords they have hewn a small niche for themselves among the proliferation of Minnesota craft breweries.  Located in Lino Lakes, I wonder how much foot traffic from locals this lodge gets.   I wanted to grab a growler of Gorm but they were unable to sell on Sundays as of this writing.  Hopefully they'll be able to do so in the future since I imagine plenty of folks drive through this town on their way back from "Up North".

We don't see much (or any) HammerHeart beer on tap out in the Western suburbs of Minneapolis, but I have seen it around more in the Twin Cities this past summer.  Just this weekend I tried the fantastically complex and boozy Barrel Aged Thor's Smoked Hot Pepper Imperial Porter at Republic 7 Corners.  By all rights that beer should have been a train wreck--but I made my wife go there a second time the next day for another serving.  Somewhere, across the ages, Odin winked his one eye at me and toasted with his auroch's horn.

While I felt an immediate kinship to this place, its style, and its beers, I could tell my wife was less excited than I.  The sounds of Metal music and the drunken louts certainly didn't help with that!  This may be the most unusual brewery I've visited and makes it stand out as singular in an ever growing crowd of breweries.  Well worth a visit for sure, but you have been warned--Metal music and smoked beers are not for everyone.

Don't Forget Your Goat Leggings: A Return To The Thirsty Pagan!

This is the third year in a row that on Sunday morning after All Pints North Beer Festival we visit the Thirsty Pagan for an early lunch before heading back home to the Twin Cities.  Located in the industrial town of Superior, Wisconsin, just over the bridge from Duluth, this brewery has been a staple in the local beer scene for many years.  The building used to be the Russell Creamery, then hosted Twin Ports Brewing Company for several years.  In 2006 the brewpub was bought by Susan and Steve Knauss and the name was changed to Thirsty Pagan Brewing.  Since then, the place has continued to make many rotating craft beers and serve up pizza to the locals.  The current brewer at the Pagan is Allyson Rolph who I got to briefly meet this visit.  She's been doing a lot of experimental beers including a good selection of sours over the past few years, really pushing the boundaries of what the brewery had been in the past.

This fine Sunday morning we arrived right at 11, waiting in a short line of cars outside (it was hot out already!) waiting for the doors to open.  Joe and Jackie, two of our friends from beer dinners at McCoy's Public House, have been regulars from the "old days" and were waiting right behind us!  We joined them and some more of their family for a fine time at the Thirsty Pagan!

There is an outside ring to the main bar area with additional seating, including a sloped floor and tiled walls from it's creamery days.  The main bar area is a rough square with a small bar, hand-made tap handles, and plenty of trippy artwork on the walls.  A tiny stage sits at the back corner with the backdrop of a vintage Miller Hi-Life mural behind it.  Some tables and booths fill the rest of the room.  This is a well-used place--comfortable and lived-in without being grungy or dirty.  One can feel the age and history of the building from the second you enter.  A new fancy taproom can only fake it to try to get this kind of atmosphere!

Before we talk beer, I'm going to talk about food (perhaps because I'm hungry right now as I write this and the thought of pizza is making my mouth water...).  The pizza at the Pagan is it's true claim to fame.  No frills, no artsy flat-breads, just thick saucy pizza with huge amounts of gooey Wisconsin cheese.  Seriously good stuff.  They do have some specials on most days and these are often worth trying out--the BLT sounded weird but was crazy good!  The pizza is wayyyy better than Pizza Luce in Duluth.

OK, on to the beer!  These folks make a lot of beers.  Their regular line-up covers most of the classic brewpub styles like amber, stout, pale ale, IPA, saison--some still have the same names as they had in the old Twin Ports days! I'm not going to lie here, I have had mixed experiences with some of the core beers in my past visits.  Last year I felt that a few of them had flaws, and not many seasonals were on tap at the time either, including only one sour beer.   This trip I wanted to try out the seasonal stuff.  There was a whole second sampler worth this time including the seasonal options and the sours (which I'll get to!)  The sampler comes in a very cool long table-consuming arch of a converted barrel stave.  This is quite impressive!

My wife and I shared this seasonal sampler of goodness, occasionally fighting over the best like a very small pack of wild dogs.  Don't get your hand between Sj and a tasty sour beer or risk losing it!  All of the beers in the sampler were good to great.  I really enjoyed the refreshing Lawn Chair aged in tequila barrel--subtle oak and booze in a subtle cream ale base.  The collaboration between Thirsty Pagan, Dangerous Man, and Castle Danger (Danger Danger Pagan Pils) was hoppy and wonderful--a great example of Bohemian pilsner.  Pils Popper was a jalapeno pilsner that I later got mixed with the smoked porter to make a more bacon-y version.  And then the Pinta Colada coconut milk stout put Dangerous Man's on notice!  Town Hall's Three Hour Tour is still the best though...Keep in mind that I was trying all these the day after tasting a huge variety of beers at All Pints North, and these are still sticking out in my top list for the weekend.

Let's move on to sours shall we?  Allyson has been experimenting with sours for several years now, and is certainly showing us that she's learned a few things by now.  About 3 years ago I was shocked to find sours on the menu and was happy to try them.  They were good then, but seem even better now.  Last year they had only one and I may have shed a small tear or two, but this year they had four available!  The first was a very respectable Berliner weisse, but this isn't a style of sour I'm as excited about (despite seeing over 12 versions at All Pints).  My favorite was the Cyrus Batch 002: a lightly colored sour with hints of pineapple and tropical fruit and a moderate sourness that quickly fades from the tongue.  Then there was a kettle soured red that was a pretty good mimic to a Flanders Red and a version of that with cherry, strawberry, and ginger.  It's really cool to see this little brewery putting out such a variety of sours!  The best part?  I could get a growler of the Cyrus to take home with me!

So, let's recap shall we?  The pizza is awesome.  The beer is awesome.  The brewer is awesome.  Our server...maybe not the best in the world.  When in Duluth, you should really drive over the bridge and check this place out.

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!

Danger Is Still My Middle Name: The New Castle Danger Review!

Last year about this time I discovered that Castle Danger Brewery was set to open a new taproom in Two Harbors, Minnesota.  I had been to the brewery during a trip out there in 2013 and HERE is my review of their old site from that trip.  The old location was in a small red shed well off the beaten path in the town of Castle Danger.  Their brew system at the time was one of the smallest in the state, brewing only 3 barrels of beer per batch.  I enjoyed my brief trip out there, but was excited that they were ramping up production and able to invest in a larger system and taproom.  We just missed the opening of the new site last summer, but were able to get out there this year prior to the All Pints North Beer Festival in Duluth.

Located about 30 minutes north of Duluth, Two Harbors is a cute little town with a rich history and a respectable summer tourist trade.  Old fashioned trading posts, nick-knack shops, eateries, and more abound--along with some awesomely tacky statues of chickens and fur-traders.  The new brewery is a bit further into town about a block from the train depot and train museum.

The brewery itself hosts a large red/maroon building out back that looks like an enormously scaled up version of their old red shed.  Entering the main taproom doors your first sight is the huge block of  wood hanging over the bar with the brewery logo scrawled upon it.  Lots of seating and a wide open taproom space with tons of ambient lighting makes this one of the most comfortable and up-beat taprooms I've been in.  None of that somber dark wood and metal Northeast Minneapolis stuff here!  This is Up North Style light pine wood, maroon paint, and open expanses.  Another large room is off to the right as you enter--with an accessory bar and a large close able door--to host special events.  Even more seating was available outside on a wrap-around patio area, but it was way too hot to sit out there on that 90 degree day!  With the Duluth beer festival soon to begin, there were a fair amount of visitors from the Twin Cities, as well as several locals coming by for growler fills.   The staff manning the bar were quick and efficient at getting everyone settled in and happily sipping beers.

I really liked the pine taster trays that firmly snuggled my 4 taster glasses within its wooden grasp.  For each beer the server placed a small sticker with the name, type, and ABV near the glass.  I've actually never seen this technique before and thought it was pretty slick!

Castle Danger beers in the past for me have been a little hit and miss, perhaps due to the small batch size and difficulty dialing in consistency with their old tiny system.  Recently, the buzz among beer people is that the beers are much better, (even available in cans now) prompting me to make sure I got out to the brewery this visit.  This time I was not disappointed: the beers I tried were all quite solid.  The high point for me was probably the George Hunter Stout, named for the brewer's great-great grandfather.  That beer was a strong 8% ABV stout that fairly burst with roastiness but had enough malt sweetness to balance it out.  I'd be happy to drink that one again!  Next up was the hoppy and biscuity pale ale 17-7, also quite drinkable and balanced.  I followed this with a version of the stout aged in red wine barrels that was very different from it's basic form--much more tannic and almost astringent from the barrel and wine effect.  Not bad, but I liked the regular George Hunter more. And last but not least was the Double Crossing, a double IPA that was good, but seemed a tad unbalanced to the bitter and boozy side.  Still a good beer though--I'm splitting hairs here!

I enjoyed the bright, happy, bustling taproom quite a bit.  The beers I tried were all good and I would recommend any of them to you.  Any quibbles I have about them were purely based on personal taste preferences and not any fermentation or process issues.  Frankly I was impressed with the massive changes since my previous visit to the old brewery.  If you get into Two Harbors (or even just drive past it to get to the North Shore) I suggest you stop in here for a taster or a pint!

Check out the historic depot a block away to get your train fix after having a pint!