A brief history of Surly Darkness in the Bitter Nib. The first appearance of this historic Minnesota-brewed Russian Imperial Stout was in October of 2011, where a photograph of a recently opened and consumed bottle from 2010 that I enjoyed with friends was used in a post with my original notes on the first draft-only release from 2006. That was several years before this blog began and was posted on BeerAdvocate.com as well as RateBeer. There was no photo taken for I had no decent picture taking device. If I had a camera in my cell phone back then, it was rudimentary and terrible. The notes were taken from the bar at the Blue Nile after closing time, several days after first tapping that first keg. I could not take notes on the first night of tapping, because I had three of them in large St. Bernardus goblets and that was plenty, and that's all you'll ever know about that.
I had originally intended to save the bottles that I purchased year after year for vertical tasting parties, which I did in 2011 and 2012, but have not continued on a regular basis. I decided instead to crack open a 5-year old or later bottle once a year. This began in earnest in 2017, when I opened a bottle of the 2012 version in October, a 2011 in November, and a 2010 in December. In the following year, I did a review of a new bottle for the first time in 12 years, with this post. Thirteen and one half months ago, I busted the wax of a five-year old bottle from 2013.
Additionally, barrel-aged versions of Darkness were reviewed in 2016 (the 2015 version), and 2019 (the 2016 version). A decision was made to age them a bit longer, but we don't know how hard we will cling to that policy.
(Of course, if we wish to read a history of Surly Darkness outside of the Bitter Nib, read those posts. Also, click on Darkness Day, to see a series of posts written about the event in 2011 and 2016.)
And now we come to the time when the 2014 bottling gets it's time to shine, having turned 5 years old. This was also the first year that all of the bottles being sold at the original brewery in Brooklyn Center, the original Darkness Day event, were barrel-aged.
Ah, yes, 2014 Darkness Day, the first that the event was being held while I was in between jobs, and found it very difficult to justify spending money on such things while living off unemployment benefit checks. Yet, I found it impossible to end such a rich tradition. (Which ultimately happened three years ago, when it was moved to Wisconsin.)
Surly Darkness Russian Imperial Stout. 9.8 % ABV. 85 IBU.
Surly Brewing Company, Brooklyn Center, MN.
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| This may be the last time I can match the Darkness bottle with the glassware using it's logo. I have a glass problem, and had to stop buying them year after year. |
Expressly black, utter opacity, slim cocoa-tinged head, keeping at a lean length, though lasting long.
In the nose: Deep. Dastardly. Treacherous. All kinds of blackness and richness, tobacco and leather meets chocolate and dark fruits. Licorice, molasses, treacle, incredibly cavernous, holding dark riches below.
In the mouth: Smack of bitterness from the front, swallowed up by sweetness. Large sweet malt flavors take command, awash in dark fruits, berries, pit/stone fruit, charcoal and ash. Big chocolate, big coffee, big freaking everything. Full-bodied and fierce. Caramel and carob.
And here's where my notes ultimately ended, as I was doing something I normally never do: writing notes while socializing with friends. This was not while hanging out with them in person, but while doing some online video-conference calling on the Zoom platform in our current time of "social distancing" to ward off the COVID-19 threat. Was I trying to show off to my friends? Maybe, but one of them had a 2010, so that shows me, I guess. I could have easily gone with something ordinary, and wrote my notes in solitude, as usual, but something about the night urged me into bringing this out, even if I couldn't share it with my friends, ensconced in their homes, as are we all.
And these bottles remind me of those things we used to do, in the Before-Times....
From the back of the bottle: The legendary Harpy tortured unwary travelers by stealing their precious food and drink. This year’s cruel creature defends her cauldron of Darkness with razor claws and a dead stare of malevolence. Don’t mess with her Darkness.
She’s hoarding this massively opaque barrel aged Stout screaming with notes of chocolate, coffee, dried tart cherries, vanilla, rye whisky and raisins. The thick body of this Russian Imperial Stout finishes sweet, with a piney resinous hop character.
Dare if you will to open the bottle and steal from the imagination of our 2014 Darkness artist, Erica Williams.
The question everyone wants me to answer, though, is: How is it after 5 years? I think what I wrote above proves that it hasn't lost anything, and is staying as strong as ever.
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