Surly Age of Leviathans Stout

Surly Age of Leviathans Stout, with Ruby Chocolate, Lactose, vanilla.

11.9 % ABV. Surly Brewing Company,  Minneapolis/Brooklyn Center, MN. 

This beer crosses two of my lines: lactose and vanilla. I am so sick of lactose and vanilla. I hope that this is just a phase that brewers grow out of and I suspect that I may be right. But, I decided that I had to try it anyway, even though I don't know what Ruby Chocolate is. 

Strictly Stygian, fully opaque, large and lush layer of cocoa-tinged foam above, looking very regal and domineering. 

In the nose: Very berries, or cherries, and very chocolate, too. Fruits and dark malts at play in the aromatics. Hints of caramel, toffee, vanilla, too. Very nice.

In the mouth: Fairly  smooth and effortlessly fruity. Big ol' berries on top of chocolate. Raspberry chocolate truffle in an Imperial Stout. Or, American Double Stout? I can't tell the difference, some days. It's damned tasty, though. Not fully bodied, not too rich, not too full. Just a bit of fruity sweetness countered by a bit of tart. 

In the farthest, deepest fathoms of the ocean, light is but a rumor. That vast, benighted place is where the leviathans hold sway.

Age of Leviathans, Surly’s BC Small Batch offering for September and October, reaches similar depths of flavor, sweetness, and body. Brewed with a new “ruby” chocolate variant—noted for being rich, fruity and just slightly tart—plus raspberry puree, lactose, and vanilla beans, it’s complex, rich, and rules all that it surveys.