Surly Damien Child of Darkness Ale 2016

Can I review a beer twice? Sure, when the first time was when it was initially released, draft only, and this one is the first bottled edition, five years later. This beer has changed some since they first churned it out, so, yeah, I'm cool with that, if you are. Well, even if you're not. Because I'm the boss here, see!

Anyway, Damien, the Child of Darkness is a "small beer" done in parti-gyle style, with the leftover mash from Surly's mighty imperial stout re-used to brew a smaller beer. It's sometimes referred to as a "black ale" or "black IPA" because it doesn't use more malts to bring it back into the stout category, but does get some more hopping in there. It doesn't really fit any category, it just is what it is. And also, I can't believe they still use that image on the label. I thought it was an easy fix / stop-gap picture when they first started using it, but I guess they've gone all -n with creepy doll face. Whatever. I just going to crack it open and drink it.

Utter blackness, this, with creamy cocoa-tinged head atop, lasting long and leaving lace. Looking utterly lovely.

Time to go in for a sniff: Grassy hops kick it off, with a side order of citrus. Chocolate and caramel come in next, swirled up amid the hops. A beautiful mix. Hops remain on top.

Time to taste: Mild hop bitterness begins this adventure, the grassy, the fruity, ending it's stay on the palate with a dry note. Medium bodied, rich and malty, full roast-y and toasty tones. This should suit fans of stouts and IPAs alike, and people like me who like them both. Bitterness sticks it out, and keeps time with the malt.

You know what else is nice? The price. Only 6.99 for the bomber. It reminds me of that initial release, when a 1/2 barrel keg was offered for only $100,pretty cheap for a craft beer. I recall Omar saying something along the lines of: "How could I charge more? We didn't pay for it."

This is really nice, a good drinking hoppy dark brew that I could enjoy again and again. Flat out delicious. I can dig it over and over.

By the way, if you didn't click the link earlier and read the original review from 5 years ago, please do that. It's much better than this one. I'm always willing to concede when younger me is better than now me.

Surly Damien (Child of Darkness)

Surly Damien, the Child of Darkness. "From the blackest depths of the brewhouse comes Damien, Child of Darkness. Spawned from the usually discarded remnants of Darkness, Damien is a dry-hopped black ale. Flavors of roasted malt and dark brown sugar suffocated by aromas of tangerine and pine."

Sometimes a black ale is a black ale. And not a Black Ale, or American Black Ale.

And grassy hops in abundance smell so fine!

There's this thing called a small beer that no one's ever heard of, and gee whiz, it's been done to Darkness. 

A re-fermenting of the run-off malt and mash of Surly's Imperial Stout, Darkness, this one rings in at half the alcohol percentage, 5 %, but I don't know whether more hops and malt are added, or if more yeast is pitched and fermentation begins again with this old, spent mash. I suspect the latter. 

Solid black, slim brown head, settles to a small ring. 

Amazing aromatics, floor of a pine forest, mixed with citrus rinds. Beautiful, lively, and arousing. You want that in your IPA, you want that in your Double IPA, you'd like it in your potpourri by the bathroom sink, you want toothpaste made from it, you want to gargle with it, and sprinkle it on your oatmeal.

Taste: some gritty dark malt, some chocolate, black malt, giving the coffee flavors, the cocoa, with plenty of bitterness and hardly any sweet. Great texture, excellent play on the palate, plenty of room for calling it a hoppy porter, or black IPA, but yet it is not one. It is a reduced version of Surly Darkness, that still has plenty of potency and charm. Plenty of grassy hops still working on the tongue, pleasing the palate, and the aroma never quits, the grassy/piney hop combo mixing well with the cocoa and coffee malt character. 

It's not as rich and full bodied as you might expect if you don't fully understand what they're doing. So stop expecting what doesn't exist and enjoy what does. It's not full-on ale, it's a baby imperial stout, but it still has that glimmer of madness, that gleam of it's father's eyes. 

This is my kind of session ale, and one that I'd prefer above Surly Mild, or anything else with a leaner body, but wouldn't really reach for one instead of a porter, or a Bender. Good work, gentlemen, and a great idea, I'd love to see more of this tried now and then. Beer recycling, it's the way to go!