Surly Brewing Company Darkness Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged

Darkness Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged

 

Surly Brewing Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States 🇺🇸

  Stout - Imperial Rotating Out of Production
Score
8.14
ABV: 12.0% IBU: - Ticks: 123
Darkness is a beer of fable and legend. Malty and intense, yet velvety smooth. This special edition of our massive Russian imperial stout matured in rye whiskey barrels and brings waves of chocolate, vanilla, dried fruit, and cherry flavors, enhanced by the oak and spice of the barrel.
 

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8.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bomber at share. Black, smooth pour, thin beige head. Aroma brings roasty malts and a hefty helping of bourbon booziness. Taste is roasty, bitter, mild sweetness, chocolate, anise, currants and more whiskey.

Tried on 01 Jan 2023 at 23:51


7.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle. Pours a jet black hue with a medium beige head. Huge sweet roast and dark fruit aromas, a bit of aged must. Rich chocolate, vanilla, sweet dark fruit, motor can oil. Sweet, but not too sweet. Very good. The barrel shines through, but not massively. Some oxidation, but it didn't distract.
Earlier Rating: 6/9/2020 Total Score: 4.2
2019 Bottle thanks to Eric. Pours a pitch black hue with a medium brown head. Huge cascades of dark fruit, barrel, chocolates. Sharp rich whiskey, dark fruit, sugary sweet dark fruit, tobacco, woody. Just lovely.

Tried from Bottle on 27 Oct 2022 at 04:20


8.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

Pours mahogany tinged black into a snifter. Mocha head with medium retention recedes to hug rim. Chocolate, espresso and oaked vanilla aromas. Slick and sweet with dark caramel, dark chocolate, espresso and vanilla upfront turning to warm bourbon and oak in the lasting finish.

Tried on 24 Aug 2021 at 23:56


8.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 10 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

18/6/2021. Bottle sample courtesy of SHIG, cheers. Pours very dark brown with minimal head. Aroma is super luxurious, milk chocolate, caramel, wood, bourbon, biscuit, honeycomb, boozy dried fruits, vanilla, initial touch of soy. Moderate sweetness and light roasted bitterness. Full body, silky smooth texture, very soft carbonation. Lovely stuff.

Tried from Bottle on 18 Jun 2021 at 08:33


8.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle split at the Grand Reunion Tasting at MM, Thanks to Dave , 20/05/21. Black with a good sized tan head. Nose is dark malts, old skool impy bourbonics assaulting the nostrils, chocolate dipped raisins, mellow roasted tones, spice. Taste comprises dark malts, bourbon rip, chocolate, dates, raisins, liquorice, boozey tunes. Full bodied, fine carbonation, balanced rising alcohol at the close and a solid kick of bourbon. Top class stuff with a definite old skool lean.

Tried from Bottle on 15 Jun 2021 at 09:05


4.1
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 2 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 2.5

2021 bottle, drunk June 5, 2021.
Viscous, inky-black pour with a tan head that very quickly fizzles.
Hmmmm, that's an awful lot of soy in the nose....
Add to it a good deal of fig/raisin/prune with very minor barrel character and fairly good restraint on the alcohol appearance. No real fudgey/heavily chocolatey malt character, or maybe it's just been obscured by the big oxidation notes.
In the mouth it's just completely oxidized....wow. Soy, cardboard, acidic concord grape...any enjoyment of rich malts is ruined by the heavy soy/madeira character. Seems pretty well-attenuated, not overly boozey and has an oily/viscous texture with very little carbonation.
Not trying to go against the grain here or anything and not exaggerating the level of oxidation. It was basically undrinkable and everyone poured their glasses out and we dumped the bottle after a couple sips.
Earlier Rating: 10/15/2018 Total Score: 4.1
750mL bottled 1/17/18, shared by Chris on 10/13/18.
Tan-chocolate edges seem to indicate at least some clarity, with a dark mahogany body and tan head that slowly fades to ring.
Plummy in the nose, showing good dark fruit, with vanilla, chocolate, caramel and lightly bready specialty malts and no aggressive edges or raw alcohol. Smells surprisingly English-influenced, if not full-on English. But it's certainly not an adjunct and sugar bomb American version, nor is the barrel heavy/domineering. Only lightly spicy whiskey, woven-in nicely to the rest of the beer.
Lighter for an Imperial Stout, with great attenuation and a good maltiness, not syrupiness. Light whiskey, raisin, plum, vanilla and lingering prune and chocolate. Very light barrel and almost no sign of the alcohol. Low but engaging carbonation, soft-to-slick texture. Lovely!

Tried from Bottle on 09 Jun 2021 at 20:49


8.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle shared at Colin's place. Huge thanks to Wingman for this one. A dark mahogany brown coloured pour with a halo of tan head. Aroma is semi sweet. Big coconut, vanilla, oak, chocolate vanilla cakey. Flavour is composed of medium sweet, coconut, vanilla, oak, some jammy fruits. Palate, medium sweet, rounded, oily. Moderate carbonation.

Tried from Bottle on 20 May 2021 at 12:23


8.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

Bottle shared in HW - big cheers to Dave. Pours black-brown with a bubbly beige head. Medium to big sweet, rich roast, molasses, cocoa, bourbon. Full bodied, oily and lightly chewy, with fine carbonation. Warming finish, oily chocolate, rich bourbon, burnt honey, ash, earth. Outstanding.

Tried from Bottle on 20 May 2021 at 12:19


8.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle shared at Cloins picked up in the US. Pours jet with tan head. Aroma is boozy dried fruit, coconut, chocolate, molasses, jammy red fruit. Taste is chocolate, molasses, boozy dried fruit, loads of boozy bourbon. Lovely stuff.

Tried from Bottle on 20 May 2021 at 12:15


8.9
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle, 2020. Thanks a ton, jimmy! Pours opaque black, small tan head, nice lacing. Aroma is rich roast cocoa, bourbon, vanilla. Flavor is rich integrated, fairly sweet, light plus bitter, notes of molasses, mocha. Full body.

Tried from Bottle on 05 May 2021 at 03:55