Mole Darkness
Surly Brewing Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Pastry / Flavoured - Imperial Rotating Out of Production|
Score
7.62
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Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout
Mole Darkness is inspired by the impossibly complex and satisfying sauces native to south-central Mexico. Mole comes in almost infinite varieties, and our take features bittersweet chocolate, cinnamon, and a mild heat from the use of guajillo chilies. Time well spent in bourbon barrels tempers the spice, adding a rounded, vanilla-esque sweetness.
Mole Darkness is inspired by the impossibly complex and satisfying sauces native to south-central Mexico. Mole comes in almost infinite varieties, and our take features bittersweet chocolate, cinnamon, and a mild heat from the use of guajillo chilies. Time well spent in bourbon barrels tempers the spice, adding a rounded, vanilla-esque sweetness.
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7.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Sampled from the tap at ABR 2025. Pours black with a dark brown head that dissipates quickly to the edges. Aroma has dark grains, touch of spice, chocolate and a bit of roast backing. Flavor has a bit more of the mole with chocolate and sweet dark grains supporting.
Tried
from Draft
on 11 Oct 2025
at 21:05
9/10
Dark black body medium foamy tan head. Spicy chocolate vanilla roast ash molasses aroma. Spicy toffee caramel chocolate roast vanilla flavor. Full body moderately low carbonation.
9/5/9/4/17 4.4
9/5/9/4/17 4.4
Tried
from Draft
on 12 Oct 2024
at 17:35
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Pint can from Woodman’s Appleton, shared at the PS Surly Darkness Tasting, 2/25/23. Dark brown, almost no head. Aroma of molasses, oak, bourbon, pepper, smoke. Taste is roast, molasses, raisin, chocolate, pepper. Mild heat.
Tried
from Can
on 16 Apr 2023
at 01:34
8/10
Aroma is chili, cinnamon, chocolate. Taste is dark chocolate cinnamon with a lingering barrel finish and chilies for days. Decent.
Tried
from Can
on 12 Jun 2021
at 22:02
8.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
In the can the aroma is unsweetened cocoa, in the glass it's dark chocolate, with some raisins and roast. Flavors are similar to nose, reasonably sweet up front with lingering raisins and a hint of bourbon. Excellent body and finish. An understated masterpiece of this power.
Tried
from Can
on 24 Feb 2021
at 04:35
8.5/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
Pours a thick, deep brown-black, with minimal head. Aroma is chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, chili pepper, some woodiness. Flavor largely follows. Very, very sweet beer. Nice alternate form.
Tried
on 03 Jan 2021
at 20:53