7.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle thanks to Ben! Pours black with a grayish white head that dissipates quickly to the edges. Aroma is quite smokey with a bit of bacon and ham as well as a strong roasted malt note. Flavor is full of smoke with plenty of roasted malt and a hint of coffee coming in the finish. Surprisingly smooth.
Tried
from Bottle
on 10 Dec 2010
at 20:34
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
A can from Secret Santa. Canned on what looks like 10(or 9)/23/10. Finally. I think this thing has been on my wants list for 2 or 3 years. Pours with a clear, penny colored body with a large bone colored head. Aromas of fruity, citrus and piny hops, bready, rye, light corn husk aroma. Grainy, straw and bitter. Flavors of bread, delicate malt, grainy, toast, light caramel, light fruit (hop), rye. Medium dry, crisp and bitter finish. Lively bubbles. Tasty lager! Not traditional, but that is fine by me!
Tried
from Can
on 09 Dec 2010
at 15:00
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
750 ml bottle shared by Dansting. Pour is a slight haze brown black with hints of ruby and a small film of an off white head. Aroma is peat earth, smoke, and sort of a bright acidity. Taste is the peat right away, moving smoothly to the smoke mid-taste, meat, earth and a mild fruit sweetness at the finish. Overall, big smoke, pretty smooth considering. Palate medium to thick bodied, coats the mouth some, the smoke and peat last through to a long finish. Nice, thanks for sharing Dan I had wanted to try this one.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Dec 2010
at 06:01
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
2009. Bottle @ Odense Tasting, December 2010. Thanks Jacob. Pours pitch black with a creamy beige head and lacings. Dry and roasted nose and flavor with fruit and soy. Oily and sticky. Full bodied. A big one . .Nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Dec 2010
at 06:20
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 6
I enjoyed it. The smoke is quite strong and permeates the beer to a significant degree, so if this isn’t your thing, try something else. It worked for me. Had a draft with a burger at St. Paul’s Happy Gnome. Little to no head. Some chocolate and sweet undertones there (hard to tell under the smoke). Not quite sure it’s worth the expense (I really wish Surly would get serious about bottling this and Darkness in larger quantities so they wouldn’t be so hard to find), but was glad to have the opportunity to give it a try. Complemented the burger well.**Update: 1/14/13: Just had a bottle of this that I’d been saving for a year and I have to say, it tasted pretty awful. Don’t know that this is a beer that will age well, at least based on this example (still have another year-old bottle to try).
Tried
from Can
on 04 Dec 2010
at 14:31
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
2009 vintage. Thanks to Hallinghansen for sharing. Black with a lasting tan head. Big aroma of malt, bread crust, chocolate, dried fruit, fortified wine and alcohol. Sweet fruity and roasted flavour. Very complex, but also a bit cloying in the sweetness
Tried
on 04 Dec 2010
at 12:19
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
A thick beer. Bourbon in the aroma and the flavor, but what is there works well with the medium-sweet malts. Generally I wouldn’t like a bourbon beer, but this one is drinkable. I did not pick up the Belgian yeast.
Tried
on 20 Nov 2010
at 16:31
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
No doubt I will be against the grain on this one, but regular Wet is substantially better. Low carbonation and a thin palate. Lots of hops, but the lack of carbonation or any balance gives this a dry flavor, and not a lot of it. It seems a little watery. Gold color. Still, its Surly and even when things don’t turn out great, they are still good. ABR 2010.
Tried
on 18 Nov 2010
at 14:44
8.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
22oz bottles. 2008, 2009, 2010 vintages side by side. All pour an oily, opaque black with a thin white head. The nose on the 2008 is oxidized, raisins, molasses, figs, brown sugar, malt, coffee, booze. The nose of the 2009 was more balanced, less oxidation. The 2010 nose is definitely fresher, a little dusty, earthy. The flavor of the 2008 is also oxidized, figs, raisins, brown sugar, molasses. The 2009 flavor was very balanced, sweet, smooth, bread, grains. The 2010 flavor has some oats to it and a little light vanilla. The finish of the beers were all over the place; the 2008 is sticky, the 2009 balanced, the 2010 silky and dry. All were very good. The 2009 is easily the most balanced. I liked the 2008, but I love when beers oxidize and get some of that leathery quality. The 2010 was nice fresh and was drinking well. Take your pick, you can’t go wrong.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Nov 2010
at 07:05
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
16oz can pours a crystal clear orange amber with a frothy, lacing white head. Nose is really nice, floral, perfume, citrus fruits, pine sap, earthy, a little vegetal, a little candy, some cracker. Flavor is sweet, malty, light caramel, orange candies, bread dough, grapefruit juice, light pine, some light honey. Medium bodied, sweet, bitter finish. The nose has more of the strong hoppiness than the flavor, but still very drinkable.
Tried
from Can
on 12 Nov 2010
at 14:51