Fin (18365) reviewed Darkness from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Bottle that Craig kindly handbottled and sent down to me, cheers Craig. Pours shark eye black with a tan head, really thick and oily and with a sticky consistency. This was hoppy but not overly so, roasty, bittersweet, bitter chocolate and coffee dregs I even get some grapefruit coming through. Everything is in wonderful harmony and whilst I have tired of Impy Stouts a little of late I really enjoyed this, it was a great beer, many thanks Craig. A7 A5 F9 P4 OV17 4.2
Drake (22934) reviewed Bitter Brewer from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
12 ounce can courtesy of cdumler. Thanks! Pours a slightly hazy orange yellow color Small head with low head retention, but nice lacing also. Aroma is spicy and herbal hops with some toasted hops and graininess. Taste is bitter hops and an absurd level of graininess. Very reminiscent of club soda. Faint caramel in the finish. Medium bodied.
Drake (22934) reviewed Oktoberfest from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Had a can of this several years ago which was all steamed vegetables and metal, so I assumed that was a bad can and traded for another for a rerate. 16 ounce can courtesy AWISLGuy. Pours a clear dark copper with a thin frothy tan head. Decent head retention. Aroma of caramel malt, mild tart fruits. The taste is toffee, toasted malts, roast, herbal hops. Medium bodied, mild lingering bitterness.
Drake (22934) reviewed Furious from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
16 ounce can courtesy of cdumler and shared by Alraomon. Pours a bronze color with a medium head. Good head retention and thick lacing. Huge hop aroma with resin, citrus and herbal notes. Also some slight caramel and a milky character. Taste is very bitter hops, very leafy and resiny with some pine notes as well. Creamy mouthfeel and full bodied. Very nice.
cagarvie (40076) reviewed Darkness from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
Bottle at home feb20 2009...Big thanks to BDR for this... wow this has a lovely full creamy mouth feel. rich and silky ... Nose is a big soft smooth roast with a little chocolate and mellow big pine hops... flavour is dominated by just how nice the palate is... but once you wallow in its smooth silky richness you start to notice rich smooth chocolate malts ... low bitternesss and a spice pine hop in its linger ... Im not fond of hoppy stouts so was worried i wouldnt like this but its really quite lovely... though pine does build quite a lot over time 4.3... AH as i get further through this, its the hop that keeps on giving and destroys any other flavours. This is one of the beers. that i think a small sample(50ml) (4.3) or a larger one(250ml) (3.9) do end up with a different rating. Plus i suspect if i had the whole thing to myself it would have dropped another point or two by the end of the Bottle (Final score 3.9) Bottle at home ... thanks to Badgerben ... 2010 vintage drunk 060511 ... dark black.. thin tan head ... soft coffee roast .. huge oily hop ... some tobacco nose ... sweet juicy raisins and cherry ... bitter chocolate ... lots of coffeee .. light molasses .... this is much better than i remember ...quite sweet rich and oily ... very smooth. 4.4 oh i am F... loving this and it didnt seem to get wearing at all this time. loved every drop Tap at the Copenhagen beer festival... Dark black... Thin tan head... Dar roast dark malt... Rich roast... Dark berries... Rich roast. Malts 4.2
Ungstrup (52110) reviewed Bitter Brewer from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6.5
Can. An unclear amber beer with a lazing orangey head. The aroma is sweet with strong notes of grapefruit as well as medium notes of caramel and malt. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of spices, grapefruit, and more, leaidng to a slightly bitter finish. The body is a bit thin. Thanks Papsoe for sharing.
notalush (7339) reviewed Darkness from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Before I say anything about this beer, I need to give a huge thanks to beastiefan2k - it is only fitting that I am consuming this beer on Christmas, a time of year associated with giving, generosity, etc., because Eugene hooked me up with a bottle of this beer, and asked for absolutely nothing in return - in all of my years on ratebeer, I have continually been astonished at the level of generosity I have witnessed, and I can think of no one else that embodies this more than Eugene - thanks, man! - so, to all you folks that sold this beer to your fellow beer lovers on ebay for a tremendous profit, screw you! - anyway, I must say that I am glad that I didnt trade away my cellar for this stuff - she looks pretty good - really dark ruby, with a large, dark tan head - the aroma is of damp cedar, red wine-like tannins, espresso bitterness, burnt qualities - smooth in the mouth, with just the right amount of carbonation for the style - flavors of charred malts, wet wood, light smoke - some wine-ish tartness - a lot of coffee bitterness through the middle - gets sweeter and sweeter as the flavor progresses, ending with some sweet raisin character and brown sugar - it is a nice beer, and certainly a lot more balanced than a lot of over the top american impys, but a top 10 beer? a top 50 beer? - I really dont think so - thanks again, Eugene, for saving me from the trade frenzy.
BMan1113VR (8090) reviewed Darkness from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 10 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5
2008 bottle from a trade with Kosko20. Had in a tasting alongside Dark Lord. Darkness wins the battle of tastes to me. Great beer, pours thick and black as night with a huge, dark brown head. The liquid leaves waves of brown coatings on the side of the glass. Aroma of soy, chocolate, raisins and pine hops. Taste is sugar, chocolate, great hop balance with chocolate malt and alcohol. Darkness or Goodness? Syrupy and mouthcoating as hell, light carbonation. Great beer. My 1200th Rating.
Sebletitje (15877) reviewed Oktoberfest from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
courtesy of our dfender of good beers tpd975 These people in MN sure know how to brew a good Oktoberfest. Pours amber. Aroma is hoppy pine, citrusy and rye. Taste lightly hoppy, malty giving a near vegetable mouthfeel. The finish is lightly hoppy. Easy to drink, good stuff.
Ibrew2or3 (10819) reviewed Oktoberfest from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Big thanks to tbd975 for bringing two cans of this tasty Surly brew. Pours clear deep copper with thin off white head. The mild aroma has notes of malts, some rye sting and a bit of rich sweet smelling fruity esters. The taste has a quick pulse of malt sweetness followed by a tasty rye twang. By midway the hops build up with notes coming from citrus, earthiness and spice all mixing together with the solid rye note. It ends with lingering hops and rye. YUM.