Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Guest draft taster at Flossmoor Station. When sampled after the roundhouse punch of Matt’s Black Pumpkin, this just whimpers and hides. A foamy head even in a taster glass. Definite origins as a brown ale, with a nicely matched proportion of lighter roast coffee. Easy and dry taste. Most coffee beers are much stronger than this one, so this is a nice diversion.
CloakedDagger (37227) reviewed Bitter Brewer from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
(Can 45 cl) Courtesy of iowaherkey. Pours a slightly hazy amber golden with an off-white head. Fresh, citrusy hop aroma. Light body with a little nuttiness but otherwise completely dominated by fresh, dry citrusy hop notes. An excellent session quaffer. 131108
omhper (44752) reviewed Darkness from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8
Bottled, thanks Marsblursi! Very black, rich beige head. Concentrated coffee aroma with some black currant. Hops mixed with brandy and licorice. Vinous and not overly full sized. Very well made in that ther is no stickyness at all. Creates elegance out of a chaotic orchestra of flavours: chocolate. molasses, oat flakes, port and licorice. Finishes salty and very bitter.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 7
Cask @ Darkness Day, again in my brand new Darkness tulip. It pours with a hazy and shiny orange color. The cask gives it a bubbly (not foamy) head, basically just agitation of the beer and not really a head. Aroma is ester-y with fruity hoppiness and a slightly spoiled tangerine aspect. The hops go along with that tangerine aroma. There might be a woodsy faint aroma but it just maybe confirmation bias, if I did not know this was oaked I do not know if I would be picking it up at all. Taste is more hoppy than the aroma with sweet hops. Finish is light;y dough-y, and light Belgian yeastiness (I might be a bit redundant there). The mouthfeel just doesn’t work here. Again, why am I getting an oaked Saison on cask, what the hell was I thinking (damn constant need to try new things)? Maybe I would have enjoyed those other characteristics a lot more if it wasn’t for the undercarbonated body.
beastiefan2k (4724) reviewed Smoke from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Cask @ Darkness Day in my brand new Darkness tulip. I was told this was aged on in cedar barrels. Each of the beers served there came in 3 forms, tap, out of the bright tank, and cask. In hindsight I should have not tried a smoked, barrel aged, Baltic porter on cask, but either way here we go. I was watching the de-bunging of the cask and got one of the first pours. Its completely black, nothing but blackness. That includes any semblance of a head or lacing, again completely nothing after just a few seconds after the pour. Aroma is smoke (lightly sweet, lightly BBQ) which I like. Behind that is an oily astringent licorice, I don’t like that. Taste has more of that licorice astringency with the smoke on the back end. Mouthfeel is lightly oily and of course very undercarbonated. It seems where well structured I just needed to try it NOT on cask. I will definitely give this another go around if I come across it on tap. 7/4/7/3/14
Had this out of the bright tank at Darkness day, one year later. Was really hoping to love this but I was again disappointed, not a bad beer but nothing special. The smoke is there, its not really backed up with anything, just some watery dark malts and light licorice.
Re-rate out of the bottle, shared by Dansting. Same slightly disappointing beer, smoke, dark water malts, not backbone. 7/3/7/3/15
beastiefan2k (4724) reviewed Darkness from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5
Graciously shared by jtrockchalk from BA, thanks. 2007 bottle with almost a year on it. Believe it or not it poured a black color. Aroma is chocolate-y with some light dark fruits. Taste is some hops breaking through, but they are dead in life. Its not a fresh bottle so the hop character comes off out of place. A bit of light coffee as well. Mouthfeel was a bit too thin for such a big beer. Basically nothing stands out much, the hops have grown weak and are out of place. Too light and no surprise that is just so overrated. 7/4/7/3/15
Had a 2008 bottle, shared by theisti at Indra’s Strong Ale tasting. Much fresher and I liked this a bit more. Had a thicker overall presence, which muted and balanced the hops better. Similarly, added to the mouthfeel. I don’t know, just less hops and more stout, so that was better. 7/4/7/4/16
2009 bottle, drank super fresh. Black body that pours with a beautiful thick brown, large head. It fades slowly and leaves a sticky lacing. To start, I thought I would hate this b/c it got hoppy but I was wrong. The aroma is hoppy, which come off as fruity and earthy. The hops work well with a cool malt bill which comes off with buckwheat and I love this aspect. This comes out in the flavor as well and the hops linger on the back end with some bitter and citrus kick. The hops and the cool malt bill work well together. This is the best version of Darkness I have tried. 8/5/8/3/17
2015. Shared by my good friend Steve. Aged for about a year and a half. Black beer thick cocoa tan head surface covering lacing. Aroma is slightly syrup black malt sweetness, not super big, and not big. Earthy syrup quality as well. Flavor is even more subdued with a base of black malt syrup. Not bitter and not big but still fun. Nothing crazy but a decent improved stout. Haven’t had this in years but it’s so different every year.
2016. Shared by my good friend Steve, again. Another one that us a little short of a year. Black malts bitterness is present but not obtrusive. The main nice flavor profile comes from unsweetened cocoa syrup. Alcohol back of throat. Its a very strong but not BIG beer, which is a tough line to tow. Mild hoppiness is still felt at this stage of the beer. 848417
Beertalk (16424) reviewed Furious from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Cloudy amber with a lasting white head leaving some lace. Strong hoppy aroma with peach, apricot and a little pine. Sweetish malty, with some peach hop flavour, lots of bitterness and a delicious juicy drinkability.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
ABR, 2008. Light red/amber color. Aroma has malt, some fruit. Underlying spice and mild cranberry flavor. It is drier than the original cynic, just a little sourness.
fonefan (84534) reviewed Furious from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Can 50cl. @ chris_o’s Pre-GBBF Shindig 2008.Clear medium amber color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white to light beige head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, moderate hoppy, pine, grass, grapefruit. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. (020808)
fonefan (84534) reviewed Bitter Brewer from Surly Brewing Company 17 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Can 50cl. @ chris_o’s Pre-GBBF Shindig 2008.Clear medium amber color with a small, fizzy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, moderate hoppy, grapefruit, citrus. Flavor is moderate sweet and light to moderate bitter with a average duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. (020808)