For those who may wonder, here are some of my tasting notes for Surly Darkness:

The closest comparison I can give to Darkness that would make sense to Siouxlanders is Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout (I doubt the comparison will offend either Surly or Goose Island) with the following differences:

* Darkness does not have the oaky nor the boozy flavors that Bourbon County has.

* Both beers are about the same as far as having a massive depth of flavor. However, Darkness seems to have a bit more carbonation and that effects the beer’s mouthfeel. Because of this, Darkness seems to be a bit more “spritely” and less “40-weight” than BCS. in other words, Darkness goes down easier.

* Darkness was redolent with dark fruit flavors with some dark cherry notes and some notes of vanilla. Hop levels seem pretty high (for a Russian imperial stout) but the beer is well balanced. I’m sure the hopping contributes to the beer’s liveliness vis-a’-vis BCS.

* Alcohol flavors were not noticed in the beer.

* I ended up nursing my (about) 10-ounce pour for hour. This is a sipping beer with a huge finish.

If you can get it on tap or find a bottle, I highly recommend the beer.

Also of note, I bought a draw of Surly’s Wet Hop Ale.

Comparisons are dangerous, but…… The closest thing I can compare it to is a hybrid (hop-wise) of Dogfish Head’s 90 and 120 Minute IPA.

However, Wet Hop DOES NOT have the overt sweetness of either of those two beers. Hop flavors in the Wet Hop were very intense, but also very fresh and crisp tasting.

Wet Hop’s finish was huge and very citrusy. A hop-head’s delight.

I found Wet Hop to be very enjoyable and somewhat more interesting (a very well balanced, big IPA without the apparent malt sweetness) beer than Darkness. If you can find some, it too, is highly recommended.

-Tim Hynds

Tags: 120 minute ipa, 90 minute ipa, bourbon county stout, darkness, goose island beer co, surly brewing co, wet hop ale

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 3:48 pm and is filed under Beer reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.