Darkness
Surly Brewing Co.

Based on a google search of the label artist, this must be a 2013 bottle. Thanks to Dominique for including this in his predraft box. The only good thing to be associated with that league this whole year as far as I'm concerned...
Pours that beautiful obilisk-black that gets us all a titter in a good big stout. Finger or so of brown head settles relatively early into a thin film with disparate colonies of soapy bubbles. Surprisingly little lacing.

The nose fluctuates depending on how far from the glass I am. Sitting a ways back I get an undeniable hit of fresh hand made bread dough as it's rising. Yeasty dark grains. In passing past the glass there can be hints of dark fruit with sweet plums and prunes and boozy black cherries. But stick your nose intentionally into the abyss and you get blackstrap molasses and sin.

Initially sweeter than I would have expected. And not a bittersweet, no, this is more fructose and juice. The finish carries this through to its logical conclusion of candy sweet peaks. Far from one note, though layers of chocolate and cold pressed coffee give way to the aforementioned sweet peaks balanced by the coffee's bitter close.

Initially, the alcohol overwhelms a bit, but as the glass warms it mellows in to a nice complementary role. Fine carbonation steps aside and lets the smoothe if a bit... thin. Not thin thin, but medium where I was looking for thick and chewy as toffee... anyway, sweet and smoothe and incredible. This is my assessment. Too bad so sad this is the only bottle I've got.
Thank you @domvan for sending it along!!

Surly Brewing Co. "Darkness"
25.4 fl. oz. brown glass bottle that's been capped and waxed; seemingly without production codes or freshness dating.
$20.49 @ Lower Merion Beverage Co., Ardmore, PA

Notes via stream of consciousness: I've tasted "Darkness" several times before but it's always been at a bottle-share, and usually after drinking several other beers, so I would never base a written review on that. Therefore, when I found some old bottles I decided to pick one up and see what it had to offer with some age on it. This one is not barrel-aged, and It's from 2020 (5 years old). It's poured the expected opaque black body beneath a finger's width of creamy dark tan foam. The aroma expresses dark malts, red skinned fruits, alcohol, dark chocolate, cold black coffee, some soy sauce, and a light bit of toffee. The taste follows - no surprise there. It's rich, malty, sweetish but not too sweet, and very chocolatey. It's like eating a nib of dark chocolate. But there's more!!! There's a caramel component to it, and an even toffee-like note. I get a little bit of "Ovaltine". The black coffee remains as well, and then there's the fruitiness. I'm getting apples, dark raisins, golden raisins, fig, a kind of a "Fruity Pebbles" breakfast cereal note, and some soft sweet cherry. It's amazingly rich, and I don't think I've had a beer as fully flavored as this apart from maybe Sam Adams Utopias or something like that. I can tell you right now that this is definitely a winner. There's not a lot of bitterness to it, nor does the alcohol really come through more than it should at 12% ABV. In fact, I would say that it's very well cloaked for being 12%. It finishes with dark red fruit infused golden caramel fading, a soft coffee-like roastiness lingering, some alcoholic spiciness picking up as it dries, and then a bit of leafiness, earthiness, and some more soy sauce. The head retention is not great but that's common for high alcohol beers, and the lacing is decent enough to get it by in terms of appearance. In the mouth it's full bodied and gently crisp and then smooth. I've had a lot of Imperial stouts in my day including the Harvey & Son Ltd. "A. Le Coq's Imperial Extra Double Stout" flown over to the U.S. in a camping water jug by none other than Miles Jenner himself, but I've never had one that was this charming, accessible, and easily drinkable - let's note that as DANGEROUSLY drinkable! At the same time, I usually relegate strong beers like this to 'after dinner' or 'late night beers while reading' but this one is so enjoyable that it cannot limit it to that category as it's just so good that it requires more than that.
Review #9,494

750 ml bottle shared.
L: Pours black with a thin khaki head that recedes to edge foam, low carbo, sticky lacing.
S: Chocolate, bourbon, a hint of cherry, a note of coffee.
T: Very dark sweet chocolate, chocolate fudge, a hint of toffee, barrel char, bourbon, light coffee, raisins, a bit of resin in the finish. Chocolate is ever-present.
F: Incredibly smooth heavy bodied mouthfeel with a long moderately dry finish.
O: A lovely and decadent taste. Superbly smooth mouthfeel and is certainly a sipper. The alcohol is fairly hidden. The chocolate taste lingers for quite a while. This is a world-class beer in its style.

Dark brown pour with a small tan head and minimal carbonation. Medium body. Smell is of malt and caramel and taste follows the smell, with the addition of cherries. Very good, but (not surprisingly) not as thick or sweet as the BA version.

Deep brown color that holds a thick collar, nice enough for a sub-12% beer. A swirls brings back a foam that fades slowly. There is an occasional spot of “lacing.”

Nose is roasted malt, some burnt toast, and a hint of metal that fits the brewer’s vibe, but is about the only thing I find a little off in this beer. Feel is medium thick with a bit of chewiness, but not syrupy or even clinging.

Taste is right over the plate dark toasted bread, woodsy hops, and a hint of earthy spice. I get hints of citrus on the edges as I sip and it warms. Finish is bitter chocolate and ghosts of piney hops. Very enjoyable.

2025 release from early in the year, consumed in late 2025.

Poured into a tulip.

Pours inky black with an ample dark tan head.

Aromas of roasted malt and hints of dark fruit. A touch of booze as the brew warms.

I had only had the barrel-aged versions of this base beer before this taste. The base beer rivals the barrel-aged versions from a complexity standpoint. The roasted malts impart strong astringent and almost ashy bitter coffee notes on the front and back of the palate, but there is a remarkably strong sweetness in the mid-palate that includes dark fruit notes.

The brew is unquestionably full bodied, but it is neither sticky nor heavy.

One of the best RIS I've had.

 

 

A very rich and bold mix of chocolate, coffee, cherry, and toffee, thus creating a very rich tasting and smelling imperial stout.

Smooth pour left an inch tall caramel foamy head. Nose was of a toasty chocolate aroma. Mouthfeel is creamy and smooth while the taste is gentle and smooth, creamy chocolate. Excellent brew while it’s very expensive.

 

 

 

(2023 version - 17 months old canned 9/2023) Reviewed 2/2025

Appearance: Pours a nearly completely dark, black color with a massive, thick, deep tan head that lingers for days. SRM of 23. (4.75)

Aroma: Intense aromas of dark cocoa, coffee roast, some complex cola notes. Roast lingers off the end. (4.25)

Flavor: Intense flavors of rich dark chocolate and cocoa upfront, some coffee roast and then more dry roast comes through in the middle. Some sweet bourbon/booze shows up for a bit before it mixes with more sweet cherry and rich chocolate and fudge on the finish. Sweet, but hides the booze off the end. (4.50)

Feel: Heavier-bodied, strong carbonation and roast to drink somewhat clean for the ABV. Still leans sweet off the end. Hides the booze well. (4.25)

Overall: Perfect time to crack open the Celluary. This is Surly Darkness 2023, 17 months out. First try at this outside their taproom. The can art is so amazing it felt wrong to open it. It's big, dark, and boozy. Tons of complex stout flavors with enough roast to show the Russian Imperial qualities. A masterpiece of a beer. This is well-worth the price. The best Russian Imperial Stout I've had. (Rating: 4.48)

I'm reviewing the 2024 Baphomet Edition of Darkness. The pour is jet black with a tan head of carbonation. The taste is rich roasted malt, big notes of fig & prune, caramel, dark chocolate, coffee. In addition to, the beer has a medium to heavy level of viscosity. The 12% abv drinks more like a 9% abv beer. Overall, this is a highly rated stout & I can see what the hype is about although it was a little expensive imo. Cheers! A (World Class)

 

First off, I gotta mention how I much I’ve been anticipating finally trying this beer. Been on my bucket list since I joined BA. That said, I can’t help but mention being a little underwhelmed.

2024 can poured into a tulip. Beautiful dark obsidian brown with a light milk chocolate tan head. Some glossy lacing on a quick swirl of the glass.
Smells slightly boozy and…sigh, sweet. Fudge brownie, light roast coffee, raisinets, chocolate jello puddin’.

People have told me that it’s similar to Smuttynose imperial stout which I love(d). Big, bold, roasty, good dose of classic hop bitterness and I believe that it was at one point. But it’s clearly not anymore. In 2014 this beer registered at an abv of 9.8. In 2015 it made the jump to 11.5. 2016 found its current status at 12. I assume this an other components of the beer have been changed to suit the modern palate in terms of abv, bitterness and ‘beetus. The hop bitterness is still there but it’s just overwhelmed by cloying sweetness. I can taste a bit of the old school Smuttynose (and GD Yeti vibes) but it’s what I assume to be a shell of the greatness it probably used to be. Semisweet chocolate, choco covered coffee beans, hersheys syrup, a bit of tootsie roll, and oh yeah, a whisp of that lingering, old school bittering hop flavor on the finish. The sugar is too strong in the end though and it covers the bitterness like paper over rock.
The body of this beer is almost right in my wheelhouse for impy stouts. Medium carb but Just slightly more syrupy than I’d like.
Man I wish I could’ve tried early versions of this beer. Happy to have finally tried it, but it’s gonna be a bit of a chore to finish on my own.

 

This was a fantastic experience and reinforced the notion that a really good RIS contains multitudes - flavor and balance foremost among them. I liked the fact that this was not necessarily as sweet as some RIS I’ve had, but it threaded the needle by having enough chocolate and toffee undertones to reassure those of us who are turned off by super hoppy/bitter variations. Finally, it’s just boozy enough to make it a blissful experience on a cold winter afternoon where the wind chill is below 0F. Normally, one 16 oz can would be enough, but I wish this would have been 50% larger so I could prolong the pleasure.

L: Pours a dark chocolate syrup, forming a thin dark tan head. Fades fairly quickly, leaving behind a cloudy film of surface retention and a decently robust ring of foamy lacing around the edge of the snifter. Held to the light, a dark, opaque fudge.

S: Strong notes of coffee/espresso, roasted and charred malts, and dark chocolate/cacao nibs. Some anise, licorice, and dark fruit emerge as the beer warms. Cherries.

T: Medium-roast coffee and cacao nibs, with a very robust charred malt. Anise, cherries, and raisins act as a counterweight to the bitterness. Hints of espresso, toffee, caramel, and burnt sugar. There is a smattering of earthy hops in the finish.

F: Full-bodied. Thick, yet silky & velvety smooth mouthfeel. Coating, with a clean finish. Warming. Light carbonation.

O: This is about as close to perfection as you can find with a RIS. Balanced, robust flavor profile and a smooth, clean finish.