Darkness - Double Barrel (2024)
Surly Brewing Co.

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small but fluffy head, and lots of lacing.

This smells extremely roasty, but in a good way, with lots of dark chocolate, and a little bit of vanilla.

For this being double barrel aged, there’s not a ton of barrel here, as the base Darkness is a burly beast. The vanilla softens the roasty and charred nature of this, but it doesn’t fully diminish the old school nature of the stout. I get maybe a little bit of rum spice, but it melds in with the char, spice, and roastiness of the beer. There’s some oakiness, but very little bourbon, and it’s not quite as boozy as you’d expect.

This is medium bodied, not super thick, or super boozy, and pretty drinkable.

This is really solid, and a pleasant throwback + update to a classic.

Beer Share
Black and thick with a nice foamy rimming around the top with lacing. Nice barrel with bakers chocolate and vanilla and slightly bitter. Full body and lighter carb.

 

I had this on draft 10/28/25 @ the Beer Temple.

Black appearance.

Small dark tan head; strong lacing remained.

Rum, wood & milk chocolate notes in the nose.

Thick, smooth mouthfeel.

Rum, chocolate & wood flavors.

Smooth, creamy, balanced & frankly delicious.

 

 

Pours an effervescent Chestnut/Mahogany with a finger+ of mocha colored head. Above average lacing & head retention

S: Barrel, leafy hops, dark fruit, Bourbon showing up strong once warm. A little musty twang at the end, brings it down a bit

T: Follows the nose, woody hop, Bourbon tinge up front. Leafy hops, toffee/creme brulee', figs, raisins & woody hops; all soaked in Bourbon; dark chocolate mixed in as this beer warms up. Finishes chewy, warming with maple, dark chocolate & Bourbon-soaked cherries

MF: Very chewy, low carbonation, but enough to move it along. Plenty chewy & warming

A bruiser of a beer that brings the Barrel, Flavor & the PAIN!

Darkness Double Barrel 2024 from Surly. Received from @bbtkd 27/03/25 in a LIF associated with BS BIF #2. 16 fl oz can. Reviewed 30/03/25 (Review 3487). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of can stamped “CANNED ON 11/06/24.” Stored in at 39 degrees F at home: served at 54.6 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 62.2 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.25
First pour – Amber Brown (SRM 18), clear.
Body – Deep Brown (SRM 30), almost black, opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, red amber at the edges.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.2 cm, aggressive center pour), tan brown, high density with rocks throughout, average retention. Drops to a 0.7 cm crown and a rocky complete cap.
Lacing – Excellent! Band of near-microscopic bubbles with an occasional window. As the level drops, this coats the entire glass, until the upper rings degenerate with senility.
Aroma – 4.5 – Sweet, with generic “dark fruits”, distinctly neither dates nor raisins, a bit figgy. No yeast, no malt, no hops, no alcohol. As it warms, however, some rum aroma appears.
Flavor – 4.5 – Begins sweet but not cloying, with “dark fruits.” No yeast, no hops. No alcohol (12 % ABV, according to the label). No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Distinct gastric warming. Ends slightly sweet with rum overtones.
Palate – 4 – Full: creamy: soft but lively carbonation.
Style: Follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.

Final impression and summation: 4.5 I think some of the sweetness may come from the rum barrels. Oddly, I’m picking up no coffee, almost a given in RISs. However, this is the tastiest example of a Darkness variant I’ve ever had – delicious, moderately sweet, dark fruit! Thanks Tom!

Brewers notes: Our legendary imperial stout ages in not one, but two barrels--Tattersall rum and O'Shaughnessy bourbon, with a generous touch of vanilla on the finish.

Received in bif imperial stouts & barleywines 2 from @bishop , 16 oz can , 2024 edition

Chilled can arrived in a gold leaf box , poured into a snifter, dark motor oil, tin brown layer that settles to an island airing , fizzy carbonation thru the blackness

Aroma is vanilla, roast malts, bourbon, rum

Taste is bourbon, vanilla, dark fruits, rum soaked raisins

Mouthfeel is thick, syrupy, boozy without the heat , some sudsing

Good beer

 

16oz can, 2024 release
L: inky black body; thinner khaki head
S: dark cocoa, roasted barley, bourbon, oak
T: sweet yet robust with notes of dark chocolate, vanilla, oak, cherry, bourbon, rum, dark fruit, roasted barley, fig, molasses, coffee
F: full body, ample carbonation, seems sweeter than regular Darkness - I assume it’s the rum barrel; alcohol is warming and not hot at all
O: I thought I was going to like this one more. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great beer, but not the best Darkness variant I’ve had and would prefer regular Darkness over this one.

Excellent head production and very good retention for the ABV and style. Body is, well, darkness. Or rather, Darkness.

Nose is super strong, and hints at all of the most potent aspects of the beer: RIS, rum barrels, and bourbon barrels. Roasty char, toast, light spice, oak, brown sugar, red grape, coffee, sour cherry, molasses.

Rich, smooth, and dare I say balanced on the palate. Everything comes together in harmony, with the vanilla serving as a bridging agent between the rum and bourbon barrels. Tasting notes of toasted brown sugar, oak, vanilla, caramel, molasses, bourbon, prune. Absolutely lovely beer.

2025-03-01
16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. Canned 11/06/24. Sent to me by @bbtkd in Barleywine/Stout BIF #2.

Pours black with a decent head, maybe a centimeter on the pour and a lumpy couple millimeter thick skin after. Moderate active carbonation. Smell is boozy, marshmallow/vanilla, Mexican chocolate, dark roast coffee.

Taste is not a direct parallel of the aroma. Fruity -- figs, my first thought was incongruously strawberries. Tons of coffee and sweetness, noticeably boozy. Black licorice but more on the sweet side, dark molasses.

Mouthfeel is big, thick, fluffy, pleasing. Very nice beer. Rum is vaguely noticeable, and I'd say it's the most successful beers I've had that has experienced rum barrel aging. Very nice beer.

 

 

Pours jet black with a medium dark caramel head on top. Smell is of sweet roasted malts with some rum. Tastes very sweet with dark fruit and barrel is definitely present.

 

 

L: Pours a very thick oily black color with a very small tan head and no lacing on the glass

S: Sweet dark chocolate mixes with notes of molasses and rum and bourbon, a stronger vanilla.

T: Sweet chocolate and molasses, notes of a sweet rum and also rather sweet bourbon,with notes of molasses and sweet vanilla. It's quite sweet but still works

F: Thick oily mouthfeel, lower carb.

O: My wife gave me this one as a birthday present today and it was a great gift and amazing beer.