Darkness Day 2013 Thread

Looks like the label is approved.

http://beerpulse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Surly-Darkness-2013-8_2-rev.png

 

Bad. Ass.

 

Nice artwork! Looks like I'll be camping out this year. Looking forward to meeting you all!

 

Hey Lobo,

Can I get in this as well?

 

yes

 

Lobo-

Count me in

 

I just skimmed through this thread. Holy crap, you guys actually camp out in freezing cold temps to buy certain beers? Is that the only way to get bottles of Darkness? When I have had it before, I didn't realize exactly what went into getting this beer. It was just another traded beer, as far as I knew. In CA, there are a lot of rare beer releases, but I always thought that people were nuts when they would go to Alesmith at 6:00 A.M. for BA releases or would stand in lines for hours for Younger. And that is all taking place under clear skies and 70 to 80 degree temps. If it was even drizzling, 3/4 of those people wouldn't even bother.

This is a whole other level of of obsessive, but as more and more great beers are being produced in MN, I wonder if the uniqueness that Darkness may have previously represented within the state might start to balance out a bit. But with the sleeping out in freezing temps for any beer, I am not sure if I should be giving a tip of my hat or calling in a 5150 on the whole lot of ya

 

camping is fun. you can get it at bottle shops without too much trouble. but it just us as a community getting together, opening bottles and hanging out.

 

If you'd been to a Darkness Day Eve bottle share, you would know exactly how silly your posts sounds. One of the best nights of the year, no matter the weather, due to the beer & the company.

And we're Minnesotans. Standing around in 45 degree temps barely qualifies for long pants.

 

Where are you actually from? We true Minnesotans treasure our beer and would never call it "unique," because that is code for "gross". And camping out in the fall is a God-given treat, don'tcha know.

 

45 degrees hahaha, more like 30 degrees last year....maybe that is why there were extra bottles

 

Californians do a hell of a lot of camping. The only way that I have even visited Alpine was during camping weekends. Also, I have never heard the word "unique" used to indicate gross and that wasn't the intention. It is a great beer, but as more and more equally great beers become produced within any state, my point was that the uniqueness (in the traditional sense of the word) becomes lesser. Again, using CA as an example, if the Bruery said that they were going to ship the whole lot of Black Tuesday up to Big Bear (elevation about 7,000')* in January and that people had to sit on a sidewalk in 30 degree weather to get it, I don't know anybody who would do that. Even with the great weather and people's love of the outdoors there, I can't think of a single beer that people would sleep out for and that comes back to my question about the "uniqueness" of a great beer release, when more and more equally good beers are available in a state. MN is quickly becoming a state like that where great beers are always available whether or not you get a bottle of any one specific release or not. So 4 or 5 years ago, Darkness may have represented a rare opportunity to have an imperial stout on this level in the state of MN, that I don't think represents the same unique opportunity today. Is anybody really going to have a hard time getting their hands on a top notch imperial stout between now and the Darkness release, or even their after if they do not get a bottle? That is what my point was about this balancing out. While there are tickers, bottle collectors and all sorts of others who will focus on not missing a release like this, don't more people start to think; "yeah, 3 or 4 years ago this was OK, but I was just drinking Black Note by the $5 pint glass at Bulldog, so what do I care about freezing my ass for an $18 bomber of Darkness?"

* - ignoring the distance aspect, as I was just trying to think where/when it gets that cold in CA.

 

*******.

 

Yeah, that must be it; because I know that if I drove by the Surly lot at 3:00 AM I would be seeing a bunch of ass kicking MMA fighters

 

Your missing the point of Darkness Day (and Eve). They are an event, not unlike Dark Lord Day (but in the same breath, very unlike Dark Lord Day). The overnight camping has actually become more popular, as the need to do it to obtain the beer, has gone down. It is a very festive atmosphere. There are bottle share tables set up everywhere. People have fire pits, others have been known to have smokers full of food for the masses. You hang out and share good beer, good food, good times and try to stay warm.

To top it off, Darkness Day does not have a cost of admission (unlike DLD and it is much better run).

People camp out at Darkness Day because they want to, not because you have to.

 

I would also love to partake in this!

 

If you were to attempt to insult someone's Luthren ways by trying to pay for another man's tab, especially when he invited you out, you'd have a knock-down, drag-out fight.

 

You are correct, I was not envisioning that because most of that you would get arrested for doing outside of a brewery (or any business) in CA. Now that I think about it, the property owners (from who the breweries lease) probably wouldn't even allow any sort of sleeping out even if it was just people sleeping. I guess that personally, I still don't get the overnight sidewalk and freezing temperatures thing. Even the potential of a fun scene seems like it would be killed by such crappy conditions.

Just an idea, but instead of a Darkness night, why didn't anybody ever think to start a Darkness Day After and just choose a local park and do a bottle share during the day with a fire pit, food etc.? Call me the crazy Californian, but to me that sounds far more appealing and fun than loosing a night of sleep while freezing on dirty pavement.

 

Giggity! You had me at "blind BIF"

 

Don't knock it till you try it!