2016 Surly Darkness

Mmmm... Vanilla bean, cherry, maple and coffee Darkness aged for two years in a combination of Apple Brandy and Bourbon barrels....

 

Darkness at Dawn: Brewed with coffee and aged in bourbon barrels.

 

Vanilla Bean Darkness would be very cool. It seems like so many breweries now have added vanilla beans and what not but I think Darkness would really shine. Add a nice bourbon barrel with it and I can imagine Darkness being off the charts.

 

This was already a thing. Surly brought it to 2013 Winterfest. Remember mixing Darkness and Smoke at that event as they lasted the entire night and it was fantastic.

 

Bottle it for the mass. I'm sure a large contingent of Darkness fans did not get to try the brew.

 

Do you have to camp out or get there Saturday "wee hours" to have a shot at a wristband and purchasing Darkness? What does the wristband usually include in terms of bottle allotment?

 

In the past couple years it seems like you have to be there by 5-6 AM on Saturday to get a wristband.

It gets you the right to purchase 6 bottles of Darkness.

 

I had friends show up around 9am last year and they were some of the last 20 to get a ticket. I think that was the time she showed up... hard to remember.
I would not plan on getting there at that time this year. She was 1-2 miles away and was driving anyway, so she stopped in. Who doesn't need a few stout pours at 9am on Saturday?
I'd assume you need to get by 6-7 am at least. Even then, nothing is guaranteed.
6 bottles of regular 1 bottle of BA last year

Your question will be asked many times leading up to the event. No one knows the answer and most people "remember" past years, but even that isn't really an indicator of any given year. Weather could factor in as well, both good and bad...

 

It really depends on the weather. Two years ago it was beautiful. Sunny, mid 70s. A LOT of people got shut out. Last year, it seemed most people got theirs if they got there in the am. But, just get there the day before. It's way funner.

 

Will there be a barrel aged version and regular version again this year?

 

Yes and no. Most of the speculation seems to point to BA Darkness not being ready until spring. There's a fair chance that regular Darkness will be the only thing available at Darkness Day. Of course, you know how it goes with the rumor mill.

 

I asked the Surly rep at the ND launch a couple months back about this and he confirmed that it would be both this year.

 

hey, that's my canopy!

 

Does everyone buy canopies? Rent them? Any suggestions on where to find one cheap?

 

Wal-Mart or woot.com just don't leave it setup on your deck during a storm. Once the wind blows it across the street, they're not as pretty anymore.

 

I heard the day before there is usually some good kegs being tapped in Minneapolis. Is there another thread for that?

 

Stub & Herb's traditionally does a Darkness Eve event with a bunch of good kegs. I don't believe they have announced details of the event yet this year. They've had vintage Darkness, BCBS, KBS, Abyss, Rum King, etc. in the previous years

 

Was sleeping in my car when a canopy blew into the hood and left a nice dent

 

Feel like a dork asking these questions. What size is your average canopy that people bring? A lot of them I'm looking at are 10x10, however from when I was there last year (didn't get there til quite late, and got quite drunk...) I don't remember them being that large. The one int he picture above doesn't look that large to me either.

Just don't want to take up too much space with a massive canopy!

 

This may be my first Darkness Day, but I'm not sure if I can swing it in my schedule. I'm just curious about Darkness distro and I'm wondering how difficult it is to get regular Darkness and BA Darkness via distro?