2016 Surly Darkness

Hey now at least we are still stocking the old April Furious MN doesnt want! Seriously I am not one to complain about IPA that is that old but really it is the exact same date still from the launch and we haven't gotten anything new! I will still be buying some Furious when I get to the cities since it is somewhat fresher!

 

The distributor maybe sent too much or the local stores ordered too much. You'll probably not get new until the other stuff sells or becomes a fossil. Don't feel bad, it can be a struggle to find fresh Furious here in MN sometimes too. Cheers!

 

Indeed, all the bros are figuring out that Craft Beer is good and whalez are sexy. Although in this case I think making a lot more Darkness would only result in less of a rush on Friday to line up for DD up front in the beginning of the line. Otherwise things will still play out pretty similar.

 

Now that we have a date, is anyone taking guesses or hearing any rumblings on if the format will remain the same (Get drunk waiting in line Friday, wristbands Saturday morning), or if they're going with a ticketed event?

Girlfriend cant make the drive down with me and needs to book a flight; hoping to make plans ASAP!

 

I would assume it will be the same its always been

 

That's my inclination too; I just remember hearing the whole "last time we're doing it like this rumor last year (though apparently that wasn't the first time that was rumored).

 

Every year we hear that "this is the last time we do it this way" and then every year it's done the same way. It works, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Not sure how else they would do it at that location. If they did a ticketed release and no bottle sharing I'd imagine half as many people would show up. The bottles are an afterthought to a lot of people.

 

Couple thousand people lined up on city streets and businesses unrelated to the brewery drinking high alcohol beers all hours of the night in an uncontrolled environment. It's probably a minor miracle no serious issues have come out of there yet. As someone who's attended for the past few years and enjoyed my time, Sooner or later Surly will have to get ahead of the lawsuit before one catches up with them.

 

I don't disagree that they've been lucky so far but I don't see them being too proactive in moving the event. If the neighbors start to complain or the city says they can't do it anymore or there's some big mishap where people get hurt or have a cigar city style riot then they'll stop. As of now though it seems there is always a healthy smattering of security and local police patrolling the line/area to make sure nothing gets too out of hand. They're still doing Dark Lord Day over in Munster and I've seen the drunker people there out of the two festivals.

 

There is no comparison between the drunken debauchery of Dark Lord Day and how orderly Darkness Day is. I have seen tons of people passed out by cop cars and using them to hold beer on in Munster. That simply wouldn't be tolerated at Darkness Day.

 

You should have come up and said hello!

 

You've been one of the really drunk people!
As much as you want to think, I don't see Darkness days as a huge problem. If so, there are some vikings games that need to be shutdown!

 

So how does this work? People get in line to get in Friday night, share beers, etc., then Saturday they open, hand out tickets and you use those to get an allotment of Darkness?

Is hanging out all night a must to get a ticket?

 

Historically, no. But the date change could mean less brutal weather and more attendees. I used to camp overnight but last couple years have head up in the wee hours (we're talking leaving 12-2 AM and arriving 4-6 AM) and have been safe to get a wristband.

 

Absolutely the wrong way to do it. Just consider hanging out overnight a must. The hangout is WAY better than the beer. And the beer you drink during the hangout is WAY better than the beer.

Last year in line I drank Assassin 13 + 14, AdF, FO, StS, a Darkness vert back to 08, Morning Delight, Westly, the list goes on, you get the idea. If you're driving 6 hours or more round trip to have a Darkness on tap, grab your six bottles and head home, you aren't doing Darkness Day correctly.

 

That's a hell of a list. Bit intimidating! Last year was my first, and I'll definitely be making it down again with a friend and the girlfriend (From Winnipeg up north in Canada). Last year we got in late (11 PM?) but this year we plan do do it right and get there early.

Nowhere near as rare or sought after, but think anyone would have interest in pours of Utopias? (2014 if I recall)... Definitely bring some local stuff too, but it's nice to have something cool to share, and it's probably going to be the best I have!

Also, up near the front of the line there was all those pavilion tent/gazebo things (probably have a different name...) Are those put out by Surly, or did people bring them?

 

"Correctly" is a relative term. I've been to events where I only showed up to pick up my bottles and others where I knew full well that I'd be getting into a shitfest of, "Hey, we're a case deep but who wants to pop this Zzzzzeeeennnneeeeee?" I feel like Darkness Day falls more into the latter category; but, everyone can Darkness Day how they want.

Just means more ultra.rar ticks for my Untappd feed.

 

I do, that's who!

I knew someone would argue this, but I'm gonna disagree

There's a right way and a wrong way to Darkness Day!

Bring anything you want, man. People will be friendly and generous regardless of what you show up with. Utopias will be a hit. There will be a post here soon about bottle shares and trading as well. The tents are all brought in by the people drinking under them. They're a good idea for a little shelter from the rain. Bring a table, some bag chairs, a tent, and some snacks and crack your Utopias. You'll make friends in a hurry!

 

I don't have a cellar full 'o whales to share. Ironically, probably the most impressive beer in my cellar is BA Darkness.

I had a similar quandry with DLD. Everyone said "just take local stuff that's good and people will be cool". My experience was that if you didn't have a big name beer, people didn't want a pour. Even regular TG stuff (I had a bottle of Pompeii) was uninteresting. I had to work to share a bomber of that.

On the other hand, I talked to a bunch of really great people walking around trying to share what I brought. Many weren't interested in what I was pouring, but I spent half my time this year talking to complete strangers who were very nice.

 

Just ignore Mr. Peter. If his 'peter' were half as long as he claimed, he wouldn't be able to wear shorts for fear of violating several obscenity laws...