Bourbon Barrel Darkness

If I'm remembering correctly they've done both bourbon, and rye whiskey for their barrel aged vintages...

I'll check my cellar once I get home, I know I still have some down there. I'll let you know what I find out, unless a fellow advocate informs us first.

 

2015 BA was, as I recall, High West Rye Whiskey barrels.

 

All of the bottled versions of Barrel-Aged Darkness have been in Rye Whiskey Barrels.

• Darkness 2014 (all the Darkness that year was barrel-aged)
• Barrel-Aged Darkness 2016 (High West Rye Whiskey)
• Barrel-Aged Darkness 2017 (High West Rye Whiskey)
• Barrel-Aged Darkness 2018 (Woodford Reserve Rye Whiskey)

That said, often Darkness casks or kilderkins or even series of one-off kegs will be Bourbon-barrel-aged with orphan barrels.

This year, we're doing bottles of Cherry Vanilla Bourbon-barrel aged Darkness as variant for Darkness Day. So there'll be even more barrel options. (We're also doing Rum barrel and Fernet Barrel versions.)

 

Any chance of the variants ever hitting store shelves? Outside Minnesota?

 

I am guessing that isn't likely.

BA Darkness has been known to escape Minnesota - but the variants... I'd bet against it.

I hate this year layout - it's misleading. 2018 Darkness hasn't been released yet, and neither has BA 2018 Darkness. All three of those vintages should be read as being from the year prior. If you ask for 2016 Darkness in a trade, you'll get the Cerberus bottle. If you ask for 2015 Darkness, you'll get the Bat bottle. If you ask for 2017 Darkness, you'll get the Baba Yaga bottle.

I get that some Minnesotans call it differently, based on the BA being released in the spring - but it's misleading for out-of-staters.

 

My opinion is that we should request to convert the "Bourbon Barrel-Aged" instance to "Barrel-Aged". There isn't even a plain "Rye Barrel-Aged Darkness" entry available. I am guessing most people rating the BBA beer assumed this was the annual BA beer.

I don't know why there's so many instances/vintages of some beers and not others on this site. There are probably many more beers that are released annually, where the format, ABV, or label changes anually, such as BCBS, Dark Lord, or No Rules.

 

No, no bottles of the variants will be for sale outside of Darkness Day.

To your note about the years... to be honest, I agree with you. It’s damn confusing and I work at the brewery. That said, I’m in the opposite camp. I think the beer should be dated upon release, not upon filling (for the BA versions anyway).

Either way, I think the date should be prominent on the label so there is a standard going forward.

 

This seems to make the most sense. Put the date on the bottle and let the brewery decide what to call it and the customers can follow their lead

 

That's good news. I thought I had read they would only be available at Darkness Days.

 

I'd try reading that again.

 

Absolutely. It's weird that they don't - you just don't see that very often any more. Everyone who cellars or trades wants a date on the bottle. Obviously the updated artwork every year is a pretty clear indication of vintage, but it can get a little hard to remember which is which, given how many years as Surly has been making Darkness.

 

Whoops, it looks like I read what I wanted to see.