Is Surly Darkness Barrel Aged?

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by dwduncan2, Aug 4, 2014.

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  1. dwduncan2

    dwduncan2 Initiate (0) Feb 8, 2012 Illinois

    I was always under the impression that it is not barrel aged and that they have done barrel aged variants of it, but this article says otherwise. Maybe this year's release will be barrel aged?

    http://beerstreetjournal.com/surly-darkness-2014/
     
  2. dwduncan2

    dwduncan2 Initiate (0) Feb 8, 2012 Illinois

    Also, the artwork looks awesome this year.
     
  3. MooseBoose

    MooseBoose Initiate (0) Jun 6, 2007 Wisconsin

    Giant boo from me. Loved it non-barrel aged.
     
  4. Brenden

    Brenden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,436) Feb 25, 2008 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    As per the link above: previous to this year's, no. This year, yes.
     
  5. sbxx

    sbxx Initiate (0) Mar 21, 2011 Illinois

    Regular Darkness is great, but this is a nice changeup.

    Jealous of MN folk who get to taste Non-BA '14 Darkness on cask tomorrow at the Surly Taproom, dry hopped w/ Simcoe & Amarillo. Mmmm.
     
  6. TboneRN

    TboneRN Initiate (0) Mar 30, 2014 Minnesota

    Hey guys, I have talked with people at the brewery...it is indeed 100% barrel aged this year...for approx 4-6 months in high west bourbon barrels (Same type of barrel used to age Surly 8 which is an oatwine). I have been told that this might be a one time thing and is due in part to the demand the brewery has on its current resources...for instance they were unable to make surly wet this year...once the new brewery opens up it should be back to being non barrel aged although I could see them doing both.
     
    Dontcounttoday likes this.
  7. TboneRN

    TboneRN Initiate (0) Mar 30, 2014 Minnesota

    I wanted to correct myself...High west Rye whiskey barrels
     
  8. SinBoldly

    SinBoldly Devotee (372) Apr 21, 2014 Illinois

    Blech! They ruined perfectly awesome Darkness!!

    (And, yes, before anyone says anything - I know that is just my opinion.)
     
    MooseBoose likes this.
  9. AstraXtreme

    AstraXtreme Zealot (539) Mar 21, 2014 Wisconsin

    I kind of feel that Darkness is one of the few top tier unbarrel-aged stouts, so by them making it BA, they're entering an area with a hell of a lot more competition. I'm sure it will be awesome, but only being in barrels 4-6 months may not be enough time to allow the bourbon flavors to mix in. A lot of others are aged for a year or more.
     
    SeanBond likes this.
  10. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,904) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I would agree in that Darkness is my favorite non-BA stout, but who knows, maybe a "lightly barrel-aged" touch will add another subtle layer to an already complex beer (as opposed to turning it into a stout that is heavy on the bourbon).

    Either way, I'm excited to see if they've pulled it off.
     
    AstraXtreme likes this.
  11. teledeluxe

    teledeluxe Initiate (0) Nov 21, 2013 Illinois

    I normally think the bottle artwork is pretty badass. This one, not so much.
     
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