Surly Darkness (2017)

**Aroma:** “Rich malt sweetness. Full of chocolate and cocoa. Nice roast character and some sweet dark fruit, raisin, plum prune notes. Slight hints of coffee. Well aged—raisins and light alcohol.” **Flavor:** “Rich and full bodied—what an explosion of flavor! It’s very sweet but the alcohol dries out the finish nicely. Everything the nose promised is here: malt complexity, warmth, and fine aging. Roast quality meshes well with the other malt flavors and the raisin/dried fruit richness is welcome. High in alcohol for sure, but the higher alcohol meshes well with the malt and it seems well aged.” **Overall:** “A beautiful example—chewy and rich, designed for sipping, and not too hot. This beer has all of the characteristics of a great imperial stout. It’s rich, complex, roasty, and huge with some obvious age to it. Sweet yet complex with the right amount of bitterness in a supporting role. Smells and tastes like a gift from the back corner of the cellar.”

**Aroma:** “Pumpernickel biscuit, with rising bread dough yeast notes. Dates and bright stone fruit up front, with slightly hot-ferment aromas and booze coming in at the back. The medium-low roast is evident, with an ever-slight chocolate and malt sweetness.” **Flavor:** “This beer is a nice balance between dark, sweet chocolate, and roasted malt. It has a rich toasted bread-crust character, malty roast, and tobacco leaves. Slightly earthy hops are present on the sides of the tongue, with small alcohol warmth at the back, and a lingering roast astringency. Some backend fruity esters emerge as it warms. A nice body carries the beer well, and the carbonation is spot on.” **Overall:** “An incredible, complex malt profile that challenges the senses but is still delightful to drink, and overall a good beer that has some complexity throughout. It’s woody, cinnamon, earthy, and roasty, with tobacco—like chewing a cigar while eating a chocolate-covered raisin.”

**Aroma:** “Some sweet dark cherry and raisin character. Nice sweet chocolate. Slight vanilla and oak. A musty red wine barrel character. I imagine this is what an old French wine-barrel room smells like. Medium strong roast dominates with some bright cherry notes dancing on top. Relatively thin overall on the nose.” **Flavor:** “Nice blend of flavors. Some bold roasty notes, nice dark and sweet chocolate notes, and some sweet dark cherry notes. The oak character adds nice complexity to the beer, hitting in the middle and carrying through the finish. The warmth also adds to the taste and cuts some of the sweetness. Some tannins couple with the roast and alcohol to add to the dry finish.” **Overall:** “This is a really smooth and well blended barrel-aged imperial stout. Lots of good malt flavors came together well and worked together throughout the whole beer. An interesting beer that displays a heavy amount of wine barrel that will do well with some age on it.”