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Surly Darkness 2017 is still everything death metal & damn delicious

Surly Darkness 2017

Surly Darkness 2017 releases on October 21st. Here’s your sneak peek.

2006 saw the first batch of Surly Darkness. As the story goes, one-morning brewery founder Omar Ansari showed up on a weekend to get some work done to find folks standing outside. They wanted Darkness. A line for beer was weird back in 2006.

Now, 11 years later, Surly Darkness Day has become one of the “must attend” events in craft beer. Thirsty people travel from all over the country to see the darkest of metal bands and sip Russian imperial stout as the leaves change. It’s like a damn greeting card, but with strong beer and double bass kicks.

Tomorrow, this big bottle of metal is unleashed again.

As we sit barstool-deep in the Craft Beer Gold Rush, a line for an in-demand beer outside your local brewery’s door is not uncommon.  In 2006, it was fucking weird. And great.

Surly Darkness is anything but a simple Russian imperial stout. The 22-ounce bottles sport some of the darkest, most sinister labels in the industry that change every year. Seriously, if Rob Zombie had an art event at The Louvre, we think it would look like 11 years of these beer labels.

Darkness has set a high bar for the style in just over a decade. This year’s release is right on point with the flavors that have garnered such a loyal following. Each sip is wash of dark chocolate and a touch of coffee, with hints of raisins and dark fruit, finishing with a smooth boozy heat. Put the pumpkins down, this is the flavor of an upper mid-west fall. Drinking a Darkness is a basically a required merit badge for the craft beer drinker.

Surly Darkness 2017 is a limited 22-ounce bottle release at the brewery in Minnesota. The line starts at 11 AM.

Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Hops: Warrior, Simcoe, Amarillo
Malts: 2-row, Golden Promise, Aromatic, Chocolate, Black, 50/60, Special B, Roasted Barley, Oats, Brewers Crystals, DMEAvailability: 22oz Bottles, Draft.

Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft. Limited Release.
Latest Return: 10/21/17

12% ABV 2017

PIC: Beer Street Journal