I had a glass of Surly Darkness for the second time last night. I had had it once before and been truly unimpressed. But when our waitress came around and told us the non-"domestic" (don't get me started) beer selection and we heard "Surly Darkness," we all jumped and said "Yes! That one!" Including me. Even though I remember not caring for it.
And, once again, I had it and did not care for it. Because it is the Max Fischer of beers.
Surly Darkness could be good, but it tries to do too many things at once. I don't even know what flavors I'm supposed to be looking for or experiencing. It has so many things going on that not one of them is done well by my tongue. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a hopstravaganza, if it's supposed to be like drinking a loaf of bread, or if it's supposed to have fruity/woody/spiced overtones. And I'm pretty sure the reason I can't tell is because it does all of these things at full tilt.
So, Max Fischer of beers, I'm not going to say you're bad. I'm just going to say I don't think you're good enough for me. But there are plenty of Margaret Yangs out there.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
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I have to agree. I remember being all psyched up for it when it debuted last year to the point where I actually went to Stub & Herb's just because that was the one place I knew for sure was going to have it. Completely underwhelmed and it took me some work to actually finish my pint.
ReplyDeleteI'll stick with Furious or CynicAle and leave the Darkness to those who can appreciate it.
I have been a Darkness skeptic for all the years of its existance. But I actually quite enjoyed this year's batch. Hm....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aperfectpint.net/blog.php/?p=463
Darkness is supposed to be akin to a Russian Imperial Stout, which is (generically speaking), a bigger stout. Dark chocolate, coffee, stone fruits, hop flavor bitterness and aroma are all a handful of flavors one could taste in a RIS.
ReplyDeleteDarkness this year was, compared to previous years, a delight. Last years was way too sweet... as in... under-fermented. The year before that was way too dry and tasted like cigarette ashes.
This year may have been good, but does it live up to the hype? Absolutely not. Especially for $18/bottle. There are many RIS' out there that are far better, produced year round, and best of all, cheaper. Great Divide Yeti and Avery Czar are both great, come in 22oz bottles and are usually only $6-$7 per bottle! North Coast Old Rasputin is also another great RIS.