Darkness Day

On Saturday I attended Darkness Day at the Surly Brewing Company. Darkness is the name of Surly's Russian Imperial Stout beer. A Russian Imperial Stout is a very strong dark ale which alcohol by volume often in excess of 10%. The history of Russian Imperial Stouts can be traced back to 1796 and Catherine the Great of Russia's fondness for the beer style. Catherine had contracted directly with the Courage Anchor Brewery and John Courage Brewery of England to produce the beer style directly for her and her court.

Russian Imperial Stouts are somewhat unique in the time that they take to ferment and condition. Most beers will ferment and condition in a matter of weeks. Imperial stouts can take up to a year to ferment and years to condition. Like a good wine, Russian Imperial Stouts get better with age.

Surly's Darkness is released one day per year at a special event at the brewery. The first 800 people were given a wrist band that allowed you to buy up to 6 bottles at $18 each. This year they are also releasing 2500 bottles to the local liquor stores next week. We arrived at 9:30 a.m. and were able to get wrist bands but I was told that they ran out of wristbands before the doors even opened at 12:00 p.m.! Here's a picture of the line going for as far as you can see at about 11:00 a.m.

I would imagine that for many the Russian Imperial Stout is an acquired taste as it is the antithesis of the traditional American lager. The taste of Russian Imperials is heavy on chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt flavors. Some Russian Imperials do not manage to hide the alcohol content and have a slight alcohol burn to them. Often Russian Imperials will also ferment in fruit, wood, or some other flavor to help balance it out. The good ones, such as Surly's Darkness, balance the sweetness, bitterness, and mask the alcohol content so well that it tastes more like a dessert than a beer. The longer that these bottles sit, the better that the flavors balance out. I plan to cellar these beers for as long as possible but I don't know how long I will be able to hold out!