Today (Nov. 10th), Acadia Cafe makes their monthly Beer and Beast event a bit more Surly than usual with a cask of Surly Darkness, one of only four made this year. Show up in a timely manner as this won’t last. The cask gets tapped at 5, followed by Beer & Beast at 6pm. This round they’re serving up smoked goat and sides to be paired with Surly Nein, an Imperial Smoked German-style Dunkel Weizen brewed to celebrate the brewery’s 9th anniversary. Celebrate!
Since the first Darkness Day back in 2007, the event has literally blown up into something bigger than any of us could have ever imagined. On Saturday you can join thousands of beer fans at Surly Brewing Co.’s Brooklyn Center brewery for your chance to get your mitts on bottles of this year’s Surly Darkness Russian Imperial Stout.
In 2007, hearty folks waited in line at the brewery starting around 6am. This year (and most other years, for that matter), beer nerds can begin lining up at dusk on Friday evening. The first 1,500 people in line will get a wristband that will allow said wristband-ee to purchase two different variations of Darkness – the original Russian Imperial Stout as well as a barrel-aged version. The wrist band will allow you to buy up to six bottles of “regular” Darkness and one bottle of Barrel-Aged Darkness (Further referred to as “Dorkness,” in this article.) Dorkness has been swimming in High West Rye Whiskey Barrels and is now ready to find its way to your cellar (or gullet). Dork.
Darkness day is from 11am to 5:30pm. When the gates of the brewery are opened, fan are welcome to join in on the festivities of the day with 13 Surly beers on tap, lots of metal, food and more.
If you can’t make it out to Darkness Day or simply aren’t into crowds, rest assured that Darkness bottles will be hitting the shelves in Minnesota starting next week and Dorkness bottles will follow in early December. And if you’re unfortunate enough to live in Iowa, Wisconsin or Chicago, you’ll still be able to find bottles of both versions of Darkness in early December.
True to form, the fine folks at Stub & Herb’s have promised to play host to a “Darkness Eve” celebration at the bar this Friday starting at 7pm. They’ve assembled a variety of dark and spooky beers for your imbibing pleasures. See below for the complete tap list.
Brewer at Surly Brewing Jerrod Johnson and Chipotle’s Manager of National Events Scott Robinson
No doubt you’ve heard that Chipotle’s Cultivate Festival is returning to Loring Park on Saturday. And once again, they’ve teamed up with our friends from Surly Brewing Company to brew an exclusive seasonal offering for the event.
In addition to celebrating all things good (i.e. food, music, beer and ideas), the event will include the “Cultivate Farmnouse Ale,” a Saison brewed with Minnesota barley and rhubarb. If you’d like to try it, we suggest you hit up the Cultivate festival on Saturday between 11am and 7pm. Otherwise you’ll be out of luck.
“For festival goers, Cultivate celebrates great local artisans in both food and drink. The talents of Head Brewer Todd Haug and his team at Surly perfectly exemplify that for the great city of Minneapolis,” said Scott Robinson, manager of national events for Chipotle. “The Farmhouse Ale was so well received last year that we tapped Todd’s team to create another unique beer that appeals to craft beer fans and highlights the great ingredients of Minneapolis.”
This year’s beer includes traditional Belgian malts, Slovenian hops, Minnesota rhubarb and barley grown and malted in Minnesota. We’re told to expect spicy clove notes thanks to the yeast and a rounded malt backbone to offset the tartness of the rhubarb. Wanna’ try it? You’ll be able to grab this beer as well as other great craft beers and wines from nearly a dozen local breweries and wineries in the Tasting Hall.
The event is free and you’ll have the opportunity to check out cooking demonstrations from celebrity chefs, live music, local food and other interactive fun. Check it out. To learn more about the the 2015 Cultivate Minneapolis Festival, visit http://chipotlecultivate.com/cities/minneapolis/.
Surly Brewing Co. 2015 Darkness Art by Brandon Holt. Click on the image for the full version of the artwork.
Go figure that we stumble across the artwork for Surly Brewing Company’s 2015 Darkness on a hot and sticky day in which a Russian Imperial Stout is about the last thing I’d consider drinking. Truth be told, I’m nursing some iced tea and craving a saison. But I digress… For 2015 Surly brought tattoo artist and illustrator Brandon Holt on board. If you’re curious to check out some of his other work, click here for a some samples and here for his Instagram feed. Brandon follows Nic Skrade as second Darkness artist affiliated with Uptown Tattoo.
From the back:
Our 2015 vintage bottling of Darkness features a screeching bat-nightmare by local artist Brandon Holt.
No creature is more adept at navigating in the Darkness than a bat. Emerging from a deep and ancient cave, this year’s twisted nocturnal creature has evolved a set of adaptations well suited to detecting and devouring uncommon nourishment.
Notes of chocolate, coffee, dried tart cherries, and raisins emanate from his lair. If you can evade the talons and teeth, the thick body of this Russian Imperial Stout finishes sweet, with a piney resinous hop character.
Surly Darkness Day 2015 is slated for Saturday, October 24th at their Brooklyn Center brewery. Watch this space for more info as it becomes available.