Surly Damien
From the blackest depths of the brewhouse comes Damien, Child of Darkness. Spawned from the usually discarded remnants of Darkness, Damien is a dry-hopped black ale. Flavors of roasted malt and dark brown sugar suffocated by aromas of tangerine and pine.
3.6
167 reviews
Minneapolis, United States
Community reviews
Pours black with a beige head, aroma of chocolate, caramel, malt, flavor is bitter with caramel and malt, medium bodied
Big bottle. Rye malt aroma. Resin malt spice little hops flavor. Medium body. Hard to describe. It good.
Ruby-black pour with a brown chocolate milk type head. The aroma has rich milk chocolate with a slight touch of spice. It has a medium body with smooth texture and average carbonation. The taste is mildly sweet with roasted, dark chocolate.
750ml bottle. Rich roasted malt aroma with chocolate, brown sugar, tangerine and pine resiny hops. Pours black with a large mocha brown head that has excellent retention and some lacing. Starts with rich roasted malt, chocolate and brown sugar flavors as well as a full body and smooth mouthfeel. Finishes dry but quite smooth with some tangerine and pine resiny citrus joining the robust roasted malt flavors. Nice black ipa.
Tap at Freshcraft, black color with small to medium head. Notes of roasted malt, chocolate, pine, and maybe some hops citrus but it's always very hard to pick out hop notes in most black ipas. Medium bodied.
On tap at Hops and Pie poured a clear dark reddish brown with a small lasting tan head. Aromas of roasted malt, cocoa, earthiness and light coffee. Palate was light bodied and crisp with a smooth dry finish. Flavors of roasted malt, cocoa, earthiness and light coffee with a smooth dry lingering earthy cocoa finish.
Black hue under a thin foamy light khaki head. Roasty black malt biscuity aroma with a bitter hop kiss. Smooth brisk black malty flavor that’s gently hopped enough to balance, with a semidry roasty finish. Really middle of the road.
Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, light brown, mostly lasting. Body is black (non-opaque, flashlight tested). Aroma is moderately malty (roasted grain, unsweetened chocolate), lightly hoppy (grapefruit). Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery/velvety texture, lively carbonation.
Overall pretty good, if forgettable. Simple aroma doesn't really excite or inspire, but it looks good and the flavor balance and mouthfeel are both suited for enjoyable quaffing. Not something I'd buy again, but decent for what it is. Usually second runnings beers are pretty junky, but this is perfectly drinkable.
Bottle pours black with a tan head. Aroma of citrus, pine and caramel. Taste is caramel and pine
Bottle. Almost black in colour with medium carbonation. Aromas of sweet pale malt, wet coffee grounds, chocolate syrup, and a bit of conifer. Flavors are fairly tame by Surly standards, with a balanced pale and roasted malt backbone supported by elements of chocolate, ash, and a bit of pine. Medium bodied with a moderate bitterness. Definitely more porter-like than black IPA. Where all the hops at?
On tap at Boonie's On the Avenue. Black colored appearance with a lacy tan head. Aroma of roasted grain, earth, cocoa, chocolate malt and mild piney hops. Similar flavor, adding moderate bitterness and mild sweetness. Medium to light body with a smooth finish. Nice.
Bottle. Dark brown pour with a big, quickly dissipating tan head. Aroma is rich roasty chocolate with hints of resiny hops. Taste is lighter than expected, again roasty chocolate with just a little hoppiness. A tasty beer, but not what I'm expecting from a Black IPA, especially from Surly.
Black pour, dark brown head. Citrus and pine aromas. Very sweet brown sugar taste with a touch of cocoa. Noticeable bitterness from the hops as well. Very interesting
750 ml. bottle. Pours black with a decent tan head. Aroma of citrus, pine, and malt. Taste is citrus, pine, roasted malt, coffee, and some chocolate. Interesting.
10/15/17. 750mL bottle thanks to cbfobes! Black pour with a nice tan head. Nice aroma, rich dark malt character, ash, chocolate, coffee, some citrus, pine. Good flavor, citrus, pine, coffee, ash, roasted malts, hint of caramel. Tasty.
B-. Pours a black color with khaki head. Well balanced, notes of coffee and chocolate
On tap at Surly. Pours deep black with tan head. Scent is malts, pine, and citrus. Taste is chocolate, mocha, and tangerine. An interesting and complex beer that provides a range of flavors.
750 ml shared bottle.
Moderately hoppy, not quite to the level of a black IPA.
Rich aftertaste with hints of burnt toast but mainly dark roasted grains.
on tap at brewer black pour with tan head hoppy aroma flavor is chocolate and roast malt.
Pretty decent black IPA. Thick aroma of pine but predominantly coffee and dark chocolate. Brown, almost black appearance. Thick dark brown head. Medium bodied.
Really dark brown color with mocha head. Aroma has dark malt, some sugar, even a hint of liquorice. Taste starts with chocolate, roasted malt, caramel and finishes with just a hint of roasty and earthy bitterness. Medium body, soft carbonation. Overall it’s quite good but nothing really special.
22 ounce bottle from Badger Spirits in Beloit, WI, consumed fairly cold initially from a Guinness pint glass. Very close to opaque jet, small-to-moderate tan head dies to a thin coating of foam, leaving spiky lacing...bit of cocoa, sprucy-resinous hop notes, something faintly sweet, maybe molasses, in the fairly inviting aroma...body is bitter and roasty throughout, very faint sweetness, some oily resinous characteristics, with a finish that’s quite bitter and long...average body I suppose, rather strong but supple carbonation. A pretty decent example of a style that will probably never be a favorite of mine, but I find it difficult to come up with anything meaningful to write here and to set it apart from other decent black IPAs. Just me I suppose.
Bomber from Whole Foods Milwaukee. Black, large foamy brown head, good retention. Aroma of chocolate, roasted malt, tangerine. The taste is roasted malt, citrus, chocolate. Medium bodied, smooth, well balanced. Solid.
Bottle, thanks to Jimmy. Pours clear reddish black, medium tan head, great lacing. Aroma is dusty, ashy, pine, roasty. Flavor is dry, medium bitter, roasty, ashy. Medium body. Not great.
Aroma is pine, dark malts and uniquely perfumed. The flavor is earthy/dark malts, grapefruit, citrus and a mix of dryish and bitter/tart in the finish.
Bottled & tap. Deep brown body with a small, tan lacing head. Aroma of roasted malt, chocolate and citrus notes. Sweet flavor that ends up more dry and slightly bitter. Medium bodied, oily textute and soft carbonation.. An excellemt BIPA. 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Aroma - slight coffee, light accompanying hops. Slightly earthy.
Appearance - the body is black, the head is beige 2", and fades into a nice foam.
Taste - has a slightly earthy nature combined with coffee, some floral hops, some mild hops, and a little spice.
Palate - the body is medium, the texture is silky, carbonation is average, the finish is only slightly astringent.
22oz bottle 11/21/16 (Binny’s Montgomery)-44° in Shaker-Pours black with a decent tan head. Aroma of hops, malt, chocolate, and vanilla. Taste of the same. this light to medium bodied brew is well balanced and downright tasty.
Another solid beer from Surly. This ones not too hoppy more malt forward. Burnt toffee, oak, some mild citrus hops. Goes down easy for the style.
Compared to Surly’s usual level of hop aggression, Damien is a pretty smooth beer. Darkness is on the horizon for me, but I haven’t tasted it yet. Still, the fact that its mere leftovers can tame hop bitterness by the likes of Surly definitely says something about the brew’s strength. That’s not to say there isn’t a hop presence. There is. Pine and citrus notes in the flavor and aroma. Mainly, though, there’s a lot of bittersweet chocolate and dark fruit flavoring. Feel is creamy yet not as heavy as some of the overcharged Black IPA’s. Hey, the greatest sins are ever so inviting.