Surly-brewed canned version from shared recipe (with Texas’ Real Ales and Indiana’s Three Floyds Brewing) is stylistically as good as it gets. A complex Imperial Stout/ IPA-styled Cascadian Dark Ale, its expansive flavor profile combines rich mocha nuttiness with brisk citric fruiting. Initial coffee whimsicality, dried cocoa bittering and mild caramel latte creaming deepen dark-roasted chocolate malting over pine-charred hop roast. Sweet orange peel zest sprinkles grapefruit, pineapple and lemondrop illusions just below the brown chocolate-y surface. Well done.

Enchanting French-roasted Amaya coffee beans provide bitterswseet anchor for expressive tan-headed mahogany-bodied dark ale. Aggressive roasted hop char contrasts sweet hazelnut-pecan-almond conflux. Raw molasses bittering and thick anise oiling increase intensity at the midst while tropical citric wisp nips at the prominent mocha richness.

Magnificent full-bodied black ale bests stylistic competition with its richly creamed mocha theme and sublime floral-bound fruited nature. Dark-roasted black chocolate malting allows nutty coffee, cocoa nibs and molasses tones to flourish above ashen piney hop acridity (and fresh evergreen aromatics). Orange-peeled grapefruit rind bittering affects subtler pineapple-papaya-mango-kiwi tropicalia as well as laidback black cherry, tangerine and navel orange smidge. “Fear the Dark,” indeed!