Surly Ashy Cynic

Brewed by Surly Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota USA

(Cask) Pours a murky amber body with a spare white head. Aroma of pineapple, florals, grass, honey, and herbs. Flavor of grass, herbal, citrus, florals, and subtle wood undertones.

FoBAB 2008, Chicago: I must admit that some of my disappointment with this brew stems from the idea that I had that this was aged on ash... like the remnants in my old fireplace. Then I remembered that I was at a "wood and barrel aged" beer festival, and I realized that it was the baseball bat ash. Be that as it may - This seemed a bit muted from the can of CynicAle that I had last year. It had an aroma of lemony pale malts and mild spices, but gone was the zesty spiciness of the original Saison. I’m not sure what the baseball bat contributed to the mix, but, to this Fantôme lover, this was just a sessionable, decently quiet ale.

On cask and drawn at Grumpy’s NE bar in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pours a hazy light golden orange brew with a thick and creamy white head that stays with the beer and excellent lacing. Aroma of mild banana esters, apricot, pineapple, peach, honey and light golden multi-grain malt. Taste is close to the regular CynicAle with slight dry herb flavor. Finish continues a semi-dry aftertaste with some light lemon zest and wood character. Not as smooth as the oak aged version but still memorable.

On tap at FoBAB. Poured slightly hazy medium golden with a short cap of white head. The aroma picked up sweeter light fruits, clover honey, and pale malts with pineapple and woody accents.. OK. The flavor found tangy lighter fruits and heavy ash over sweeter caramel and floral notes.. finished kinda sour and very woody. Medium-bodied with low carbonation on the palate.. decent spicage and OK feel.. the ash was a bit much.

FoBAB 2008. Poured a slightly hazy medium orange color. Smelled of honey touched cereal grain with whiffs of banana and clove. Medium bodied and delicately sweet. I tasted orange, flower blossom, honey, and wood. Good, but I prefer the regular Cynic.

FoBAB 2008. Pours to a yellowish straw body with a thin soapy white head. The aroma is almost like a cardamom and pineapple. Must be the ash wood bit as there iss something I cannot pinpoint. Saison yeasts. The flavor has a very strong ash wood flavor along with pineapple and dusty yeasts. Saison yeast with some dusty grain. Interesting but only so-so.

at GTMW ’09. pour murky gold with no head. aroma of ash, yeasty, citrusy. flavors are ash, dry, yeasty, esters, grainy.

Real ale tent at GTMW 09. A hazy gold color with a generous head. Similar to Cynic in aroma but with a distinct woody character. A light woody character in the body that was a pleasant addition. I’d like to see more wood aging like this.