Surly Barrel Aged Furious

Brewed by Surly Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota USA

Winterfest 2008
This was a cask conditioned and tea bagged version. The aroma on this beer is just lovely. Top notch! Sweet tangerine and mango entice the senses. The cask muddles the flavor a little, and the carbonation is low, but very smooth on the palate. I have to admit, in general I prefer non cask beer, but nonetheless I think this was the best beer at the event. I had to dock 1 pt. but only because this was a cask version. I’d love to try the non cask version.

Oak-aged Tea Bagged Furious. Hazy orange with hints of red and a whiteish head. Massive citrus hop nose with a light bitterness to it. Smooth and hoppy on the body.

Cask conditioned at the St Paul Winterfest ’08 in downtown St Paul, Minnesota as Surly Oak-aged Tea Bagged Furious. Pours a semi-hazy orange amber brew with a thick off-white head that has some excellent retention and thick lacing. Aroma of sweet tangerines from the infused simcoe hops, with some biscuit malt character and a touch of caramel and light tobacco. Taste is quite smooth and creamy compared to the regular Surly Furious with a semi-sweet tangerine with light biscuit caramel malt and some toasted dry malt. Finish is just as smooth and creamy as its flavor with a lingering mild and bitter aftertaste is slowly disappears long after the finish. Of all 37 beers I’ve tried at the St Paul Winterfest, this has to be the finest beer I have tasted this evening.

FoBAB 2007, Chicago. IPA foam makes up half the glass, and that foam itself is really hoppy. Large pine and pineapple smell, taste adds the big punch grapefruit and cat. Strong malts over as milder oak note. A whole lotta beer in an eensy-weensy glass.

On tap at Firkin Fest March 08. Pours a hazy thick honeyed amber with large amounts of thick honey colored head. Aroma is citrus vanilla hops. Flavor is definite citrus hops, has a spring like fresh note. Medium bodied.

On tap at FoBAB ’07. Red with small off-white head. Hoppy citrus and pine aroma. Hopped up bitterness, caramel, oak and grain flavor. Creamy medium to full body. Furius with a little oaky.

Cask at Darkness Day: Lightly orange-amber pour with a large, creamy beige head. Massively thick sheets of lacing. Nose is rather sweet and fruity, mostly citrus. A bit of the tea is present, but comes through much more in the taste. Nicely rounded citrus and malty notes compliment the tea and oak notes. Nice.

On tap at FoBAB 07. Pours a clear amber brown with a white head. Lemon, pine, grapefruit, caramel, and citrus in the nose. Citrusy pine flavors with a nice caramel back bone and an all encompassing oak and bitterness. This holds up well to the oak. Tasty.