Surly Bender

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

From the can. Pours dark brown, red hues at the edges with a smooth khaki head. Roasty chocolate nose. Flavor pulls a lot of bitter chocolate in, soft coffee note in the finish. Smooth with a long lingering bitter finish.

Can thanks to the always-generous dchmela. Deep brown pour, nearly opaque in a pint glass. Tan/yellow head that starts big and pillowy but settles down after some decent lacing. Malty caramel, cocoa, roasted barley, cotton candy, and hops on the nose. Similar taste, but with surprising fruitiness as well... apple juice, perhaps? A tad nutty. Quite good. Nice light mouthfeel and low alcohol. That won points in my book. This is not a ’huge’ beer, but its all-around balance and drinkability are top-notch.

Can, thanks to kosko20. Brown pour with some light brown head. Meaty smoked malt and toffee in the aroma. Flavor is the same; a little nutty, smoked / meaty and sweet also. Pretty good flavor.

In short: A milk-chocolate and toastiness abound in this very good but atypical Brown Ale
How: Can 16oz. Consumed relatively fresh, 2 months after receiving it from Stine. Thanks a lot Eben.
The look: Dark mahogany body topped by a very small beige head
In long: Nose of hot-chocolate that has cooled down. Taste has milk-chocolate, toasted whole-wheat bread, more milk-chocolate, pecans, some baked pie crust and a whole lot of leafy hops to perfectly balance it out. Very easy to drink. The fact that it’s a liquid helps in that regard.

Pours brown w/ a thin off white head. Came off a little bit sweet, nicely hopped though w/ a good malty balance. Liked it a lot.

Pours an alomst porter like color and consistancy. The palate is also porter like but the flavor and aroma is coffee hop and a lot roasted roasted malt. Yummy!!!

Pours brown in color. Looks a little thin on the pour and has clear/ruby highlights around the edges. Smell is hops and roasted malt. Taste is even more of the hops. There is a good roasty quality and some coffee as well. The oatmeal really smooths this beer out. This is good, just really thin for my liking. Another solid beer from Surly, but it’s no Furious.

Pours dark brown with white head. Smells strongly of hops and roasted malts. This one is overpowered by the delicious hoppy taste. An enjoyable beer that may be too hoppy for a brown ale.