Surly Bender

Can: Pours a dark chocolate brown with a minimal cream head. Very complex nose consisting of baker’s chocolate, oats, nuts and has an underlying hoppiness to it. Medium bodied mouth feel...flavors consist of fine cocoa, oats, vanilla bean, nuts and finishes mildly hoppy. Just an amazing brown ale that’s right up there with the best.

Pour was a brown with a tan head. Aroma was quite hoppy for a brown with seom nots of caramel and chocolate. Flavor was more of a roasted malt with some chocolate and roasted nuts. A decent brown.

Dark brownish color with foamy tan head. Quite a unique flavor including roasted hops, malts, chocolate, coffee. Surprisingly balanced beer; full of flavor and slightly bitter. Excellent beer.

thanks to Sleestak for giving me the chance to try this. Poured brown (duh). Smell was caramel and bitter hops. Taste was coffee, caramel, and a fair bit of bitter hops. Crisp and tasty. This is no weak brown ale.

On tap at Jerry’s. Red-brown with good, foamy tan head / Toasty, winey, molasses nose / Medium body, a little thin and fizzy, with balance of malts and hops, and good, creamy hop finish / Flavors of roast malts, oatmeal, sherry, nuts, and cocoa / Very nice - a few tweaks and it’s excellent.

On tap at Ike’s in the MSP Airport: Pours a ruby brown with a demium creamy tan head. Aroma is light chocolate and hazelnut, some woody hop bitterness and a light burnt vanilla. Flavour is nice dark roast malt, again hazelnut and bitter bakers chocolate. Hop tones balanced out with the roast nut flavours well as you drink. A little thin on the palate for me which kept it from being really really good.

Clear brown with medium beige head. Sweet aroma with roasted malt, caramel and chocolate notes. Sweet flavor with roasted malt, caramel, plums, prunes and mild chocolate notes.

My first Surly. Kinda disappointed, was hoping for better. It was a good beer, just kinda boring and couldn’t detect the "many layers of satisfaction".