Surly Bender

There’s a lot of wood in this one, and a slight astringency. Ruby color. Fairly dry. I didn’t like this as much as the Furious.

The appearance is a dark brown with a light brown head. Flavor is a combination of coffee and caramel and a little vanilla. It is a great beer with a little dry finsh that suites teh beer well.

Can’t believe I haven’t rated this yet. Pours a deep ruby brown color, with a lively frothy head. Flavor is light roast, mild coffee, vanilla bean, oats, and cream, with a nice dryness to finish it off. Medium bodied. Smooth and easy drinking on the palate. Solid session beer. Better than most boring brown ales.

Can from jrob 21 - thanks!. Big hoppy nose with Cascades and some must, a lot of roast/toast malt with heavy waves of bitter chocolate and nuts. Caramel. Dark mahogany pour with a unique orange-brown head that creams and rocks itself deliciously. Taste is - yessir - heavy, thick chocolate malt and prickly Cascades, has enough Black Sun in it for comparison, but then veers off in its own direction, with silky, syrupy oatmeal strands, caramel, and cocoa. Bitter and nutty. Finish and after have a slightly acidic fruity tang, otherwise dry and rindy. Thinnish, flattish body. Cocoa reminds more of a porter than of a brown ale. Robust session actually worthy of everyday drinking. Layered, complex, delicious!

Every single person who saw me drinking this said I would like coffee bender better. So, I felt like I was missing something. That being said: Can shared by tytoanderso: Pours a dark brown, with a white and quickly dissipating head. Aroma of flat vanilla, some caramel, and actual coffee beans -- not roasted coffee, and table cream. Flavor is smooth roasted coffee, maybe even a little under-carbonated, and a tinge of hazelnut. Slight wooden flavor that seemed misplaced. Overall, very good brew.

Scored a few cans of this on my trip to Minneapolis. Pours from a 16 oz. can a dark brown with a REALLY thick brown head. I had to make an emergency run to the sink because the beer overflowed my glass. Aroma is very simple a bit of sweet cocoa, some hops, and a bit of oat malts coming out. Taste is hoppier that I expected which gave a few extra points but largely this beer was very simple. Caramel and a bit of chocolate come together for a weird mix then you get blasted by hops which was a crazy change and maybe does more harm than good. I dunno this was just ok, just brew your average ho-hum brown ale and double the hop profile and you’ll have Bender. I’ll be honest I hate Brown Ales, they just suck. This being said this was probably the best one I’ve ever had but it still isn’t that great of a beer and I’d rather have many more others than this one.

A dark brown color with a fizzy thin brown head. The aroma has a lot of sweet brown sugar malt and some mild hop character. The flavor is strong roasted malt with some chocolate and caramel. There is a bit of a hop profile in the finish, but doesn’t leave much on the tongue. Medium bodied beer.

Can courtesy tpd975. Pours brown with a one finger tan head that leaves good lacing. Aroma of oats, chocolate, and caramel. Taste is the same as aroma. Medium creamy mouthfeel with a moderate amount of bitterness. Very good.