Surly Bender

Thanks to dpjuart. Clear brown with a rich, off-white head. Smells overly hoppy with grapefruit, pine and floral hop notes. No malt aroma to speak of. Tastes crazy crazy hoppy with very little malt anywhere. Grapefruit, herbal, and (slight) roasted malts. Meh. Not bad, but it is drinkable.

From can courtesy of dpjuart. Hoppy and metallic nose, grassy. Bit of malty profile but weak; bit of chocolate. Dark dark brown-black clear with thin off-white head. Medium body with light-medium carbonation. Starts with medium malt sweetness and dry nutty bitterness. Bit of chocolate and light coffee. Finishes dry with mild acidity. Decent brown but nothing that grabs me - I’m not a big brown ale fan.

[can] Pours deep brown with a moderate off white head. Aroma is strikingly hoppy, which is quickly overtaken to bittersweet chocolate and burnt caramel. Flavor is really rich and nice, and very well balanced. In the end, the bittersweet chocolate takes over most of the flavors and the hops offset the sweetness with a good bitter finish.

On tap at the Dock Cafe in Stillwater, MN. Unfortunately, I lost my notes (damned text message clean-up...). From what I recall, this was a murky brown ale dominated by toast and chocolate notes, earthy, with a bitter finish and a touch of dark fruitskin. No single element stood out, but the sum was greater than the whole of the parts.

On draft at Hopleaf. Pours a dark brown with a frothy head. Very roasted aroma with maybe some cocoa. Taste is roasted malt with some chocolate. The hops come through nicely in the finish.

On tap at The Happy Gnome in St. Paul, MN. Dark brown with off-white head. Aroma of roast coffee and chocolate, leaves a lot of lacing. Tastes like a combination of a brown ale and a stout, with a strong coffee taste.

Can from Pole Smoke #1 (Sean). Thanks. Another Surly that I have wanted to try for a while, and I have always liked brown ales alot. So I was as anxious to drink this one as the furious. Pours out a dark brown color with a tan head on it. Smell is full of roasted malts and sweet caramel. Taste is smooth and roasted yet somewhat refreshing too. Far too easy to drink, could become dangerous in large quantities. Need to get some more of this. Good stuff for sure.

16oz can from maximum12 (BA site). Pours black with a thin tan head which dissipated quickly. Nose was of smoke and roast malt with coffee. Taste is roast malt, coffee and nutty. Mouthfeel was thin and watery but still clean and flavorful.