Surly Bender

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

Above average brown ale mainly because it presents more body and more flavors than most brown ales. The body is a dark brown underneath a small, but fizzy brown head. The aroma is slight, but what is there is malty with roasted grain and a bit of chocolate and very lightly hoppy. The flavor, though, is moderately sweet and lightly bitter and full of malt character raising tastes of caramel, nuts, toast. The finish is citrus hops. Medium body. Lively carbonation.

9-29-07 can. Roasted alcohol smell. Brown black color. Bitter coffee taste. Decent on the palate.

Can: Pours deep amber with a thin mocha head. Lots of caramel and toffee notes mix with a white sugar sweetness in the nose. Milk chocolate, cocoa, plum and roasted coffee notes make an appearance as well. The plummy note persists in the body, riding atop the wave of caramel malts. Complexity sums up the body - there is alot going on for a 5.1% brown ale. Citrusy hops, creamy malts and dark fruits are all present. This is a nice beer, but it is kind out of whack and overhopped for me.

The can-can? Would you dance with me? I loved it! The bender was just what I expected except I felt better the next day (I hope so). Carmel, coffee, chocolate malty goodness. I love brown ale. I’m glad it’s local.

16-oz. can. Thanks, Theisti! Now...this is a brown ale, damn. Pours nearly black with a light, sudsy tan head, plenty of rings of sedimentary lace on the way down. Sweet molasses and brown bread nose. Body’s on the high side of medium, active carb, plenty of forward roast and toast right on the attack. Mid-palate takes the roast and ups the ante with a bit of piney/creosote-y hop, and the hop predominates in the finish. Great stuff.

Almost a creamy lite porter taste in it. Nice and easy drinkability with no real detectable alcohol in the drink.

Can from tytoanderso - thanks, Tyler! My second Surly brew and it’s another impressive one, particularly given my relative disregard for the style. Perhaps it’s the oats that give this beer so much character, but there’s a real smoothness and heft to it, not so much from traditional malting (at least that doesn’t seem so prominent in the taste) as from chewy, biscuity qualities. Nice liveliness from some hops too, with a sweet bourbon-like finish.

Poured from a 16oz can supplied by tytoanderso and served in an English pint glass. This brew poured a deep, dark mahogany color with a frothy tan head that quickly faded down to a thin layer of lasting bubbles. Just a touch of faint lace was left around the glass. The aroma of the beer was mildly roasty and made up of milk chocolate, caramel, and also some light vanilla notes. The flavor included oats, caramel, cocoa, and lightly roasted malts. Also a hint of chocolate, finishing up lightly bitter. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied and creamy with a nice dose of tingly carbonation. An excellent beer with a wonderfully balanced flavor. This beer brings some excitement to a style that tends to be a bit mundane. Well done!