Surly Bender

Can @ Chris o shindig 2007. Clear medium brown color with a small, fizzy, mostly diminishing, light brown head. Aroma is moderate malty, roasted, caramel, brown sugar. Flavor is moderate sweet with a average duration. Body is light to medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft to flat.

Draft at GTMW. Pours a dark brown with a thin tan head. Nice aroma of nuts, caramel and toffee. The flavor has a great taste of roasted malts, nuttiness, a bit of sugar, and some light berries. Nice clean nutty finish. Very well done brown ale.

Sampled at an STL beer gathering. Pours mahogany with a crimson hue and a tannish head. The aroma has roasted nutty malt, light butter and some sweetness. Medium smooth body with smoothness and a bit of grassiness and small frothy carbonation. The flavor starts with roasted nuttiness and lots of hops for the style - very smooth enjoyable flavors. The finish has more sharpness, more hops and then lingering mild coffee. Thumbs up for this choice brown ale.

Thanks to Flyer for bringing this beer from a recent visit to Minneapolis. I found this beer to be rather good, but I didn’t find it to be spectacular. It pours a dark brown with striking blood red hues as light dances through it. Bender has a somewhat scarce but pleasing light tan head composed of inconsistently sized bubbles. Aroma is a pleasing but understated caramel and toffee smell with some alcohol esters. Flavor is pleasingly sweet and roasty, but with a bit of a watery mouthfeel which seemed to get stickier as I drained my glass (and as it got a bit warmer). Quite good.

Pours a deep crimson with mahogany clouds with a mid-sized, slowly receding beige head. The nose is very fresh and has alot going on. Notes of caramel malts, brown sugar, oranges, grapes, grapefruit pith and nuts. Lesser scents of roasted grain, cocoa powder and very mild coffee with sugar round out the aroma. Alcohol is not detected. The flavor expands a touch on the roast and coffee notes, still fruity and mildly hoppy. Sweetness is medium to medium-high, acidity is medium, bitterness mlid to medium. The mouthfeel is fantastically creamy, medium bodied, with high carbonation and a smooth and rich texture. Finishes dry, lightly to moderately bitter, roasted coffee and sugars lingering for a short while, caramel lingering on. Very good and though it’s not that exciting, it is incredibly easy to enjoy.

Courtesy of Styles

Can: The aroma consists of chocolate, caramel, light berries, and a hint of nuttiness. It’s a reddish-brown with some transparency and a small beige head. The flavor starts with caramel, berries, and chocolate. Finishes with light roasted nut notes and a hint of earthy bitterness. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

Can. Can’t believe that I haven’t rated this yet. Aroma of lightly roasted malt, hops, nuts and grain. Pours a rich dark brown with some amber highlights and a huge khaki head. Flavor has some nice grassy hops, dark chocolate and some roasted malt. Very crisp on the palate with average carbonation.

Very nice malty aroma. Pours with a lightly off-light-brown head. Taste is malty and hoppy with a nutty taste. Very citric hops make a certain initial crispness, but fades into a coffee flavor. Very decent!