Surly Bender

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

This is a tasty beer. Lots of bite and nutty at all. Much better as an oatmeal brown than those nutty ones. Don’t get any negatives from the can either. Excellent.

Can courtesy of Skyview. Moderate aromas of coffee and roasted malts. Brown body with thin head. Decent coffee flavor along with some sweet toffee but a bit carbinated. Alright on the palate witha coffeee aftertaste lingering. Thanks Bob.

16oz can via trade with robertsreality! - Thanks Rob - Pours dark brown with a big creamy tan head that stays well and laces the glass. Nice aroma of caramel, toasted malts, and some coffee. Flavor is robust with roasted malts, caramel, and coffee.. The oatmeal can really be detected in the palate which is full bodied and almost gritty but with a nice creamy background.. Slight bitterness at the finish with a lingering smokey finish.. Wow this is a pretty nice beer and if there were 6 packs of this in Ohio I’d be drinking lots of these cans.. Nice one..

Pours with a four finger thick, lightly brown-tinged, tan colored head that sits atop a dark amber brown colored beer that shows a brilliantly clear, ruby hue when held up to the light. The aroma is richly aromatic with notes of sweet, concentrated fruit, dark malts and hops; dissecting where each of these start and end might be a bit of work though as the aroma is quite well integrated. Notes of raisins, perhaps some vanilla accented cherries, some berry notes and even some sweet citrus peel aromas mix with notes of toasted malt, browned biscuit-like malt, caramelized grain sugars and a huge toasted, dry, soda cracker note in the finish. A fabulously aromatic brew, this really has such a well integrated, loudly aromatic nose; this is an example of why I like a well made brown ale; there is not so much dark / roast malt that it dominates the flavor profile and the simple (though certainly not simplistic) malt and hop notes are able to shine through as well. Somehow there are notes of vanilla and spicy oak in this beer (and they are quite noticeable halfway through this beer); I don’t know how they got here, but they are a welcome addition that add some additional complexity to an already great aroma. Unlike many beers, where the aroma fades as you start drinking the beer, the aroma here actually gets better and more complex as you work your way through it. Definitely don’t forget to continue to stick your schnozz in this brew in between sips.

Sweet malt flavors encapsulate the palate and actual cling to my mouth almost like a much bigger beer would. Fruity notes of raisins and sweet, ripe berries mix with an interesting, almost vanilla like note. Some dark malt notes are noticeable from the get go; actually just a hint of roast character mixes with the hop character, both of which contribute a solid, though not in any way dominant, bitterness. This beer is really fairly sweet and fruity tasting, that is probably the distinguishing characteristic. It does not make this thick, cloying or not quaffable though as this is definitely a fairly sessionable brew.

Have I said how much I love great beer in a can. Well I do, imagine how much easier shipping would be if the norm was craft beer in a can; still I do find the champagne cork finish too perfect for certain styles of beer. This is a great brew, I really like the aromatic complexity (especially the surprise oak-like aromatics) and the flavor aint half bad either. The oak notes even start to creep into the flavor of this beer towards the end of my glass.

16 oz can, via joebrew. Pours a clear brown colored body under a smallish brown fizzy head that faded to a patchy film. Some sticky lacing remained. Aroma is nutty and lightly roasted malts with a nice balancing hoppiness. Some chocolate, light alcohol, a little fruitiness, and a touch of vanilla. Very nice substantial flavor for a usually boring style. Lots of nutty grainy malt with a slightly roasty accent up front. Moderately dry finish with a nice lightly bitter finish. Mouthfeel is light-medium bodied, fairly dry with moderate soft fizzy carbonation. Almost creamy in texture. A damn fine Brown Ale. Never thin or watery and had enough hops to make itself stand out among the crowd. This is my highest rated Brown Ale, and it deserves it.

Tap at Barley Johns. Brown Coloring with Good White Head. Nice Hop Aroma Detected Initially...Toasted Malt, Not Too Dry...With Age Seems to Round out a Bit More..Soft Chocolately-ness....Light Oats and Hops to Really Round This one Out. Big Flavor for a 5% Brew. Easy to Critic With Great Waters, Town Hall and Barley Johns Brews so Close, but Surly Promises to be a Heavily Enjoyed Brewery in our State.

16oz can, courtesy of Schutzenliesel. Thanks, Tom! Pours a dark mahogany color; light tan head with good retention and lacing. Generous, dried fruit and candy sugar aroma; red fruits and tea-like malts. Medium-to-full, malt-dominated mouthfeel: surprising amounts of milk chocolate and roasted malts (almost like a light porter); medium-to-lively carbonation; dense, layered maltiness with a hint of sharp citrus hops; beautifully done. Lengthy, caramel and chocolate finish. Probably the best brown ale I’ve had.

Can from theisti, via Zinister. Thanks! Pours a velvety mahogany with an off-white head. Aromas of chocolate cherry and chocolate raspberry are dominant in the nose, with a hint of java for good measure. Flavor is smoky strawberry and chocolate coffee; friggin’ awesome. Mouthfeel is only average, but this is the only lowpoint here. This is an AWESOME brew!