Surly Bender

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

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.

16oz can Recieved this in a recent trade with mully, thanks Matt! Bender pours dark mahogany, bordering on a dark brown, that glows when backlit. The craggy beige head grew to a finger on the pour and left good lacing on its way down. Big aromas from a lower abv brew. Big whiff of brown bread off the bat followed by a touch of rye like spiciness. Coffee, caramel and a swirling of vanilla join the party and make for an interesting brown. Mildly spicy fruity hoppiness toward the back. Lots of complexity in the nose! The flavor mirrors the aroma nicely. The only difference I come across is a (more than the nose suggested) generous hopping that are all at once fruity and spicy. I even get a touch of that leathery goodness found in some other brews. This is an exciting brown ale and I don’t think I’ve ever said that before. The oats add a nice creamy texture that really helps this beer stand apart. Medium bodied and incredibly smooth. The drinkability is way up there. The low(er) abv and big flavor make for a great session beer. Another home run from Surly! This is an exciting, delicious brown ale. Keep it up over there guys. 3/30/08

Not a big brown fan, so not the best to judge it perhaps, but it seems solid. But why, I ask, drink this if you can have their furious?

Bender pours a dark opaque brown. Aroma is a nutty syrup and roast malts. Taste is of roasted malts, sugared coffee and nuts. Mild carbonation. Smooth going down.

Can. I’ve had this more times than I can remember, and I finally get around to rating today! Dark brown pour, a little carbonation and a roasty caramel aroma. Flavor is malt, caramel and some chocolate on finish. Solid beer, but I like the coffee version better.

looks like coke with a thin tan head. smells like chocolate and coke. tastes like 3 day old coffee with a nutty flavor. that being said, i still enjoyed it. weird.

Pours a deep brown-black with a creamy, medium-tan head. Aroma contains some fruity hops, roasted grain, and some additional malt fruitiness. Toasted malt flavors with some hops are most prevalent in the full mouthfeel which finishes surprisingly soft--most likely due to the lower alcohol level. Quite an easygoing, enjoyable beer.

Nice hop aroma found in the same “location” as in the Darkness; if it were a 3D object the hops in the aroma would where the engines are in the Star Trek Voyager if you flipped it upside-down, with the bulk of the ship being the malt & everything else. Subtle notes of vanilla & chocolate. Flavor composition is like the Darkness as well in that each flavor comes at you separately, rather than as one mixed substance; works very well in these instances. Mouthfeel is very smooth with just the right amount of body. Great finish.