Surly Bender

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

Thanks to Ty5592 for this one as part of Mystery Swap 2.0. Pours clear deep ruby with 1-finger khaki head. Aroma of roast malt, big chocoff, cabernet, brown sugar, cola, hops. Tastes roasty malty, with big brown sugar, toffee, almond, cherry cola notes, and some cacao notes and finishing hops. This is my second Surly beer, and I am extremely impressed with these guys...and from a can, no less!

Can. Head is initially small, frothy/fizzy, brown, mostly diminishing. Body is clear dark brown. Aroma is moderately malty (toasted bread, nuts, roasted grain, cocoa), lightly hoppy (grapefruit). Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively/fizzy carbonation. Simply put, a solid brown ale. Easy-drinking thanks to a good flavor balance, and a nice enough aroma. While it doesn’t rock my socks (let’s face it...it’s difficult for brown ales to rock anyone’s socks unless the malt character is extraordinary), it doesn’t make any real mistakes either. For my tastes, it’s just a bit too sweet, slightly overcarbonated, and the aroma doesn’t really make an impression. Definitely above the curve though.

Draught sample at brewery during the Surly tour, RBSG Minneapolis, June 23 2007. Near-opaque molasses color with a bit of dark tan head receding....nutty, lightly fruity (grapy) and significantly hoppy aroma, much more agressive than most brown ales but still within the style parameters I think; caramel cream shows up with a little bit of time....the body is juicy, vanilla-nutty, earthy with light candied fruits....remarkably luscious, full, velvety mouthfeel. Certainly among the 5 best brown ales I’ve had and I can’t wait to pop the can I brought back for a proper pint of it.

Can from allendodd. Thanks loads! Pours a very dark brown with a foamy tan head. Aromas of chocolate and treacle. Medium body with frothy carbonation. Flavors of citrus/resin over nicely roasted malt. Treacle too. Very smooth brown ale. But with lots of flavor. Finishes with a nice level of bitter on the rear tongue edges. Good beer.

From a can, thanks badbeer and Erdinger2003. Dark brown body with some ruby highlights. The head is medium khaki colored. Chocolate and caramel smells come out initially. The taste has chocolate ice cream raspberries. This has some notes of high quality tobacco. Nice.

Bottle at Chris o’s…deep brown... bright hoppy nose ... hoppy malty ale, over hopped

Chris_o’s GBBF Shindig 08. Dark red - aroma of damp washing on a warm day. American hops soaked into the malt. Smooth. Difficult to get a grip on what’s going on, but quite nice nonetheless.

Ahhh, my first beer to rate on ratebeer.com. As my first, Surly Bender is a good choice. Pours a great dark brown ale and holds a head even after the glass in half empty. Aroma does have a distinct caramel and vanilla scent. Taste has the nut toffee and nice touch of bitter hops. S Surly Brewery sells both pint and tulip glasses. Definitely use the Surly tulip glass to get the best aroma and flavor. I could see having a rib eye steak with mesquite marinade with this brown ale.