Surly Bender

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

Out of the can. Fluffy brown head. Nose with hints of puffed wheat, cocoa puffs, coffee and a hint of lactose. Burnished mahagony color against the light. More complex than most brewers’ brown ales. Light chocolate, sweetened coffee, puffed wheat, some roast grains and caramel sweetness. There is a hint of some tangy acidity in the background, with an almost sour cherry note. Had this at the brewery back to back with the Coffee Bender, and I preferred the regular. I got more of the hops out of the tap sample than from this can.

Yeh, they did this one right. Along with the implied and truly apparent smoothness (oats? good decision), the nice combination roast and hop finish is it all blending seamlessly. I tend to either over-scrutinize or plain overlook brown ales. This one just had me enjoying it and thinnking that I could and would enjoy more if I could.

Can... Rating # 3500... Beautiful, deep, dark, ruby ale with a mid-sized, creamy, khaki head. Terrific, everlasting retention. Cocoa, rich caramel, Merlot and brown sugar nose with a healthy helping of piney hops and a whisper of lactic acidity. Roasty, bitter-sweet flavor provides creamy caramel and chocolate, alongside medium, earthy bitterness and light acidity. Remarkably, almost full-bodied and velvety with lively carbonation. Bitter, mildly sour finish. Mega-Thanks to robertsreality for shipping this treat to Florida!

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.

Can from IrishBoy (thanks!) - dark amber with a tan head - roasty, nutty aroma, with hints of wood and vanilla - smooth, creamy mouthfeel, with a medium body, nicely bittered, with a slight bit of roasty/smokey notes to compiment it - well-intergrated flavors of hazelnut and vanilla - slight herbal/spice qualities - very well balanced - I would love to have regular access to this.

Pours a small tan head, good retention and some skinny stringy lace to boot. Clear brown brew with a pretty red hue. Nose is caramelly, lightly nutty and grainy. Medium bodied, pretty damn smooth, lightly creamy. Notes of roast, caramel, cocoa and faint bitter sweet chocolate , maybe some toffee notes as well. Finish is almost dry, roasty and lasting. One nice Brown Ale. footbalm delivered this baby. Thanks Eric!

Can from Pole Smoke #1 (Sean). Thanks. Another Surly that I have wanted to try for a while, and I have always liked brown ales alot. So I was as anxious to drink this one as the furious. Pours out a dark brown color with a tan head on it. Smell is full of roasted malts and sweet caramel. Taste is smooth and roasted yet somewhat refreshing too. Far too easy to drink, could become dangerous in large quantities. Need to get some more of this. Good stuff for sure.

Can: Brownish in color, heavy burnt brown sugar hues, large frothy beige head, attractive lacing.   Soft roasted malt nose, a bit of cocoa and milk sugar.   Seems bittersweet.   Doesn’t appear to have much of a hop presense.   Smooth pale roasted malt start, subtle sweetness, a little cocoa too.   Did I mention smooth?   Some hop bitterness comes out at the finish.   Clean, soft coffee bean lingers.   This is perty darn good!   Many thanks to joebrew for sending me this wonderful creation!