Surly Bitter Brewer

Brewed by Surly Brewing Company
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota USA

Many thanks to Bob for the can! Poured slightly hazy medium orange with a creamy, well-retained cap of beige head. The aroma picked up floral, peach, and lesser earthy hoppage over pale malts and a bit of toffee.. very fresh and green impression from the dry-hopping.. soft and near perfectly balanced. The flavor opened with lightly sour pale malts, dried flowers, and citrus bitterness.. pale and bready malts supported.. finished with more of the floral and citrus bitterness. Lighter-bodied with high carbonation that worked for the style.. lasting residual bitterness on the finish.. mighty refreshing!

Can courtesy of Tytoanderso. Pours a hazy golden color with a nice white head. Aroma is faded hops, apricot, malt, citrus. Flavor is hops, citrus, caramel, apricot. Very refreshing and drinkable and finishes with a nice fruity bitter characteristic. Good session beer.

Orange body with a white head. Aroma is grapefruit and pine hops making that pretty nice. The flavor is nice and malty, but the hops are nicely present giving the finish an earthy hoppy bitter. Also is a little thin at times. Very drinkable, sessionable beer though that I wish I did have just sitting around all the time to drink.

Wow, lots apricot, peach, and tangerine, unlike any other beer I’ve had. A little bit of sweet malt hiding underneath the hops in the aroma of this. Definitely lacking body, almost watery. Flavor of the hops is not nearly as good though or maybe it’s just the mix with the malt. The malt (victory-ashtray) has that ESB dirtiness to it, but it’s not working here. Pretty good carbonation level. The bitterness in the finish is pretty solid though.

Poured a hazed gold with a small off-white head. Mild citrus hop over a mild toasty malt. The flavor is light but tasty. Citrus hops are mild-moderate but do dominate. Lightly bitter on the finish. Very drinkable and good taste with a light body. I am just not a big session drinker. Now if you iced it. ;)

Pours a bright orange color with a huge pillowy, cream colored head that shows good retention and eventually settles to a thin film. The aroma is of piney and citrus hops over a toasted caramel malt base. The flavor follows with pine resin and orange citrus hop flavors balanced out nicely by the sweet, toasted caramel malts. Medium-light bodied with moderate carbonation and really easy to drink. The finish is dry with a lingering bitterness. Not as hoppy as I thought, but I porbably need to try a fresher can. Still a really tasty and very light session beer.

TAP: dirty gold/amber pour, some malt and pine hop on the nose, mildly hop/bitter on taste. Not a fantastic beer, but an easy drinker. CASK: also had this on cask - tasted pretty dull and flat this way, not sure this is the best way to try this particular beer.

Can with thanks to skyview. Pours a medium amber with a small/medium head. Aromas are a mix of blue spruce and citrus. Flavor is heavy with hops... and they basically match the nose. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, but this is good stuff.