Surly Bitter Brewer

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

16oz can courtesy of thesti. Pours a clear light orangish brown with a nice size white head that leaves some lacing on the way down. Nose is bready slightly sweet malt with some sweet floral and slight citrus notes. Body is light but refreshing with good carbonation. Bready malt and semi sweet up front with apricot notes. Quickly goes into nice bittering with the bready malt backing staying throughout. Great bitter that is easy drinking. Great session beer that I would drink this any time if it where readily available to me. Thanks Tim!

16 oz. can acquired via trade with tennisjoel. Pours dark orange/yellow with a foamy off-white head. Interesting floral hop aroma mixed with a fruity sweetness (cherries? maybe peaches?). Taste is mildly hopped and mildly sweet. I don’t have much experience with this style but it does feel like something is missing. Most likely, given my other experiences with Surly and the high rating in its category, this represents the style well but it’s not really for me. Not a bad beer by a long shot but I want more hops.

Murky red/gold liquid with that great Surly head. Oddly low carbonation visuals in my Sam Adams sensory glass. Smells of mild malt goodness, almost like a tea. No booze presence. Taste is mild, as it should be, making for an easy drinker. Light hop presence and of course malt that I can’t discern. Mouth is medium in body and carbonation. Goes down easy and smooth. My first of this style is a pleasant one!

on cask in the real ale tent at GTMW Murky off orange pour w/ no real head. Great big hop aroma, lots and lots of fruits (citrus, maybe a hint of lime zest) and a hit of grass. Sweet caramels come through after my nose adjusted. Pal was only avg. Flavor is not as good as the aroma. Lightly bittered, easy to drink, std ESB. I could do it as a session.

4%, can. nose is soft breads cut with a squirt of pure lime juice. appearance is sandy blonde with light cotton candy head. body is thin despite lacing and voluminous head. flavor is of floral hops and subtle bready malt. fades fast and leaves bitter and clean.

Can sample at Noogfest High 5. Poured amber with an off-white head. Aroma of sweet tea with lots of lemon and a slight pine background. The flavor was maltier with hints of wood and hops. Medium body.

Thanks to Dansting for this one. 16oz can served in a shaker pint. Poured a clear gold with less than a finger of fine bubbled, white head. Fresh citrus hop aroma. Light bodied with some malt backbone. A little malt sweetness. Nicely hopped, but not overly bitter. Lingering hop dryness to the finish. Very drinkable. Making a flavorful, lower alcohol beer is a tribute to the skills of the brewery IMHO. I wish more breweries would make beers like this instead of taking it to the other extreme of alcohol and hops. One session beer in the lineup isn’t too much to ask, is it?

Pours a clear light amber with a dense, creamy off-white head. Light aromas of tea and flowers. Flavor similar, balance between a lightly resinous tea in the malt, and a light, floral hops profile. I can see where the brewer’s description is coming from in calling the hops flavor apricot or orange, but it comes across more floral to me. Medium body, lightly carbonated, smooth palate.