Surly Coffee Bender

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

Can courtesy mgumby. Ruby-garnet color. Very nice coffee flavor, with a tight central american bean tone. Nice iced coffee flavor, too, with touches of cream. Dry palate. I really like the coffee elements but on the whole it lacks depth and oomph.

Pint can my Dad brought down to me from Minneapolis. Pour is mostly clear mahogany dark brown with pretty settling that builds up a thick and lasting 3 inch light tan head. Aroma of somewhat stale coffee, pine hoppiness and roasted malt. Nice enough, though this was a pretty blah coffee nose. Taste is very much the coffee aromatics and taste at the beginning, middle is the brown ale of Bender with a pine hop bitterness to the finish. The hops are pretty understated, and the coffee dominates throughout. I didn’t mind the concept of this beer, but it really suffered from a flat, dull coffee profile. Not sure what technique they used to extract the coffee, but it ended up tasting almost like instant coffee. Palate is creamy medium, coats the mouth nicely. The finish is quite long, and features even more of the coffee. Having said all of this, it is still a clean beer that is easy to sip, just a little dull.

I had this for the first time last year at EBF. Now that its readily available I decided to stock up since it was by far the best thing Surly had to offer at the festival last year. Overwhelming aroma of a great coffee smell. If I had to compare this to anything else out there try a Starbucks double shot espresso and I think it taste identical aside from there being the added bonus of alcohol in it and the beer is not as thick. I was very impressed with it at EBF last year and still am today, this might be my new staple beer to turn to.

16-oz can. Thanks, BVC! Pours a murky dark brown with rubied highlights. Loose gray film. Big, rich, delicious coffee nose. They didn’t use the pinnacle of gourmet coffees, that’s for sure, but it still smells pretty good. Easily could have notched a perfect score with good coffee, though. Creamy medium body with coffee, brown bread, black bread, and caramel on the mid-palate. Long coffee finish.

Can and growler at CL Rosso Release Party. Pours a nice deep dark brown almost black with a nice lasting tan head. Aroma ia awesome smooth roasted coffee- espresso like - awesome nutty dark choclate without the char or bitterness. Good smooth nutty coffee flavor, smooth espresso, toasted almonds, moderatley sweet toasted adn caramel malts, and a smooth coffee finish. Great coffee infused beer.

Growler shared by some of the excellent people at the Rosso release at Captain Lawrence. Pours a deep brown to black with a soft tan head. Coffee and malt, malt and coffee. Crisp roasted scents and a hint of smoke and chocolate. Body again echoes (or perhaps rings true to) the coffee. Clean and easy drinking, this was actually quite remarkable at about 11 am.

16 oz. can, courtesy of Skyview. Clear, dark brown color with a thin, white head. Aroma of black coffee with some cocoa hints. Flavor is really nice. While the coffee comes out in the beginning., a subtle chocolate tone lurks in the background. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, but doesn’t distract. Finish is slightly bitter. What a great beer.

16oz can thanks to vwcraig. Dark brown, red tints, smells like a handful of roasted beans. The flavor nails the coffee aspect and reminds me of a truly enjoyable morning cup as opposed to a lot of the other coffee beers that taste more like old grounds than fresh coffee. I don’t usually like coffee beers but this one is an exception. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 02-13-2009 04:03:23