Surly Coffee Bender

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

On tap, pours a deep brown with half a finger of mocha head. Nose- huge waft of coffee rinds, very fresh and medium roast, some chocolate just beautiful. Taste- fresh coffee in forefront, with nuts, caramel and light milk chocolate. freaking delicious! Mouthfell is medium bodied with carbonation on the low side to made it go down like melted butter. Hops show up in the finish to help clean away the strong coffee flavour and make you go back for more.

dark dark brown, purple highlights, thin tan head, scum of tiny tan bubbles. aroma of coffee, malt. sweet coffee, chocolate in the flavor. full-bodied, bitter finish, kinda dry. long lasting coffee bitterness, quite enjoyable.

On tap at Flossmoor Station and served in a shaker. This beer poured a dark brown with a few ruby highlights and a huge head of tan foam that slowly settled and lasted for most of the glass. Some decent lacing was left behind. The aroma included roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, and nuts. The flavor consisted of cold, moderately bitter coffee, chocolate, and nuts. Rich and malty, and the coffee blends in nicely. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied and had moderate carbonation. The coffee adds another layer of flavor to an already good beer. Well done.

Pours nearly black with a small brown frothy head. Aroma is a bit one dimensional in that it is straight forward freshly brewed coffee, maybe with a little bit of milky creaminess. Lots of roasted malts. Flavor starts off very bitter much like black coffee. Then it gains some sweetness like some milk chocolate was added. Tiny hop presence appears towards the finish and gives some balance but the finish is mostly bitter rye malty. Medium body and lively carbonation. This is quite the bender, in fact I could swear I was drinking coffee if it was heated up. I would say it was too one sided except I love/need coffee enough that I still gave a decent rating.

Pours a deep chocolate brown with reddish highlights. Nose is most definitely COFFEE. Caramel/toffee/nuts/raisins/chocolate...and COFFEE. A nit thin, but not a distraction. Very fine brown, but the coffee should have been a little more restrained, I think.

Draught at GABF 2008. Dark brown - offwhite head. High coffee aroma and traste, malty, nutty, raisins, ryebread, dryness, dark bread. Lots of coffee - lovely.

Tap: This poured a deep mahogany body, lightly highlighted in ruby, with a tall fizzy head. The aroma is all about fresh coffee and little else. It’s a bit thin, but the flavor sees the addition of dark caramel, a touch of chocolate, and some nutty bitterness. And lots more coffee. Not bad, but I don’t think the style can support that much coffee added to it.

Flossmoor Station, Flossmoor, IL

Poured on tap at Binny’s South Loop (Chicago, IL). The second of the surprises I found awaiting me on tap at Binny’s. Poured a very hazy, opaque except around the edges, dark brown with red notes on the edges. Head is big and brown, sticking around and lacing pretty well. Aromas are coffee and grainy malt, reminiscent of the brewhouse at Flossmoor Station. The coffee dominates this brew, with the malt profile sweetness shining through in spurts and some nice touches of hops. As I have never had regular Bender, I cannot compare it as such. But I must say this was enjoyable, albeit very strong on the coffee. I really liked it, but found it a touch one-dimensional as the coffee covered up some of the intricacies of the malt profile.