Surly Furious

On tap at Kuma’s Corner. Pours red with a whitish head. I initially thought I was being served Surly Bender and was very surprised by the amount of hops that blasted my nose. Clean, defined grapefruit is all over the place along with caramel, and delving deeper, a hint of almonds. There is a continuous blast of hops throughout, especially in the finish. This is just brutally sucking the moisture out of my mouth with a lingering sting. The malts are fair, actually sporting some juicy caramel and more of a far-off toastier quality which may have merely resulted from the bitter devastation of my palate. After becoming almost acclimated to this brew, I was able to find some subtler hints of lemons and tea. This is not for the weak.

Drinking a cask version of Tea-bagged Furious... It poured an amber body with a modest head. The aroma was hop-heavy with pine, grapefruit, zest of lemon, a touch of cat litter, and tart tangerines. The malts make an appearance in the flavor in the form of a quiet caramel sweetness, but the hop bitterness soon overtakes them and lingers in the long dry finish. Nice.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/events-detail.asp?eventID=6976>Night of the Living Ales IV, Goose Island Wrigleyville, Chicago, IL - 3/1/2008<font size=-1>

Can courtesy of tytoanderso. Thanks Tyler! Pours a FURIOUS cloudy reddish brown with a medium sized white head. Aroma of hops, citrus, pine and delicious. Flavor is hoppy, bitter, sweet, malty but very well balanced in all directions in the initial sip and then a bitterness sneaks up on the back of your tongue. Another winner from Surly.

From the cask at Night of the Living Ales in Chicago under the name Tea-bagged Furious. Orange/cooper color. Aroma is strong with pine, grapefruit, and a bunch of citrus. Actually had some sweet malt in there to try to balance with the bitterness from the hops. Hops win, which is the way I like it. Very good beer.

Can from Tyler! Big Head! Frosty white, three fingers worth. Beautiful dark red/amber color. Good lacing. Smell of citrus hops! Also the smell of malt. Taste is nice bitterness right off the bat. Yet it has a hidden sweetness and a smooth after taste. Taste is all HOPS. Tyler said it was the best beer/IPA out of a can and he was right. Really good IPA!!! Thanks TY for a great beer!

[tap @ Sheffield’s Chicago] Red amber color, very minimal foam. Piney, citrus aroma. Resinous. Dense, bitter hop flavors... loads of oily pine, grapefruit. Moderately sweet malt base. Huge lingering bitterness.

Thanks to Kramer. Burgundy pour, small white head. Aroma is grapefruit and floral. Flavor is grapefruit, floral, with a bready pine finish and a resiny aftertaste. There is a big bitterness to this that makes it not a thirst quencher. Big maltiness with a subtly sweet touch of caramel and biscuit and bready notes pretty domainant but the grapefruit and resin rule this beer. Just too much bitterness, it’s all resin. Probably past it’s prime.

Thanks to oakbluff for this one. Paired with Garlic Chicken. Poured from a 16oz. can. Aroma: Hops & malty aspect come to mind right away. Appearance: Copper color with a thick head (3 fingers) & lots of carbonation. Flavor: Wow, bitterness of hops hits you & also taste of pine & spices float around in there. What i like is that even though there is a powerful hop presence, it’s very well balanced with the different flavors in it. Palate: Heavy on the palate but as it warms, the pine & citrus are more dominant. Very pleasant bitterness that lasts well after the sip. Overall: I love hoppy beers & usually have no problem with them, but as i was finishing it, the bitterness was almost too much for me. A very good, well constructed beer with a powerful hop wallop. Flavors abound from all over & are very pleasant. I would like to revisit though as maybe i was tired or something because the hoppiness really got to me near the end. A must for hopheads!