Surly Furious

Served from a 16 ounce can into an imperial pint glass. Poured out a hazy orange tangerine colour with a very large creamy head. Smell- holy grapefruit Santa!! One of the best smelly IPA’s I had the pleasure of sticking my nose in. Taste is a freight train of hops. Oily grapefruit attacks the mouth. Beautiful.... I am a hop head, but there is more than just hops to this beer. The scottish malt used adds a real depth to this beer and really helps countact the hop attack. I can’t beleive this beer is only 6%. It could pass for a dipa, except a slight lack of sweetness. One of the best IPA’s I’ve had and I can’t wait to get back to Minneapolis to track more down. Mr Furious is a little rough around the edges, but how can you be refined when you are such an angry bugger? I put it right up there against Bell two hearted and Stone IPA- my other two favourite IPA’s.

Cloudy orange, with a nice loos foamy white head. Bitter and sweet are nicely blended throughout, with Piney, woodsy hop note playing off caramel malt notes. Really, really good. Thanks to Buckybeer for the trade!

Can, courtesy of Skyview! Poured a fiery, very autumnal shade of reddish-orange with a tall, sticky cap of beige head. The aroma was quite delightful.. caramel, toffee, and candied apricots sprouting and array of light fruity, floral, and pine hoppage. Flavor didn’t skip a beat.. beginning with bitter apricot and grapefruit.. followed by the sweet caramel and toffee base.. ending on more vibrant fruity and piney bitterness. Long, darker bitter finish. Medium-bodied on the palate with a syrupy foray.. high and well-presented bitterness throughout. This was crafted beautifully, and was just what I was looking for.

Cobber/deep amber colour with a thin white head. Fruity hop aroma with a malty sweetness. Flavor is malt sweet with a nice mix of flowery and citrussy hops. The aftertaste is long and sweet with a bit of bitter flowery hops.

Draft at Surly, can at home. Copper pour with light amber glints, beige/gray head, small but well retained. The aroma is hop centered, with grapefruit notes, pine resin, oranges and dried flowers, it’s really all over the board as far asd the hop profile goes. Plenty of malt in the nose too, fresh caramel and toasted grains lurking underneath the sweetness. The flavor is nicely balanced but not really that interesting. Medium sweetness is tapered well by agressive but never overpowering hops that lend a steady and moderately high level of bitterness throughout the flavor. The finish is long and sweet, bitter hops lingering and eventually changing sweet to extreme dryness, quite the velocity shift at the end. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, sticky, creamy and boasts aggressive carbonation that’s only noticeable upon first sip. This is very well balanced, a well executed recipe but it’s just too boring. I don’t need aggression here, but I need something memorable. Nothing stands out however, not even a feeling of satisfaction or ease of drinkability.

Really enjoyable. Pour quite a dark amber color, almost brown. Head is creamy and light tan in color. Malty, caramel, toffee, lots of piney hops, bitter, citrus, and very well balanced. Slightly earthy and a nice creamy mouthfeel. Very good.

Thanks to hellomynameis for this one - what a cool beer. Darker brown (looks like a Scotch ale) with an off-white head. Aroma is a nice mix of earthy-floral hops and smoky malts - lots of peat and wood in there. Flavor is really nice - smoky, peaty, woody, sweet malts mixing with a nice herbal-earthen-floral hop blast. A wonderful cross between an IPA and a good Scotch ale. Reeeealy good. Sorry Sly Fox and Oskar Blues, but I just found my #1 favorite canned beer.

These canned beers have totally helped me forget the crap of the past that once dominated all. Hops up front and through and through with good balance (not all hops) to boot. Wish this were available locally so I could say, no thanks, I had it when it was cool.