Surly Furious

Brewed by Surly Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota USA

big angry peaches in the aroma. Full malt keeps the powerful hop flavor from being overwhelming. Good.

Can from Brewso. Cloudy dark amber color. Nice off-white head that leaves fantastic sheets of lacing. The aroma is really nice, with caramel malts standing up well against strong orange hops. The flavor is intense but well balanced. There is a really luxurious caramel malt profile here, and every bit of it is needed to counteract intense orange and grapefruit hop bitterness. The body is quite substantial, and gets borderline sticky as it warms. The beer is smooth and drinkable, though the hops definitely let you know they are there, and they linger on the back of the tongue for quite a while. Very nice IPA!

thanks to xnoxhatex for the sample. pours amber with white head. lots of pnw hops in the nose. flavor is hoppy, caramelly but the piney hop flavor seemed a little harsh and didn’t blend well with the other hop flavors. pretty bitter not just a great hop flavor in this one.3.5.

11/30/07 a small sample of this on tap and I continue to be annoyed by this beer. it is unbalanced and the hop flavor isn’t even good, really grassy with harsh bitterness. this doesn’t go down easy. 3.3.

Thanks to hellomynameis for a very nice IPA. This is the second IPA I’ve had which was packaged in a can. Both have been very good. It pours a nice dark amber color with a frothy head. the flavor is nice and hoppy with some malty backbone. Very enjoyable..

Well, I got Bent (Bender) earlier, so now it’s time to get Furious... Surly Furious is a hazy, deep red copper color. It has a thick and creamy gold-colored head with good retention and wavy lacing. Grapefruit, apricot, and pine dominate the aroma with a hint of the deep malty base hiding in the background. The rich, caramel maltiness is quickly washed over by the intense hop bitterness and flavors (pine, resin, grapefruit citrus, even a touch of banana/toffee?). I think this beer actually smells better than it tastes. Don’t get me wrong, the flavor is still really good, but it’s a very slight let down based on the aroma and somewhat typical (not overly unique). Furious is a full bodied beer and is smooth on the palate. There seems to be a lot of visible carbonation, but the bubbles are really small. The resulting mouthfeel is soft and creamy. Overall this is another impressive beer from Surly. It is nicely balanced and not overwhelming (well, maybe just a little for a regular IPA). Actually, I was expecting a little more band since the can said it was almost 100 IBUs! Aggressive, yet under control... 16 oz can (6.2% ABV, 99 IBUs) from buckybeer. Thanks again Mark!

On tap at Arcadia Cafe’...it looked a dusky, dunnish hue when they server poured it, when I sat at my table, it glowed bright orange...held out of sunlight, a truer dark amber-ish tone. Quarter inch head, creamy, and long-lasting. Very fine appearance. Up to the nose: fresh, vibrant hops, zesty citrus, glimmers of pine, a grapefruit and pineapple tango, but banana aches to cut in...lovely stuff, and ample for any hophead’s appreciation. (4 hops, Amarillo for sure...) Enters the mouth with ferocity and freewheeling force, spill bitterness all over the mouth, every crack and crevice is filling and rejoices from the deliciousness...creeps everywhere in the palate, and each area of contact finds it’s reward. A citric fruit explosion, but well met with an ample, biscuity malt base (Golden Promise is in there)...it’s a fertile malty field, and the hops are madly at play above! Next comes the overload, the frequent pucker, the lip-smacking, the bitterness, and tasty hop flavor clinging tenaciously to the lips and tongue...zippy, zingy, mouth-grabbingly delicious at every sip and gulp. A beer for hopheads to keep reaching for and for Minnesotans to be proud of!

Big thanks to Secret Santa! Deep, very slightly hazy amber, decent head fades to a thin sheen. Aroma is big grapefruit hops, pine, and caramel accented malt. Flavor is an explosion of hops, big grapefruit and pine with some spiciness underpinning it all. Rich caramel malts support the whole thing. Flavors linger in the mouth long after it is done. This is an exceptionally well made beer. Superb stuff.

20070524 22oz can Okay, I had, for some reason, outrageous hopes for this beer so it was really set up to be a real bummer. I’ve had it at least once before and there are notes around here somewhere.....but this is the can that the very generous allendodd sent my way and I’m not sharing it. Ha! It’s attractive stuff, amber and deep colored with a soft looking beige foam that lingers, slowly fading to a ring, and lacing in rings with each new sip. The aroma is mild for an American IPA but so nice with sweet floral notes, fruity malts, and hints of resinous pith. Aromas emerge and increase intensity with temp. Mouthfeel is creamy, soft, smooth, full, and coating. Just brilliant, it’s like velvet across the front and middle before a big smack of pithy bitterness slaps that right out of my mouth. Finish is long and lingering in its bitterness. For a six percenter, this stuff is big. Whew, well done!