Surly Oak Aged CynicAle

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

Date: 08/09/2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Great Taste

Appearance: hazy yellow,
Aroma: sweet spicy aroma with a touch of oak and vanilla,
Flavor: sweet and spicy flavor, lots of oak, long bitterness from the oak and spices,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4

(Draught) Pours a hazy golden orange body with a small white head. Aroma of coriander, oak, apricots, floral, and grass. Flavor of candi sugar, oak, hops (grass, earth), toasted grain, and spices.

On cask at the Great Taste of the Midwest (8/9/08): Pours a hazy copper bronze with a thin, airy coating of white head. Lightly noble hoppy citrusy nose has some mild pale German malty sweetness. Starts with good fullness and authenticity with a good subtle oaky complexity. Very drinkable and well-balanced.

REAL ALE TENT @ GTMW 2008: Hazy coppery hue with a small but lasting creamy head. The aroma has notes of pear and apricot esters, grassy and herbal hops, biscuity malts, oak and vanilla beans. The taste is more of the same except there was a very spicy finish of clove and cumin. Fruity and pale malt driven beer. The mouth feel is soft and inviting. Not too shabby even if not towards style completely.

On cask drawn at Buster’s on 28th tavern in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the one year anniversary appreciation party. Pours a hazy light golden orange brew with a thick and heavy creamy white head that doesn’t go away. Aroma of Belgian yeast, apricot and peach fruit, honey and light golden multi-grain malt. Taste is much smoother than the regular CynicAle with additional flavors of candi sugar, vanilla and white oak. Finish does not have the typical Surly bite though has a mild bitterness and quickly disappears.

On tap. Poured clear-ish lighter golden with a short cap of white head. The aroma picked up sweeter toasty caramel and toffee with a very nice yeast character (white pepper and apricot esters).. warmth brought out a rich newer oak impression.. nice. The flavor opened with toasty oak and medium-skinned fruits (apricot leading).. cool hop character (citrus, pine, and earthy notes all played in here) followed.. paler malts in the background.. finished with more bitterness and more oak. Quite dry on the palate with scratchy oak and citrus bitterness sticking on the finish.. nice use of the oakage.

Draft. Poured a slightly hazy orange color. The head was white with decent retention and lacing. As with the standard Cynic, there were familiar aromas of yeasty bread dough, spices, and fruit (including citrus and apricot). I love how this smelled. The oak aging was not evident to me in the nose. Medium bodied and a little sweet with some bitterness emerging at the end. Smooth and creamy. The flavor profile included the likes of flaky apricot pastry, baking spices, yeasty bread dough, and a hint of orange. There was only a hint of oak. Tasty.

FREE tap. The beer poured to an interestingly dark amber/copper hued body with a nice off-white head. The aroma is sweet and estery with definite oak and vanilla. The beer has a bunch of spicy things going on and the oak works pretty well with the saison. An easy drinking brew.