Surly Smoke

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

Tap at the Blue Nile. Burly black with a skirting skin of off white. Aroma is unusual but not off the map; notes of blueberry and cinnamon accent the body of roast beef and au jus with a light hint of heat. The smoke is subtle and polished, and stays for the most part in that arena of rich beef rather than straying into maple bacon and hickory territory. Flavors has a lot of cold fruitiness and rich sweetness, like caramelized pears and sugar dipped figs let to roast over a bonfire; belgian chocolate in large quantities with fudge, graham crackers, and tart red berries. Light tones of sweet bourbon and vanilla type of spirited heat, soft and complementing. Palate is juicy, dense, and full; finish tends toward a wet, dessert wine type of fruitiness and extends itself lazily. Certainly a Baltic first, and a smoked second, this is a great example of a warming dark ale that effortlessly skirts the frustrating imperial stout-isms of overstretched hops, sugars, and alcohol, while still providing that contemplative strength needed in the dead of winter.

tap at Maproom....thanks to whoever posted the thread that this was available....an almost black pour with more of a brownness to the edges. thin and fastly disappearing off-white head....aromas of chocolate malt and more of a smoke/char quality that develops as it warms.....flavors of sweet chocolate malt, a small smoky presence that comes into play that i really didn’t get at first.

on tap at maproom. pours dark brown with creamy tan head that didn’t quite last till i finished. aroma of dry bakers chocolate, dark fruits, and smoked notes. as it warmed the nose developed a nice dark chocolate and more complex smokey wood character. flavor of dark fruits, chocolate, peaty smoked character to it that also developed nicely as it warmed. i couldnt feel the alcohol at all. this drank really easy. i agree with the listing as this isn’t that smokey. i’d love to try this unsmoked though.3.9.

11/4/2007, on tap at FoBAB V: pours black w/ off white head. nose is really smokey, oaky, and chocolaty. flavor is smokey, chcoolate, and dark fruits. nice flavor with an oaky finish. really great stuff. 4.0.

I was happily surprized to see this on tap at Lunar Brewing. (Also surprized to not see this listed under the Smoked style.) Its arrival in the Chicago area had been much balyhooed at one location, but one of my fave brewpubs managed to slip it in quietly, offering me a no-limit sampling... which to me means a glass or many.
Served in a snifter, it has a very dark mahogany body with ruby highlights and a creamy tan head, soon reduced to film and bubbles. The aroma has only trace amounts of smoke, mainly being sweet, roasted dark malts with a bit of chocolate and a light woody bitterness. The smoke kicks up in the flavor, and I got a mouthful of Virginia smoked ham along with the malt and chocolate, somehow blending together in a most satisfactory fashion. As it warmed, it developed an underlying dark fruitiness as well. The finish is smokey and meaty with some malty sweetness. Very nice. I love this (Lunar) brewpub, not only brewing fine beers but gutsy enough to have quality guests as well. Chicago area folk who haven’t been here yet are chumps!

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Brewing Company, Villa Park, IL<font size=-1>

Earlier Rating: 11/5/2007 Total Score: 4
Had this one on BBB63’s advice. Thanks, Mike. It poured dark brown, nearly black, with a dinkus off-white head. It has a smoothly smokey nose accompanied by some dark malts, a splash of chocolate, almond extract, and oak. Add to the flavor some dark dried fruits, oak, and a bit more smoke. Smooth and creamy to drink. I want more!

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/events-detail.asp?eve of Barrel Aged Beers, Chicago, IL 11/03/2007<font size=-1>

this is good. as stated below, not as smoky as it was originally, (dahmer) while many disagree THIS is a different beer than originally debuted at ABR. the dahmer version WAS NOT OAK AGED! it was much smokieer than the oak aged version. I happen to find both versions delectable. drink this a bit warm and the aroma and flavor really flourish!
Earlier Rating: 10/17/2007 Total Score: 4.4
this stuff is phenomenal beer. might be my new favorite surly once the oak aged stuff cmes out huge smoke flavor and great aroma awesome beer.

1/12/08: Re-rate. Draught at Blue Nile, Mnpls. Night and day difference in smoke aspect from my original sampling. Where the version at Chef Paul’s was lacking in smoke, this time smoke was very evident. Hints of smoke in the nose. Fully opaque with a tan ring. Caramelly, smoky goodness. An awesome brew; so good that just as I finished it, Surly owner Omar Ansari, walked in to the bar, "forcing" me to have another.

12/27/07: Draught at Chef Paul’s Bavarian Lodge, Lisle, IL. I suppose I really didn’t need to go to the tapping of Surly Smoke in the Western suburbs of Chicago on the eve of my moving back to the Twin Cities, where I’m sure it’s quite plentiful. Nevertheless, it gave me a chance to sample the good German fare at Chef Paul’s as well as see bwkrieger before leaving. Had the Oak Aged version as "Dahmer" at FoBab a couple of months ago and thought it was excellent. This brew too, is outstanding. Lactose in the nose with some hop, but no hint of smoke. Opaque body with a tan head and some lace. This is a sweet beer. Hop is pronounced, or is the distinctive finish from the yeast variety? Almost got a 10 from me in flavor. Sweet and chocolaty. Both my kids liked it. Has some chocolate milk character I guess. A little overly sweet for my tastes, but this is such an exceptional brew that it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of it. Again, not sure why they call it "Smoke"; there’s little to no smoke flavor evident. Ar 8, Ap 3, Fl 9, Pal 5, Ov 18
Earlier Rating: 11/9/2007 Total Score: 4.3
FoBaB ’07. Billed as Oak Aged Dahmer. One of my favorite beers at the 5th Annual Festival of Wood and Barrel-aged Beer held at Goose Island Wrigleyville. Roasted coffee aroma. Fully opaque, black body with a thin tan head. Wonderful brew. Has a hop finish. Smooth, with an oak finish. Subtle nut and oak.

On tap. Pours a dark muddy brown with a thick tan head. Aromas of dark fruit, smoke, malt, and coffee. Taste was similar. The smoke really came through but didn’t overpower the coffee or malty sweet flavor. Finished creamy with a slight alcohol bite. Annoyingly drinkable since I don’t have a keg or two of this. Hopefully they bottle/can this soon.

Tap at Stubs. Very nice subtle smoke on the nose, but not as recognizable as the former Dahmer. Nice sweet bark roasted malt and a touch of that bacony smoky goodness. THe oak seems to have mellowed the smoke out a little bit, as this is slightly thinner and more subdued. A spectacular beer, but I prefer the original wersion from ABR.
Earlier Rating: 10/8/2007 Total Score: 4.1
Draft ABR 07. POurs a nice ruby tinged dark brown. Nice applewood bacon smokiness on the nose as well as a good dose of sweet almost ripe fruit like malty sweetness. Nice creamy mouthfeel with a good dose of the smoke coming out but pairing well with the chocolate, ripe fruit, and nutty sweetness from the malt. A very nice beer.