Surly SurlyFest

Brewed by Surly Brewing Company
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota USA

16 oz can, via tytoanderso. Pours a clear deep orange to copper body under a one finger fizzy off-white head. Some very fine lacing remained. Whoa! The nose is big green leafy hops over a toasted malt base. The rye is more of an accent, but clearly noticable. Not the aroma one expects for an O-fest. Weird. That’s the first word that came to mind with the first sip. It’s like a bite of a leafy herbal hop cone sandwich on rye bread with a touch of honey. What a crazy beer. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with nice soft fizzy carbonation and a lingering bitterness. Overall, this was pretty awesome. An unusual hybrid for sure. I think I want more of this.

Can. An orange beer with a thin beige head. The aroma is sweet with primary notes of grapefruit, while the flavor is sweet with strongest notes of grapefruit, but also notes of malt and caramel. Much more like an IPA, than an Oktoberfest - maybe a Minnesota Oktoberfest ;-) Thanks Papsoe for sharing.

Exotic cinnamon and citrus hops with a noble core. American nobles? Attractive voluminous head atop a deep amber body. Nice, long maltiness, with an underlying bitterness, that supports rather than detracts. Actually the maltiness is really fantastic. Long and rich without being boozy as some festbiers can be. This is really exceptional. Thanks a ton Joey!

Pours a chestnut brownm redolent of Fall in Vermont. Aroma is surprisingly hoppy, though the malts do come shining through. The flavor is more of the same, with the hops coming through. Nice brew.

2007. Amber. Small, off white head. Flavor and aroma of toasty, biscuity malt, light dose spicy rye, and some earth, bitter hops. Medium body, balanced carbonation. Solid.

2007 version courtesy of beerlando, thanks Bryan! This one poured a coppery ambery color with a medium foamy white head that left some nice lacing. The aroma was of sweet malts, caramel, toasted malts, and a good amount of hops. The flavor follwed suit with the caramel and toasted malts up front, but with a good amount of hop bitterness on the back end. Quite different for an Octoberfest beer to have this much hops. Medium bodied with a smooth and sticky mouthfeel that had a nice hop bitterness finish to it. Pretty well done for this style, and interesting take especially coming out of a can.

(Can 47,5 cl) Courtesy of Skyview. Slightly hazy, amber golden with a creamy, off-white head. Very fresh and piney aroma. Medium body with light caramel accents and otherwise completely dominated by the very dry, piney aroma hoppiness. Distinctly bitter finish. Excellent, but in style very far from an Oktoberfest! If this was served in the beer halls of Munich, the poor local beerdrinkers would never what hit them... 110108

Can. Cloudy orange coloured with an off white head. Fruity aroma of hops, grape fruits, pine apples and apricots. Hoppy flavour of pine needles, grape fruits, fruits and grass. Dry hoppy finish.