Surly CynicAle Review

Name: Surly CynicAle
Style: Saison
ABV: 6.5%

I'm finally making amends with myself by reviewing some of Surly Brewing's lineup which I have been putting off for a while. Tonight we're having a beer from Surly and it's their CynicAle, which is their Saison-Style beer.

This beer is one of the first Belgian/Farmhouse-Style beers that I ever had when a couple years back a friend of mine recommended it to me while I was still reluctant to give Furious a second go. Like Surly Furious, I had never gotten the chance to really sit down and review it as I've had it on tap almost every time that I have it; That is until today!

CynicAle pours a reasonably clear golden color with some visible moderate carbonaion. The head is somewhat fluffy in appearance and the lacing left behind is fairly abundant.

The aroma has a strong yeasty scent to it and some cracked peppers to go along with it. There are also some cloves, floral hops and barley notes in here as well.

The flavor is also pretty yeasty with notes of pepper, mild floral/resin hops, cloves and barley. Pretty much the same as the nose but with more of a hoppy taste. The body is fairly light in weight with some moderate carbonation to boot, which gives it an overall crisp palate.

Being that this is the first Saison that I ever had, it's stood up pretty well since I first had it. It's got a great taste yet it's approachable enough for any newcomers to the style. Overall, you really can't go wrong with this beer.

Surly CynicAle - 8.5/10

Surly Darkness Review

Name: Surly Darkness
Style: Imperial Stout 
ABV: 10.3%

Every fall, one of the most highly anticipated craft beers in Minnesota is released by Surly Brewing which is their Darkness. How highly anticipated you ask? Some stores have to release it in waves to ensure everyone gets a fair shot at getting it and some stores sell out of their entire supply in less than half an hour. This isn't some $5 bomber either, it ranges in price anywhere from $17-25.

Since we didn't get this here in Duluth until about 3 days or so after they sold out of it in the Twin Cities, procuring a bottle of this was much less of a hassle than it was when I first got it. And by "less of a hassle" I mean not having to call ahead or be put on a list.

The bottle artwork also changes yearly as well and it always looks pretty badass. A couple years ago, when I first had it, it depicted a zombie holding a snifter glass. This year it's a Hell Demon holding a chalice as it's face is melting off. If anyone from Surly happens to stumble upon this blog, next year have Cthulhu as your artwork. Just saying!

It goes without saying that there's a good chance that by the time you are reading this, every bottle of this year's Surly Darkness will either be consumed or cellared for aging purposes. In my case, it was consumed!

Darkness pours a pitch black color with a foamy khaki-colored head. There isn't any visible carbonation and the lacing it leaves behind is great.

The nose has a strong chocolate, vanilla and cherry scent about it. Complimenting this are roasted malts & barley with some light smokey notes. For some reason, I'm expecting this to be barrel aged given my initial impressions and they apparently do have a barrel aged Darkness.

In the flavor I'm getting chocolate nibs, vanilla, cherries, and dark fruity notes. This is supported by a stronger smokiness, chocolate malts and roasted barley and some mild but noticeable hoppiness. The flavor as a whole is very rich and robust.

It's got a very smooth and creamy body that is light weight and almost free from carbonation. You should have no trouble drinking this at all.

Simply put, Darkness is a beer that you must experience for yourself. It has everything you'd want out of an Imperial Stout and more which makes it one of the best Imperial Stouts I have ever had. Since it is more than likely sold out for 2013, try and seek this out if you can next year around the end of October. Trust me, it'll be worth it!

Surly Darkness - 9.75/10

Surly Abrasive Ale Review

Name: Surly Abrasive Ale
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 9%

Around the last two months of each year, Surly Brewing likes to pay homage to what it was before it became a brewery. You see the parents of Omar Ansari, owner of Surly, ran an abrasives facility in the current building for 35 years before Omar took over and converted the building into a brewery. Hence the name!

When Abrasive was first released a few years ago, it was originally called 16-Grit (another type of Abrasive) and was made to comemmerate the end of Growler sales but it has since been renamed and is released as a Fall/Winter seasonal.

Abrasive pours a clear orange color with a thin foamy head and mild carbonation. There's also some good lacing along the sides of the glass.

Nose is fairly mango & apricots forward with grapefruits, tangerines, citrus & piney hop notes. Very fruity smelling and reminds me of Dreadnaught.

Strong citra-piney hops and mango fruitness take the lead in the flavor with grapefruits and a caramel malty backbone. The aftertaste is equally malty & resiny in flavor.

It's got a fairly heavy body and some mild to moderate carbonation so in terms of texture, it's pretty manageable if you're used to it.

Simply put, this is an outstanding Imperial IPA! It's got a nice mixture of hops, malts, and fruity sweetness & quality that rivals that of 3 Floyds Dreadnaught. Anyone looking for a showcase of what the Imperial IPA can do should seriously look into this.

Surly Abrasive Ale - 9.5/10

Surly Furious Review

Name: Surly Furious
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
ABV: 6.6%

For all the reviews I've done over the years, I've never done a review of Surly Furious, despite the numerous times I've had it over the years. The reason for this is because whenever I'm out and about, Furious is one of the beers that I usually have at social events and I'm never able to sit down to review it properly.

Surly Furious is also the first IPA that I ever had and it was at Pizza Lucé in South Minneapolis. At the time I was having dinner with a friend of mine when she swore to me that Furious was the best beer that she ever had. Up until that point, my beers of choice were mainly Grain Belt and Natural Light so I took her advice and ordered a pint of Furious. Upon drinking it, I spat out the contents and told her it tasted like Pine-Sol; After which the mustached hipster who was taking our order called me crazy for hating Furious and fetched me a Grain Belt tallboy instead.

Fast forward 2 years and I try out Furious again. By that point, my palate was a bit more refined and used to different beers styles. When I tried it again, I fell in love with it; Funny how things change!


Considered by most to be the flagship beer of Surly Brewing, this hugely popular and highly sought after IPA has quite an interesting origin story. A couple years ago, I was on a tour of the brewery when our tour guide mentioned that while the brewery was in it's early stages, Furious was not originally marketed to retailers as their primary beer. In fact, Surly had underestimated how popular Furious would be because back in 2005/2006, the craft beer scene in Minnesota was in it's infancy stages. Fast forward 7 years, Furious is now one of the most highly sought after IPAs in the country and it's only available in Minnesota. It was available in Chicago and parts of Wisconsin in 2009, but they did had to pull back distribution to Minnesota because the demand here was too great.

Yes, Minnesota finally had an IPA it could proudly call it's own....

To honor Surly's groundbreaking ceremony for their new destination brewery, now is the perfect time to review their iconic beer.

Surly Furious pours a dark orange/ruby red color with a foamy head. The visible carbonation activity is light and the lacing retention is quite good!

The nose and flavor are very malt forward with some caramel & toffee notes followed by a strong piney & citrus hop profile. The finish consists of a bitter citrus/resiny hoppiness.

For an IPA, the body is quite heavy but the carbonation is reasonably light, leading to a fairly easy drinking IPA....that is if you don't factor in the sheer hoppiness.

It may seem a bit sweeter and maltier than other IPAs out there but if you know and love the IPA style, then this beer is for you. Even with it's very strong malty backbone it's still got a nice amount of hops to keep everything mostly in balance.

Surly Furious - 9.25/10

Surly Wet (2013) Review

Name: Surly Wet (2013 Edition)
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 7.5%

Every fall, Surly releases their seasonal wet hop beer properly titled "Wet", it's a beer that usually flies off the shelves as quickly as it arrives. Even on the can it clearly states that this is a beer not meant to be aged. A couple of years ago, you would've been hard pressed to find this anywhere outside of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, but thanks to the booming market here in Duluth I was able to find some at the first place I stopped by.

I was surprised to even to find it in Duluth in first place because production of Wet was reduced to 1/2 of what it normally is this year because of space limitations to make room for Surlyfest (Surly's Oktoberfest Beer) but the more likely culprit is Darkness, Surly's highly-regarded Russian Imperial Stout. Hopefully once the new destination brewery opens up, space limitation won't be an issue. Since their original Brooklyn Center brewery will still be open, I'm guessing it'll be used solely for their speciality beers.

Every year, Wet uses different hops in it's recipe. Back in 2011 when I first had this, it used all Citra hops. Fast forward 2 years later, it used 75% Cascade Hops and 25% Centennial Hops. Let's see how this affects the flavor. I also want to note that the beer was canned on 9/12/13, a little over a week ago at the time of writing this.

Wet pours a clear orange color with a high amount of visible carbonation, foamy head and good lacing retention.

The aroma is made up of citrus hops, yeasts, biscuits, and malts. There's also a noticeable earthiness to the aroma as well. For some reason, it doesn't smell as strong as I remember it.

The flavor has a bitter resin hop flavor that hits the palate upfront followed by yeasts, buttery biscuits, light caramel and malts. The flavor is also not as vibrant as I had expected.

The body is moderate in weight but lightly carbonated. It's pretty easy to drink and it doesn't have an uncomfortable mouthfeel.

It pains me to say this but I'm disappointed in this year's release and I don't think it was worth the money I paid for it. Keep in mind, this isn't a bad beer but I've had better Wet Hop IPA offerings. Also I really can't pin the blame on Surly fully because of this year's hop shortage and the need to improvise. I hope next year that Surly Wet will have higher output and better quality thanks to their destination brewery, which will hopefully be open by the time the next Wet release comes out.

Surly Wet (2013) - 7.5/10

Surly SeVIIn Review

Every year Surly Brewing releases a beer to commemorate another year in business and it's always named after the years they've been in operation. Since I wasn't really into craft beer until after Surly Five came & went and I was living in Chicago when Syx was released, I had yet to try a Surly Anniversary beer.

That was until about a couple weeks ago when I picked up a bottle of SeVIIn from the store. That's right, I managed to grab one of the beers on my bucket list. SeVIIn is a Belgian Strong Ale with an ABV of 12.5%. I like the stained glass look of the bottle, particularly the centerpiece which invokes that gothic/mystic feeling. And of course, the glass portraits of Omar Ansari and Todd Haug on the opposite sides of the label.

SeVIIn pours a mildy hazy dark brown & red color with a brown head that extends to about a finger in width. There's also a moderate amount of carbonated activity going on inside the glass.

The nose can be summed up into one word: Bananas. Okay that's not 100% true but the strongest aspect of the aroma is bananas which are followed by cloves, caramelized malts, and a slight citrus hoppiness; Reminds me almost of a strong hefeweizen.

Flavor-wise it's much more balanced out. Upfront you have cloves, bananas and caramel; which are followed by rye, oak, and wheat. There is a very slight boozy feel to the flavor but it pretty much blends in with the flavor so it's pretty easy to miss.

The body is fairly light as well as the carbonation so it's pretty easy to drink and it allows you to enjoy the flavors in which the beer has to offer.

I'm glad I got a chance to try this out. It has an incredibly rich and vibrant flavor and the body allows you to savor the flavor. On top of that, it smells pretty good too! Any dedicated Surly or Craft Beer Aficionado will want to add this to their collection.

Surly SeVIIn - 9.5/10

Look what I just found!

So remember that post I made last week about the beers I wanted to try out? Well....I went the store today and I grabbed the last one sitting on the shelf. Can you guess what it is?

Here, I'll show you!

Taa-daa!!

I consider myself very fortunate to have finally acquired this. I'm gonna try to find one more for aging purposes, but keep an eye out for the review in the near future!

Surly Bitter Brewer Review

Surly Brewing has a regular lineup of seasonals, but in the case of Surly Bitter Brewer it was released in May as opposed to Late March/Early April which is when it is normally released. I guess with all the stuff going on with their new planned destination brewery, that would be good reason to delay it slightly.

Bitter Brewer is an English Bitter which is a lighter style of beer with a lower ABV level, like is the case with Bitter Brewer which is 4.1% ABV. Perhaps the most widely known English Bitter known is Goose Island Honker's Ale, which I believe you can find in all 50 states, or at least in the lower 48 but that's just an educated guess.

Bitter Brewer pours a dark golden color with some mild haze and carbonation. Head is a bit on the soapy side and it finishes clean.

In the nose, I'm getting some light caramel malts, citrus hops, yeasts, and fruity notes. Fairly mild aroma but you can still make out what is in here. Fortunately, the taste is alot better than what you are expecting. You have nice marmalade, malts, yeasts and floral hop notes and they all seem to fall into place at once; With the exception of a slight dry bitter hop finish.

The body is light in weight and has a very low amount of carbonation but it doesn't feel watery; So there aren't any issues with the body here.

While Surly is known for their stronger stuff, their lighter stuff like this and Hell shouldn't be overlooked. It's a great tasting beer whether you factor in the low ABV or not and it has some really good drinkability. Maybe once their new destination brewery is open, this'll go the way of Hell and be available year-round

Surly Bitter Brewer - 8.5/10

Surly Hell Review

Tonight marks the first night that Surly Brewing has opened a taproom at their brewery; Took them long enough seeing as how they helped push for a Taproom Bill in Minnesota 2 years ago, but have only recently established one. It should hold over beer fans for the time being until their Destination Brewery is opened. The brewery floor-plan/sketch reveal is planned for this Sunday at the SeVIIn release party and I will be doing a piece on that when the time comes.

In honor of this event, I will be reviewing Surly Hell, their Dortmunder/Helles style beer; Which clocks in at 4.5% ABV. Dortmunder style beers are pale lagers which are usually lighter in color but use actual ingredients instead of adjuncts in their recipes. This beer also holds a place in my heart as the first Surly brew I had ever tried out that I actually liked when I first got into craft beer a couple years ago

Hell pours a Yellow/Golden color with a moderate amount of carbonation and a soapy head. There is any lacing along the sides of the glass and it finishes clean.

The nose has an aroma of biscuits, yeasts, pale malts and barley. Nothing really too complex, but it smells nice and is easy on the senses. The flavor is also pretty much the same as the nose; With pale malts, yeasts, bready-biscuits and barley. Flavor is nice and simple but manages to be pleasant at the same time.

In terms of body, it's light, crisp and mildly carbonated. It's not only easy to drink but refreshing at the same time.

This is a great session ale with a simple yet robust flavor and a light and crisp body to it. If you have friends who are not familiar with craft beer, then this is the perfect beer to introduce them to it.

Surly Hell -  8.5/10