Surly's New Destination Brewery Plans Revealed

Around this time 2 years ago, the Taproom Bill AKA Surly Bill, was signed into law, which allowed Minnesota Breweries to sell pints of their beer on their own premises. This bill was spearheaded by Omar Ansari, the CEO of Surly Brewing but they didn't advantage of their namesake bill until recently.

The reason behind the bill was that Omar Ansari wanted to create a destination brewery/beer garden that would allow the brewery to sell their own beer but this was illegal in Minnesota up until 2011. So thanks to social media and a very active fan base known as the "Surly Nation", they were able to change the law and what followed was an explosion of breweries popping up all around Minnesota. The Surly Bill will forever be remembered as the linchpin that brought national attention to the Minnesota Craft Beer scene.

When plans for the Surly Destination Brewery were revealed in 2011, it looked like this....

As you can see while the architecture was definitely sound, it looked more like a building you'd expect to see at a college campus. It was different, but I figured it would work because of the quality of the Surly brand name. Keep in mind, this was just a colorful sketch of what Omar had in mind for his business and it was enough for him to change the laws to help make his dream a reality.


Well, last night at the Surly SeVIIn launch party, renderings for what I assume will be the actual brewery were revealed.....

Surly Beer, it's to die for!

I am not an architect by any means, but I have never seen a concept design that would contain ghosts drinking beer. On the plus side, the brewery looks great!

In all seriousness, the interior looks absolutely fantastic and nails what I would expect out of a destination taproom or brewery. I can only imagine how fun it'll be to tour the place once it actual opens.

Then of course, there's the exterior.....

If a Chipotle restaurant and a VCR had a baby, this what it would look like; In other words, I'm not a fan of the design. I know people aren't going to care when they're inside having a CynicAle or Furious but I expected something more aesthetically pleasing.

Well the important thing is that we know that development is coming along fine and is expected to open next year. Am I still going to go? Of course I am, I've been waiting for this to open up for a couple of years now and I probably will be there opening day. As long as they keep making quality beers, that's all I really care about.

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