Surly SeVIIn Review: Reloaded (A look back)

Name: Surly SeVIIn
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
ABV: 12.5%

It's hard to believe it's been almost a year and a half since I last looked at Surly SeVIIn when my blog was still in its infancy. I remember it being an extremely awesome beer and kicked myself for not holding onto a couple more for aging as temptation got the better of me.

Well last week as I was driving home from Applebee's with my wife, I noticed that a local liquor store was going out of business and all craft beer was on sale. So I pulled into the parking lot and headed inside while my wife waited in the car. As I was scanning the shelves for some good deals when I noticed that there were some bottles of Surly SeVIIn sitting in the cooler and without a second thought, I grabbed a few of them; Talk about luck!

With the release of Surly Eight around the corner, I've decided to visit this old favorite of mine. Needless to say, I'm excited to take another look at Surly SeVIIn after it was allowed to age in the right conditions for a year in a half. I will be comparing my original notes (in italics) from July 2013 to now.

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.

Well, not much has changed here. The color and appearance are still pretty much the same. The carbonation is still fairly active even after a year and a half of being bottled up.

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.

That banana scent has become more secondary to the strong caramel maltiness that is apparent upfront. You can still pick up on the banana, cloves and even some rye spiciness but it's more blended together with the candied caramel malts.

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 first thing I noticed is that the rye aspect is much more aggressive, particularly on the front of the palate. Aside from that, the caramelized malts, cloves, banana-sweetness, oats, and wheat aspects are still loud and clear. The Belgian yeasts are also a bit more prominent and the booziness is actually not as strong as it was before.

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.

The palate, again, hasn't changed much if even at all. However, with the rise of the rye characteristic, it does take on a bit of a stingy quality but not enough to interfere with the overall drinking experience.

I have to say that age has been kind to Surly SeVIIn and I'm glad that I've gotten the chance to drink this again. I will definitely be hanging onto a bottle for aging purposes. With that in mind, I'm eagerly awaiting the release of Surly Eight, along with the opening of Surly's brand new destination brewery!

Minnesota Craft Beer Week 2014 - Day 2 (A personal account)

On the second day, it started out as a fairly uneventful day. In the morning I was at my fiance's house having some breakfast whilst her family catching up on the latest episode of India's Got Talent via online streaming on the living room TV. Let me tell you, if the American version was just as entertaining as the one I viewed that morning, I would probably be a regular viewer....maybe.

After me and my fiance left her house, we swung by Elevated Beer Wine & Spirits to take advantage of the discounted Minnesota Craft Beer promotion they were running in honor of Minnesota Craft Beer Week. When we were finished there, we deliberated as to where we would go first decided we would make our way to Great Waters Brewing Company located in downtown St. Paul. Like Dangerous Man the day before, this was my first time at the brewery.

For my beer of choice, I settled for the St. Walpurgis Night Maibock while my fiance had the Chipotle Pale which she found to be quite good.

Great Waters St. Walpurgis Night Maibock - Fairly light bodied with some light honey and pale malt flavors. The floral hop flavor is minor but it does help balance out the flavor profile a little bit.

Sadly that was the only beer I had there and in retrospect, I felt that I should've done a flight as they had quite a few selections on tap there. After finishing up there, my little brother messaged me to let me know that he was free to celebrate his 21st (belated) birthday in St. Louis Park. Since I was going to be in that area, our next stop was The Four Firkins to sample a pin of Surly Blakkr with Simcoe & Centennial hops.

Surly Blakkr w/ Simcoe & Centennial Hops - While I thought the original had a very prominent citrus hop & fruity characteristic even by Black IPA standards, they are only further enhanced by the Simcoe & Centennial Hops. Depending on how you like your beers, you'll either love it or hate it. Personally, I thought it was quite delicious.

While we were at the The Firkins, Jason Alvey, the store owner, was sampling a bottle of Or De Belgique Verte, the newest release from the Duluth-based Blacklist Brewing. The reception amongst the crowd was very positive and for good reason; It's a very flavorful Belgian-style ale and it's also local!

After finishing up at The Four Firkins, we met up with my little brother at Bunny's Bar & Restaurant a few blocks over to celebrate his 21st birthday. When I was looking over the tap selection, I noticed their beer of the month was an offering from Enki Brewing, whom I've had just a couple of beers from before. The beer on tap was Ceili, an Irish Red Ale. It had been a while since I've had an Irish Red Ale so I ordered up a pint for myself.

Enki Brewing Ceili - A light bodied beer with some light floral hops, toasty barley, pale & munich malts with a lightly hopped aftertaste.

Overall it was a good day but it felt a bit underwhelming to me because I felt I could've tried more. Still it was awesome to try out some new beers and I knew the next day would be even better. Stay tuned for my next post as I think you will be in for a treat!


Cheers!

Nick

Surly Blakkr Review

Name: Surly Blakkr
Style: Black IPA/Imperial Black Ale
ABV: 9.99%

For this review, I bring to you a collaboration beer courtesy of Surly Brewing, 3 Floyds, and Real Ale Brewing: Surly Blakkr. Surly & 3 Floyds have done a collaboration beer before with Urine Trouble but I think this may be the first time they have worked with with Real Ale.

All 3 brewmasters with the aforementioned breweries are big metal music fans, which is the inspiration behind this beer. Even the name and beer label artwork look like they belong on a Norwegian black metal album cover. Even the name, Blakkr, comes from the Old Norse word which means "black."

Blakkr pours a black color that turns into a barely noticeable crimson red when held to a light along with a khaki-colored head. The lacing in this beer is also pretty good

The aroma is quite unique to say the least. I'm picking up on notes of mangoes, citrus hops, dark fruits, and mild chocolate malts. For a black ale or IPA, depending on who you ask, this is rather fruity smelling with only a minor but noticeable chocolate/roasty characteristic.

The flavor starts out with some strong citrus hop, piney hop notes, and mango notes; Followed by some roasted barley, chocolate malts and a citrusy aftertaste with just a hint of a resiny bitterness.

The palate possess a fairly heavy body but with some very light carbonation. It's got a pretty smooth texture and it's very easy to drink. Perhaps a little too easy for it's own good when you consider the strength of this beer.

It goes without saying that this is very tasty, well-balanced and a must have for any craft beer fan or anybody looking for something a little different. Since this is the closest thing we'll get to 3 Floyds here in Minnesota for the time being, I don't expect to see this sitting on shelves for too long so pick this up while you still can!

Surly Blakkr - 9/10

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'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

Top 10 Beers I would like to try out (Part 1)

Today was a pretty long day so I don't feel like doing any reviews tonight. Tonight it's just me, some Spotted Cow and Sinatra on Pandora. So instead of doing a review I would like to put together a list of the Top 10 beers I would currently like to get my hands on. Please note that one of these entries has not been released yet.

10) Murree's Classic Lager

"Huh?"

That's probably what you are thinking right now. Well there's a couple different reasons why I chose this. First of all, Murree Brewing is one of the oldest breweries in Asia, at least to my knowledge. It was formed in 1860 during the British Occupation of India to meet the needs of thirsty British Soliders stationed over in the Indian Subcontinent.

That is not the main reason why I'm eager to try it out. The main reason is because it was established in Rawalpindi, India back in 1860. Well, a little thing called the Partition happened in the Indian Subcontinent in 1947. Suddenly Rawalpindi was no longer in India, but was now in the newly formed country of Pakistan; Yes, THAT Pakistan!

Due to Islamic law, Muslims are not allowed to purchase alcohol in Pakistan...not legally anyways. It can only be purchased by Non-Muslims and is only available in Pakistan at this time; So the chances of getting my hands on this are pretty slim.

Yeah, I want to try this out is mainly because it's from Pakistan; Let's be fair, the first thing that pops into our heads when we think of Pakistan is terrorism and not beer. When I first heard about this brewery, I was curious about it's existence but now I'm interested not just their beer, but their Single Malt Whiskey, Gins, and Spirits, which I heard are excellent. Maybe one day Murree Brewing will be allowed to distribute internationally 

9) Surly Seviin

I've never had any of Surly Brewing's Anniversary beers before and would love to try at least one out. This year I will try getting my hands on Seviin, which will be a Belgian Strong Ale to commemorate their 7 years of being in business and is supposed to come out next week at the time of writing this so hopefully watch out from a review in the near future.

8) Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

One thing I miss about Chicago is Dogfish Head Brewing, you could find it in many liquor stores, grocery stores or even tucked away in a seedy little convenience store that you would never guess had a good craft beer selection. I had a wide variety of of their beers but one always seemed to elude me, and that was their 120 Minute IPA. I have had their 60 Minute IPA & 90 Minute IPA but never their 120 Minute IPA. Later this year, I hope to go back to Chicago to finally get my hands on this but until then I can only hope they start distributing to Minnesota.

7) Three Floyds Dark Lord Imperial Stout

And the award for most badass looking beer label goes to......

The other beer that reminds me of Chicago is.....well, not from Chicago but about 25 minutes away in Munster, IN; I'm of course talking about Three Floyds Brewing. I recently did a review of their Dreadnaught Imperial IPA and it was amazing! There's one release I've always wanted to get my hands on and that is their Dark Lord Imperial Stout. 

We here in Minnesota have our own Surly Darkness and I've heard Surly Darkness is better than Three Floyds Dark Lord while I've also heard the argument the other way around. Hell, they even have a Darkness Day for Surly and Dark Lord Day for Three Floyds. As long as it's good, I don't care who's is better. Likewise, availability is very limited and looks to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

6) The Alchemist Heady Topper

Whenever I see pictures of beer hauls, pictures of a beer someone is drinking or a beer trade on either Beer Advocate or the Beer-related Subreddits on Reddit, The Alchemist Heady Topper is one of the beers that somehow happens to be in EVERY other picture. 

I've come to the conclusion that either half the beer drinkers on the internet live in Vermont or they have good connections. Either way, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on this but I won't be going to Vermont anytime soon.

That's the end for Part 1, if you've made it this far and wish to continue, click here for Part 2!

Surly Pentagram Review

Name: Surly Pentagram
Style: Wild Ale
ABV: 6.66%

Earlier this year, Surly Brewing released Pentagram which is a Wild Ale. For those of you not familiar with Wild Ales or Sour Ales, they are viewed as an unusual style and for good reason. For starters, it's typically brewed with a type of yeast strain called Brettanomyces or "Brett", which is sometimes used in winemaking. It usually gives the wine/ale it's in a sour funk smell, which could understandably turn off many beer & wine drinkers.

It generally isn't used in beer-making because it's viewed as an "infected" yeast strain. It is used on occasion deliberately in a certain styles of ale, like say Lambics, Flemish Reds or in this case, Wild Ales. I like to compare Brett to Nuclear Power: when done correctly it can do wonderful things but if it used isn't intentionally used or left unchecked, the results can be bad.

I'm personally split on the issue, because I've had extremely awesome Wild Ales and ones that made my stomach hold a grudge against me for about 4 hours after I had it. I had wanted to try Pentagram out when it first came out but I never really got around to it. Up until last week, I had all but forgotten about Pentagram until last weekend while getting some beer for a bonfire. As I was making my way to grab some Miller Lite for the occasion, I strolled past the cooler and saw it sitting there. I figured since it was one of the last bottles in circulation, I would just go ahead and grab it.

On the websites and bottle, Pentagram's ABV is listed at 6.66%....Oh ho ho, I see what you did there Surly; Trying to be cheeky with me, are you? Hmph, we'll see about that. My first assumption is that it's just a chance to be clever but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. It's also hard to believe that Pentagram comes from the same people who gave us this....

An innocence lost!

Pentagram pours a dark mahogany/brown color with a filmy head that vanishes fairly quickly upon being poured. You can see a little bit of carbonation along the sides of the glass and it finishes rather clean.

With the nose, I'm getting raspberries, oak, malts, sour funk and Chianti wine. This doesn't come as too much of a surprise knowing that this was aged in Red Wine Barrels prior to bottling.

The flavor is a mixture of tobacco, oak, grapes, red wine, sour yeast and malts. Not too different from the aroma and has that barrel aged taste to it. The one difference I've noticed between Pentagram and other Wild Ales I've tried is that Pentagram is a tad more sour as opposed to the other ones I've had, which have a more tart characteristic.

The body is moderately light and the carbonation is rather mild, and makes this an easier ale to drink. With that said, Wild Ales are not meant to be chugged in 2 minutes.

It's a solid offering from Surly but Pentagram isn't quite the best Wild Ale I've ever had but it's definitely up there; It's a little rough around the edges mainly because the sour & tart flavors are not as balanced as I would like. With that said, it's still a great tasting beer and with a little more age, it'll be even better than it is now. Since it's a Wild Ale, Pentagram is not a beer for everyone but fans of Flemish Red or Wild Ales in general will be pleased with this beer.

Surly Pentagram - 9/10

Surly Smoke Review

Tonight I've decided to review Smoke, a Baltic Porter/Smoked Beer from Surly Brewing, whom I mentioned in a previous review is like our equivalent of Three Floyds in Indiana. I figured I would review this since this is one of the more spotty releases from Surly (Behind Darkness, Syx and Pentagram of course.)

Smoke pours a pitch black color with a brown head and some mild lacing. It does have a mild brown tinge towards the bottom when held up to a light.

The aroma is a smooth mixture of oak, smoked ham, chocolate, cocoa and roasted malts. Not as powerful as say....Schlenkerla.

The same can also be said about the flavor with it's smooth combination of smoked ham, oak, chocolate and roasted malts. The aftertaste is a bitter combination of hoppy & smoke.

The palate is pretty heavy for a smoked beer. The carbonation starts out moderate but tappers off into a mild feel. Overall texture of the beer is somewhat smooth and allows for easier drinking.

This isn't as smokey or rich as other smoked beers I have tried, but the flavor is very balanced which helps create a easy drinking experience. Check this one out if you get the chance!

Surly Smoke - 8.5/10

Surly Overrated West Coast IPA Review

Name: Surly Overrated West Coast IPA
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 7.3%

Today is the first day that Surly Overrated, A West-Coast Style IPA, is available for everyone to buy. I've decided to review this beer because....C'mon, it's Surly. Now for those who do not live in Minnesota, Surly Brewing is a very big deal in terms of craft beer, particularly here in Minnesota. To put it into perspective for you: California has Russian River, Indiana has 3 Floyd's, Colorado has Great Divide, Michigan has Bell's, & Minnesota has Surly. So my weapon of choice today will be Surly Overrated West Coast IPA.

To start off, Overrated pours a dark but clear orange color. There's a moderate amount of carbonation activity and on top of that, it leaves behind a very abundant amount of lacing.

The smell has some strong citrus, grapefruit and piney hop notes. Interesting to note that I'm not getting much of a malty backbone to this one.

Flavor has some fairly sweet citrus & piney hop notes, along with a slight maltiness to the flavor. It also has sort of a "wet hop" characteristic to it, but that could be because it was canned literally 5 days before this review.

The body itself comes off as a bit hefty and the carbonation is fairly moderate. This isn't a beer that is meant to be chugged down all in 1-2 settings.

All and all, it's a great IPA. It's a bit like their Furious but with a more sweeter citrus characteristic to their flavor . Not sure how long it'll be on the shelves for, but here's hoping this becomes a regular line up in terms of seasonal offerings from Surly.

Surly Overrated West Coast IPA -  9/10