Surly Brewing Company

November 1, 2008
D-day rocked...the keg of coffee bender was awesome..enjoying a bottle of darkness as I write this...can’t wait to see what they do next

October 26, 2008
What a great time. D-Day 08 was a lot of fun. It was my first time at the brewery and I had a blast. Omar gave the early crowd some Furious and Coffe Bender. The was a little bit of an open tasting of many a differnet beer before the gates opened. Once they were open it was a blast. Surly flavors and types I’ve not had or been able to get. Bands inside and kind of a lets all just hang out and mingle for a while attitude outside. A little hacky, some food, some pictures, a few more beers, a little chat with Omar and of course my six bottles of Darkness. What a day, I can’t wait until I can make it for a tour or growler fill day. If anyone ever has the chance to taste the Furious straight from the bright tanks, DO IT!!!!! The hops are AMAZING!!!!

October 10, 2008
The tour itself is average but there is not much to see as it is a small facility. The beer of course was great!

May 3, 2008 [ Updated August 18, 2008 ]
Been here a couple of times now, once for the Darkness release and once for a growler fill day. I haven’t done a tour yet though, so will re-rate after doing one. This is located in an industrial park and the building, although clean and kept up well, isn’t particularly interesting inside or out. Growler fills are done on Saturdays with the standard furious and bender, but sometimes they have seasonals too. The staff is unpredictable. Sometimes you get somebody that is pretty friendly, but often you end up with people that act like they are doing you a favor just by talking with you. Surly obviously does make some great beer though, and I’ve the tours are pretty awesome as well, so like I said before, I’ll rerate after a tour. Re-rate: 08/18/08: I still have not made it on a tour, but after stopping by multiple times on growler fill days, I will add a couple more comments. Omar has been the only friendly employee, otherwise service has been pretty awful. It isn’t like I am taking up huge amounts of their time or anything, a quick question here or there, which they answer either evasively or not at all. Super. I want to like this place, but I think that I will be left only liking their beer.

February 7, 2008
It is a brewery with a very nice selection of swag. Service was personable and fun. Omar’s mother is very friendly and affable. I was surprised to see how clean the old building was. A nice simple brewery that makes the some of the best beer in the world.

August 13, 2007
(Visited during RBSG 2007) The tasting room was packed on arrival. Our Rate Beer group was provided a tour and then a private sampling of Darkness and One. Big thanks to Omar for the great time!

July 31, 2007
Stopped in as part of the RBSG 2007: Nice, clean and spacious facility with a good sized tasting room. Furious and Bender are the staples, but they also had Cynicale, and broke out some Darkness and One for our group along with growlers of Coffee Bender. Omar was a great host and the place is definitely worth stopping at if you’re in town.

July 7, 2007
Went as part of the 07 RBSG tour. It was packed with locals when we got there. It is tucked away in an industrial warehouse area that reminded me of trying to find HOTD or FFF. Tickets for free beer. Omar gave a great tour to the masses of his modern, clean facility, and then was even nicer to the RateBeer people after that. Make sure you have a map and a designated driver.

July 7, 2007
Loved my visit during RBSG 07! The place is just like any other industrial park brewery, but the staff went out of their way to make sure I had a beer in my hand the entire visit and I didn’t spend a dime. The lineup of beers can’t be argued with. Surly rocks!

June 26, 2007
RBSG 2007 Brew Tour. The tour was excellent. Before the tour, tickets are given for free beer from their four taps. Shortly afterward the tour proceeds into the brewery. This is the first spotless brewery I’ve ever seen. After the tour, Omar had a special tasting for the RBSG crowd. Broke out the last keg of Darkness and a keg of One. Great tour, great beer, now if only it made it to Virginia.