Surly Cacao Bender

Brewed by Surly Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Shaker

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tap at Blue Nile, served in a goblet, a nice deep brown with reddish tinge coming through the edges, taste is identical to chocolate chip pancakes. sweet chocolate, light vanilla and a bready taste.. not bad but i didnt find myself wanting a whole lot of it.

Tap @ Stub and Herbs Darkness Eve. Pours a bit cloudy, dark brown appearance with a brown head. Chocolate milky, rich cocoa, light coffee, vanilla aroma. A little thin, huge chocolate powder, vanilla, light wood, Hershey’s flavor.

The aroma is striking--I shared it with others who were with me, and even those who didn’t put their nose too close could get the straight-up chocolate. Very much a cacao chocolate power aroma. The flavor is quite chocolatey as well but it is more balanced. This is a brown ale (as described here, at least). I guess that makes sense, particularly in the palate, which has substance but isn’t as rich or warm as a stout or even a porter. Drinkable but in my view it didn’t have the depth of chocolate flavor that I would prefer if I’m drinking a chocolate-themed beer--better off with a good stout with roasted qualities. (on tap at the Groveland Tap, St Paul)

Aromatics are straight chocolate and mild alcohol. Appearance is deep dark brown/black with brown head that is laid on thick! Taste hits with thick chocolate and malt (almost like drinking a melted chocolate bar in your beer). Palate is nice and thick one the most rounded palates I have had. Overall I love this beer! This should be aged in Bourbon Barrels, it would be fantastic!

At Surlyfest 5. Terriffic dark brown pour with a creamy tan head. Aroma of chocolate and a touch of coffee. Flavor was almost like hot chocolate with some vanilla and coffee mixed in. A great take on the other benders, my favorite of the three. Very smooth and drinkable with the perfect amount of chocolate

Sample at ABR. Aroma is real nice. Chocolate and coffee. Cacao comes through nicely but its still Bender.

Surly Cacao Bender: Approximately 1 oz. pour on tap at the Autumn Brew Review in Minneapolis on 9-15-12. Smoky aroma features chocolate and pepper scents. Pours a hazy brown. Too much coffee in the flavor (I don’t care for coffee). Despite the intriguing smell, this is not my kind of beer. 8/4/5/3/12

On tap at GTMW - Pours brown with a tan head. NOse is chocolate covered hazelnut, tons of chocolatey malt, and a bit of iced coffee. Taste is chocolate milk, nutty malt, with hazelnut present. Mocha waves of goodness. Thick with smooth carbonation.

Draft at GTMW 12. Pours a deep brown with a tan head. The nose is full of sweet cocoa powder, faint coffee and roast. The chocolate is pretty dominant but has a certain sweetness about it. Malt profile to back it up, hops are faded out. On tasting, there is an odd sweetness. Vanilla and cocoa dominate and the body almost seems a bit thinner overall. It starts to get a touch cloying later in the glass, unfortunately. Definitely interesting but not my cup of tea.

Enjoyed at GTMW 2012. The beer poured a brown black with little head. The smell was distinctly cocoa and the taste was mildly chocolate and smooth with dry, bitter hops. The finish was also very bitter and dry - perhaps a bit too dry for my overall tastes but a good beer.