Surly Bender

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

Serve in Dimpled mug

Draft. Clear brown with no head. Aroma: Roast malt with some caramel. Sweet flavored. Simple easy drinker, but not very complex.

Thick and sticky, gotta love this one. Quite different than the DIPA/RIS school I have been used to, perhaps that contributed to my positive image of this beer. Very close to a porter, but not. This may very well be the most difficult beer I have had to review. I’ll put it this way, it’s good.

Almost a reddish brown pour. Miniscule off white head. Smells, surprisingly floral, some pine with some malt and molasses. Light/medium body with a healthy dose of carbonation. Flavors of malt molasses and brown sugar. A surprisingly strong coffee note to me, would be curious to see how much more the coffee Bender has. Finishes real clean. Drinkability is not a problem for this one. Somewhere between a brown and a porter I guess. My friend did not like this one, I thought it was excellent.

Poured from tap with a dark brown and ruby red color with an off-white head which left good lacing behing. Aroma is light caramel malt, lots of hops a light dark fruit scent, coffee and some chocolate. Stars out with a bitter coffee and chocolate maltiness which then moves into a sweet prune, kinda raisin flavor and ends with a bitter roasted malt bite as well as some bitter hops. Good mouth feel to the beer as well a a moderate carbonation rate. Overall is a pretty good beer.

This poured a murky brown color with an off white head. Aroma was roasted malts, nutty, and some chocolate. Flavor iwas realyl smooth and blended well with hints of mild chocolate, oatmeal, burnt malts and nuts. Pretty good for the style.

pours somewhat thick soft dark brown with lots of lacing. very little aroma. Full bodied with flavors of coffee, ash and lightly burnt sharp hops at the end. Some creamyness as well. I dont know what classifies this as a brown ale, it totally tastes more like a porter or dry stout except less on the chocolate notes. Overall its ok, but I wont be buying it again being fairly expensive n all.

12 oz glass on tap at the galway tribes (frankfort, I’ll). Pours an extremely dark brown, slightly hazed, with ruby highlight and brown moderatr head that laces. Aromas are heavy on coffee and brown roasty malts up front, coffee and tobacco mix in. Initial is very chocolatey and tobacco, mixes well with a touch of smokiness, coffee, and overall very welcoming malt profile. Light bitterness, but the malt really steals the show. Flavors are spectacular, balanced, quite yummy. Complex. Another kudos to the fine people at Surly Brewing. Cheers

Trade with noncaloric. Thick rich head on reddish-brown beer. Rich chocolate cream aroma with a hint of alcohol. Love the big cans but not a big fan of the beer inside this one. Flavour seems a bite winey. Doesn’t come of too well for a Brown or an oatmeal beer for me.