Surly Bender

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

Serve in Dimpled mug

UPDATED: SEP 21, 2007 can.....aroma: caramel and toasted malt...apearance: more of the caramel brown for this brown ale with medium ivory head....taste: essentially all caramel malt with hints of vanilla. incredibly smooth and very agreeable with the palate. not too much complexity with this one but i still found it to be quite enjoyable.

UPDATED: SEP 1, 2007 Can from brewfiend, poured a dark brown-mahoganey color with a 0.5cm thick head, thinning fairly quickly to a thin covering. The lacing was decent, though, spotty rings all the way down. The aroma was roasty cocoa, caramel, and bubblegum. The flavor was rather porter-like, roasty to slight ashy dry chocolate, some caramel, slight bubblegum, lactic/milky notes with warmer temperatures, finishing quite silky dry, much like an oatmeal stout would. Upon reading the description a few minutes later, indeed, the oatmeal wasn’t just an impression, it’s really there, neat stuff. Certainly, this beer defies a brown ale or oatmeal stout style, could certainly be an oatmeal porter in my mind. Mouthfeel isn’t as fully as that achieved in an oatmeal stout, but the oaty dryness and silkiness is indeed there. Good stuff, Surly, and thanks much, Brad! Re-rate of second can at the end of the month: Not much of an opinion change: oatmeal porter, firm roastiness more noticeable this time.

On tap at the Dock Cafe in Stillwater, MN. Unfortunately, I lost my notes (damned text message clean-up...). From what I recall, this was a murky brown ale dominated by toast and chocolate notes, earthy, with a bitter finish and a touch of dark fruitskin. No single element stood out, but the sum was greater than the whole of the parts.

1 Pint can. Pours brown-red with a white head. Nose is malt, nuts, cocoa, and some coffee. Flavor is similar with malt, nuts, and cocoa powder hanging around. This brown ale finishes with lingering yeast and cocoa. Interesting brown ale.

Very deep brown, nice head. Aroma is faintly of nuts. Flavor is lightly nutty and leafy, pine hops on the finish. Hoppy for the style, which is nice.

16 oz. can via trade with franksnbeans - Pours a dark brown color with a one and a half finger thick light tan head. Nice lacing. Aroma is caramel malt with a light cola scent. Flavor is toasted caramel malt. Fairly smooth with a slight maltly aftertaste. Palate is thin. An easy drinking Brown. Thanks Jacob.

Can. Reddish brown colour with a little head. Aroma of caramel and roastedness. Flavour of roastedness, malt and with a hoppy finish, ends up with a dry and bitter ending.

There’s a lot of wood in this one, and a slight astringency. Ruby color. Fairly dry. I didn’t like this as much as the Furious.