3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Thanks to Tharreld for the can!! It pours brownish red with an orangy/tan head. It has a faintly dusty, toasted aroma with hints of caramel, berries, and brown sugar. The flavor is toasted malt, oatmeal, and some berryish hop astringency. Notes of nuts and cocoa as well. It has a very hoppy, bitter finish. Overall, an above average brown ale.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
Can from theisti. Great clear brown with thick, lucious tan head. Light chocolate malt and hoppy nose. Velvety mouth feel...flavors of caramel and cocoa....some cream on the finish, along with some bitterness. Best beer from a can I’ve ever had...until I try Furious I suppose. Thanks theisti...it rocks!
3.6 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Can.
Pours very dark for a brown ale. Really super nose of carmelized sugar and roasted oats, plenty of chocolate malt. Flavor is a bit more confused --- heavily hopped for the style, intriguingly but ultimately unfortunately, a bit nutty in a gently sour brown ale way, but with way more hops driving it through. I’m pleased -- especially by the aroma -- but it’s not quite a slam out of the ballpark.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
UPDATED: SEP 8, 2007 Tap at the Happy Gnome. Colored like maple syrup with a creamy, thin head. Aromas of black licorice, vanilla, berries, and a touch of citrus hops. Feels a bit acidic in the mouth with syrah tones of pepper and chocolate. An interesting blend of sensations very well balanced.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Ah, the $205 glass of beer. I wouldn’t have had a chance to try Bender, but for missing a flight to NYC (and $100/each in fees for my wife and I to get on a later flight.) So with an hour suddenly free, I remembered that Surly’s website mentions that you can get Bender at Ike’s in the airport, so off we went. It was really fun that even the 60-something waitress there also knew they had Surly, and was happy to talk about this exciting new local brewer. (It strikes me as a really healthy sign for the craft beer movement when what the "normal" craft beer fan looks like is less and less predictable.)
On to the beer. Gold highlighted-brown, small sticky cap of light tan. Coffee, brown bread aroma--creamy and fresh. Dry toast flavor, caramel, robust bitterness, lingering rustic bread sweetness. An unpretentious beer, done with skillful, bold strokes. Yum.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Can, thanks to kosko20. Brown pour with some light brown head. Meaty smoked malt and toffee in the aroma. Flavor is the same; a little nutty, smoked / meaty and sweet also. Pretty good flavor.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Can: The aroma consists of chocolate, caramel, light berries, and a hint of nuttiness. It’s a reddish-brown with some transparency and a small beige head. The flavor starts with caramel, berries, and chocolate. Finishes with light roasted nut notes and a hint of earthy bitterness. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Tasted on 12/31/10 from a 16oz can purchased at Discount Liquor, no discernible date on the can. Pours cloudy dark brown with an average off-white head that leaves fairly thick spotty lace. The nose is caramel malt with some nutty and roasted characteristics. The flavor is sweeter malts up front, with chocolate and a very pleasant roasted note with bitter cocoa and coffee on the back. The body is light with average carbonation and a long roasted coffee and cocoa finish.
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