Surly Bender

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

Serve in Dimpled mug

Can courtesy of tytoanderso. Pours a nice reddish brown with a bubbly 1 finger head. Aroma of malt, roasted nuts and vanilla. Nice medium bodied mouthfeel with flavors of caramel, malt, nuts, chocolate and rasins. This is a really nice brown ale. Viva Surly!

Can thanks to the always-generous dchmela. Deep brown pour, nearly opaque in a pint glass. Tan/yellow head that starts big and pillowy but settles down after some decent lacing. Malty caramel, cocoa, roasted barley, cotton candy, and hops on the nose. Similar taste, but with surprising fruitiness as well... apple juice, perhaps? A tad nutty. Quite good. Nice light mouthfeel and low alcohol. That won points in my book. This is not a ’huge’ beer, but its all-around balance and drinkability are top-notch.

Cans from CLevar. Thanks! The first thing I noticed was the pronounced hops (for a Brown Ale) and a toasty quality in the aroma. Pine hops, toasted grains, nuts, and caramel consist of the scent. Dark brown color with some amberish highlights and a thin tan foam on top. Light retention and the lacing was spotty. The flavor continues with that toasted character from the aroma. Nutty, with some bitter hops for balance. The body is slick, sweet, and slightly creamy with a good caramel malt foundation. After about half of a can I start picking up light vanilla and chocolate notes. Very solid stuff. The flavors are tasty and this stuff is incredibly drinkable. Brown Ales are not necessarily boring anymore!

mtjoseph sent me this can o Surly, along with a slew of others in a beautiful box. Dark, dark brown with a big fizzy tan head. Nose is 9 types of maltiness. Major complexity in a malty way. I’d call it coffee cocoa and caramel, but that’s what the description says, and it’s not EXACTLY any of those individually. Great tang behind it all. Nice fuzzy mouthfull of mouthfeel. Great beer from the type of person that keeps me active on RB.

UPDATED: MAR 9, 2009 Malt-driven aroma. Pours dark, dark brown ... this is a brown ale with aspirations of being a porter ... lots of tan head leaves a good lacing. Flavor is very well balanced bittersweet. On the malt side, molasses, nuts, and just a little bit of the roast; the hops are floral and spicy. Smooth on the palate, but thin bodied for something this flavorful.

Tallboy can bought from an internet vendor. Pours a deep brown with a moderate, creamy light beige head that hangs around forever as a thin ring. Aroma is a mouth-watering chocolate and coffee mixture. Flavor is exactly as described, coming on in waves...hefty malt base, sweet chocolate/caramel, medium-roast coffee, and eventually vanilla. Oats provide that excellent silky body reminiscent of so many stouts. I love it!

UPDATED: FEB 1, 2009 TAP: pours reddish/brown with beige head. Nutty and chocolate on the nose, with flavors of chocolate, caramel, nut. Hop finish. Great beer!

Pours dark brown with a nice tan head. Smells of oats and chocolate. Roasted malts gives flavors of chocolate, caramel, and vanilla. I shared this with a relative who commented "I didn’t know dark beer could be this smooth."