Surly Bender

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

Serve in Dimpled mug

Pours a deep dark brown sporting a tight light brown head. Nose is heavy with dark caramel, chocolate, hops, and other various malt complexities. Taste is a nice balance between caramel, chocolate, and bread like malt flavor with just a hint of roasted character. Full body and smooth. Dry finish with a medium duration. Really tasty brown.

16 ounce can, canned on date of 11/22/11. Served in a pint glass, the beer pours dark brown (that you can see through some when held up to a light) with about an inch tan head that stays around a while. There’s also a good amount of lacing. The brew smells like caramel malt, vanilla, coffee, nuts, chocolate, and some light hops. It tastes like caramel malt, nuts, coffee, chocolate, and some hops. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it’s a bit slick and has moderate carbonation. I think it’s a good overall brew, I liked it. It’s definitely worth trying.

A: The pour is a light brown color with a finger’s worth of slightly off-white foam. S: The nose is sweet and malty with some nice nut, bread, and roasted malt notes. T: The flavor is quite similar to the nose offering up some toasty, bready malts. There is a nice sweet caramel malt flavor as well, which is nicely balanced by a touch of bitterness on the finish. M: A medium bodied beer with a pleasant creaminess on the tongue. D: Another solid beer from Surly. One of the better brown ales I’ve had the chance to try as it balances the sweetness and nuttiness quite well.

On tap at Social House in Chicago. Dark brown pour with a medium tan head. Malty and crisp nose with a bit of roast. Crisp caramel malty flavor up front with notes of fruit and a bitter finish. Some chocolate taste in there. Really good and very drinkable.

Large can, light rich malt aroma. Great rich malty flavor, then bam a great nutty flavor. Nutty finish. Great job.

A - Pours a slightly clear dark brown-red color with a big finger of frothy off-white head. The head fades down to a ring around the glass leaving behind some really nice lacing in the process. S - Aroma is full of sweet caramel malts and a lot of nuttiness. There is a bit of roastedness and some light chocolate as well. T - Starts off with a nice hit of sweet caramel malts and roasted flavors. Through the middle, some nutty flavors and a hint of chocolate flavor come out. The finish is a mix of nutty and caramel flavors and some sweet chocolate and just a hint of hops that lingers. M - Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Feels smooth and fairly crisp and maybe a touch syrupy. The finish is a touch sweet and very nice. D - Very drinkable. The sweet malt and nuttiness are really nice. The flavors and balance are really nice throughout the beer and the finish is just spot on with the amount of sweetness.

Date: July 23, 2011 Mode: Can Source: Apple Valley Liquor, Apple Valley, MN Appearance: Opaque brown with large amount of tan head. Aroma: Sweet and nutty. Flavor: Consistent with aroma with some coffee and slight bitter finish, small amount of carbonation, and creamy. Other: Another good offering from Surly.

UPDATED: OCT 21, 2011 Poured into a plastic cup at Psycho Suzi’s in Minneapolis, Minn. Color was coffee looking with at least an inch of head. Lots of lacing that stayed throughout the drink. Smell was heavy on the hops. The coffee feel stayed in there. Also a bit malty. Strong on the alcohol taste, but very, very smooth. Also some chocolate and vanilla in there. Wonderful blend of flavors. Average carbonation. The good tasted lasted throughout. Seemed to become more chocolate toward the end. My wife’s cousin really wouldn’t steer us in the wrong way. He likes Surly, so I knew I would. Very much enjoyed this beer.