Surly Five

Brewed by Surly Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Had this on tap at The Northdown Cafe & Taproom in Chicago. AMAZING. This is one of the two best sours I’ve ever had (the other, and better one being the St Louis Gueze). Super funky & sour, but very drinkable and refreshing. I could drink this all day long. I was at Northdown that day for a benefit/fundraiser, and there were numerous hard-to-get beers from 3F, Surly, and Mikkeller on tap all day. The Surly Five was the best beer I had all day (and I had A LOT). Incredible beer, can’t wait until Surly is distributed here permanently. Just awesome.

Moderate sour at the start, followed by a strong black cherry flavor. Pentagram ends with a dry mouth feel similar to red wine.

Thx! to Kraddel for sharing this one @ ‘The Adam Jackson Tasting’. 75 cl. bottle sampled & drank from the bottle. Cool, green Baphomet label with glitter(?) green waxing. Pours a darkish brown with a lightly tanned head, only on the sides. Smell is sour chocolate, sour wine bacteria interacting, sour cherries & typical USA brett profile all the way, young wine. Tastes of sour tannic wine, sour chocolate, USA brett all the way, touch lacto, earthly, sour cherries and pits, leather, touch malts, bitter tannins in the back, overripe red grapes. Oddly full like the USA sours tend to be, usual profile. Drinks pretty well out of the bottle, haven’t had to many dark sours yet, style doesn’t seem to be working entirely, this was still quite lovely.

I wish I could have this beer more often. Lemony and sour. Dark colour. This was great.

UPDATED: AUG 26, 2012 Pure bliss. Pours the color of cola with fizzy mocha head. Big bold cherry, wood, red wine, and a bit of tobacco. Awesome chunky sediment. Lip smacking! So good!

Draft at Acadia. Dark reddish brown pour, plenty of carbonation and a slightly tart Door County cherry aroma. Flavor is very dry wood, cherry and subtle lemon/lime sour on the aftertaste. Unique and very enjoyable, well done.

Minnesota Winterfest 2011. This was a single barrel of what will be blended with four others to make the final Pentagram. Dark brown color with a large head. Tart aroma with some moderate smoke. Strong, winey flavor. Solid tartness. Moderate malt and sweet grape. Light oak and vanilla after some warming. Did not expect to like this one at all, but it was definitely the winner of the night for me.

Bottle at Paul’s tasting (I think via J, thanks man). Pours a deep, murky mahogany, brown body with no head. Aroma is tart, dark fruits, roast, molasses. Mouthfeel is medium with notes of funky tart, dark fruits, light roast, earthy cherry funkiness. Great sour.

(bottle) Pours a dark muddy brown with a scant tan head. Aroma is very unique, as it possesses a large amount of blackberries which is something I have rarely smelled in a beer before. There’s also plenty of dark chocolate, faint roasted malt, oak, and acetone. Red wine is also present. The flavor follows suit with the aroma providing plenty of blackberries and cherries, red wine, chocolate, and light roasted malt. The sourness really provides a nice clean spike before the roasted malt moves in on the finish. Mouthfeel is fairly thin, with somewhat lively carbonation. As Oslo stated, this is quite similar to OEP save for the fact that it lacks smoke. This is a really good beer that I had to rate higher overall due to the fact that I was craving it the next day.

Thanks Tyler Anderson! Dark brownish pour. Aroma of cherries, leather, molasses, red wine and wood. Flavor is tart, vinegar, sour cherries, red wine, oak. Really awesome.