Surly Furious

Brewed by Surly Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

20070524 22oz can Okay, I had, for some reason, outrageous hopes for this beer so it was really set up to be a real bummer. I’ve had it at least once before and there are notes around here somewhere.....but this is the can that the very generous allendodd sent my way and I’m not sharing it. Ha! It’s attractive stuff, amber and deep colored with a soft looking beige foam that lingers, slowly fading to a ring, and lacing in rings with each new sip. The aroma is mild for an American IPA but so nice with sweet floral notes, fruity malts, and hints of resinous pith. Aromas emerge and increase intensity with temp. Mouthfeel is creamy, soft, smooth, full, and coating. Just brilliant, it’s like velvet across the front and middle before a big smack of pithy bitterness slaps that right out of my mouth. Finish is long and lingering in its bitterness. For a six percenter, this stuff is big. Whew, well done!

UPDATED: DEC 27, 2008 16 oz can, thanks again General Gao. Hazy copper with a lasting quarter inch of foam. Aroma is delicious blend of earthy caramel, tea leaf and orange-chocolate. Front flavor is similar with a finish of dirty grapefruit, nut shells and resiny oak. Nice frosting of lace is left behind. The medium-heavy body is smoothly carbonated, hop-tingly and dry. Definitely one of my top two IPAs.

UPDATED: JUN 4, 2009 I got really excited when they switched over the tap at Kuma’s in Chicago from Bender to Furious. Distinct C-hop aroma that really carried through into the bitterness of this beer. I knew it was bitter, but never would have guessed around a 100. Deep rich amber color and very nice malt/hop ratio. Very drinkable and nice. Update - Cask at Map Room. This beer is unreal on cask with an absurd piney hop character and super fresh tasting. Definitely one of the best cask beers I’ve ever had.

A crisp fresh salt of pungent hop kicks my nostrils into gear. Wowzer. Cascade citrus orange peels meld with bright lemony hop resins and a nip of pine. A wonderful quaf of floral and citrus, with rising heat and a nip of malt caramels in the nose. Pours a crystal clear ruddy amber, with sunset fire fringe. Foamed with creamy tan sticky lacing, sheeting the glass and floating high. On the tongue a deft hand of hops, with articulate loblolly pine resins, burning red pine sap and a whole bouquet of floral orgasm. The hop flavors are right there, as if off the vine. So fresh and ripe. Scarcely does an IPA seem to hold onto the crisp resins and hop sugars as this beer does. Maintaining a biting alcohol-fueled hop frenzy in the middle, this is a bitter beer, but only in a good west coast cacophony. Lucious, wet and sappy. This is a damn fine IPA. The malt backbone kicks in with light caramels, sweet maple syrup and drying raisin bread. A top IPA for sure. I do think that the canning has helped preserve this beer’s better qualities and many have said that it doesn’t differ from the tap version all that much.

UPDATED: APR 17, 2010 My first beer in over 2 weeks. Thanks to Mr. Brendo for the can. Pours a deep chestnut with a thin but solid layer of tan head atop. nose has profound elements of sweet pine, grilled citrus, ribbon candy, and a background peatiness. Flavors are a bit biscuity though...lots of caramelly malt under the somewhat faceless hop character. Certainly has more of a thick biscuity boldness than the vibrant fresh hop refreshness that I’m used to in west coast IPAs. Its clean though, the flavors mend together sufficiently, but its almost got an arrogant bastard like-feel to it where I wouldn’t ever really seek it out again.

Can thanks to mreusch. Pours a slightly cloudy dark amber with a small white head. Aroma of grassy hops and grapefruit. Flavor of citrus, sour grapefruit, lemons, iced tea, grassy hops. An alright IPA but somewhat one dimensional. Doesnt make the great IPA cut for me.

Not sure why they canned this, but whatever it is a fantastic brew. Pours from the can into my American Pint glass with a reddish brown hue, darker than most IPAs, certainly it is in the Midwest school of color. The head is foamy and rises to the rim of the glass, it is slightly off-white and leaves bubbly lacing. Having brewed my own DIPA today using a pound of hops, I know the fresh hop scents and this brew is bursting with them. The nose is full of concentrated citrusy, spicy hop scent. There is some malt sweetness but only enough to be considered just enough. This is one of the hoppiest smelling brews I have come across. The hops roll right onto your tastebuds with furious intensity, I don’t know if it is because of the can or what but the hops in this one seem really fresh. The malt is there in the taste providing the backbone needed for a solid IPA. The Midwestern IPAs are some of the best out there, and this one is the best out of the bunch. Serving type: can Reviewed on: 11-25-2009 23:15:14

Can thanks to ericandersnavy. Pours a nice deep amber with nice off-white head. Aroma of very nice grapefruit, malt, with wonderful floral accents. Flavor of nic crisp grapefruit, malty, earthy, nice aggresive bitter with a hint of alcohol spiciness. Mouth feel is medium-heavy body with medium-heavy carbonation. Overall, a well crafted beer!