Surly Furious

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

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

Very deep copper in colour, medium sized off-white coloured head, excellent lacing. The aroma is incredibly hoppy, some spice, pine, spruce, caramel sweetness. The flavour is again quite hoppy, some pepper, pine and some citrus, moderate sweetness. Moderately bitter mouthfeel, medium body, medium carbonation. Finishes very long, bitter, some spice.

A fantastic IPA, very drinkable. I really liked the pine that came out of this. Very well balanced.

473ml can obtained in a trade with Beerlando, thanks Bryan.
Opened on December 17, 2007.
No date.

Guest tap pint at Flossmoor Station. Hazy brown with light at the edges. Spongy head already gives the impression of a hearty beer. Big, but not quite overwhelming hop smell, circled by wreaths of malt. Tasting, of course, starts with big citrus hops that tear at my uvula like an orange peel studded with pips. As the glass warms, it gains a little earthiness and even some Italian spice. An almost syrupy malt texture with caramel on top, but those darned hops stay front and center all the way down.

Can from Sean. My first Surly beer, and since I have another can from them, it wont be my last. Pours out a dark red color with a nice thick off white head on it. Smell is full of hops, pine, grapefruit.. Damn. It smells like a double IPA. Taste is very thick and chewy (that is for you, Seant), with no alcohol detected. This beer is so thick, I struggled to get the can down. Ridiculous how thick this beer was considering it isnt a double IPA. This isnt a bad thing though, as it is a very good beer. Thanks Professor Sean, I owe you a hot lunch.

16 oz. can from slob, thanks for this goodie! Pours hazy dark reddish copper, with a huge, fluffy beige head that leaves thick lace. Aroma features caramel, toast, floral and citrus, spice and ripe fruit. Rich malt backbone with toffee, citrus peel and pine needles, nice balance to the flavors, sweet orange juice in the finish. Smooth, medium to full body and easy carbonation. Wow, this is a great beer - especially from a can!

On-tap at the Happy Gnome: Cloudy rust with dark honey highlights. Smooth, firm topping of lighly stained brown foam. Out of two pints I had, one was slim, one was a finger high. Tons of layered lacing score the glass with heavy sheeted rings. Aroma is all red grapefruit, quite juicy, zesty, and fresh. Although my first was barely traceable as the second had the red grapefruit standing out very prevalently. Taste did not differ however; big red grapefruit juicyness with a sliding edge of dry leafyness takes hold immediately with the citric bitterness. Its quite nice at first, lots of hoppy grapefruit bitterness with only a slight malt keeping it tendered in a floury bread and very dry grain. However, the bite and dryness did take the realm a little too quickly and parchingly to fully enjoy the second pint as its a palate wrecker for sure. For whatever it is (amber/IPA) I would’ve liked a bit more balance out of it. I might as well have peeled myself a grapefruit and not used any sugar. Nothing complex about it besides its layer of drying bitterness. The feel is all bitter, all squeezing, all parching, and all sour grapefruit juicyness. Actually quite heavy and full on the tongue and palate. A nice pay lode of hoppy bitterness. A bit too much though, even for this hophead. I enjoyed this at first pint. Very nice grapefruit taste and bite. But it is a bit much after a while. It tired my palate out right quick and half way through the second pint my mouth was screaming for something else so I had a Porter instead of a third Furious. I see now why it is named as so. The hops are just that. Furious.

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: SEP 26, 2007 Can. Did I really just pour a can of beer and have it taste this good? Wow, the world has changed in the past 2 and a half years of not having any beer. Anyway, it poured a slighty hazy copper color with a nice hoppy aroma. The flavor and palate were what really threw me for the fact that it comes from a can. Hops and malt and nice rounded mouth feel. I like it.

Can trade from shigadeyo. Poured hazy amber with an average off-white frothy head that lasted with good lacing. Solid pine and sour citrus aroma. Medium body with a slick texture. Heavy smooth bitter flavor with a heavy bitter finish of moderate duration. This is a standout beer.