Surly Oak Aged & Tea Bagged Abrasive

Brewed by Surly Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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Winterfest ’11. Overall, I love Abrasive. Oak Aged & Tea Bagged? Not so much. The extra hops that they use kill the flavor of this beer. I always try it when I see it but usually just doesn’t do it for me.

Cask. Rich opaque gold pour with a monster white foamy clingy head. Awesome citrus hop elements with a hint of oak. Absolutely terrific!

Date: February 9, 2012 Mode: Cask Source: TH Tap Description: Opaque dark orange with nice white head and lacing. Aroma is citrus, woody, and some spice. Taste is similar to aroma and is thick, smooth and creamy. Very well balanced and the oak is in the right proportion to not overpower the other elements. Has much more going on than the regular version, which is amazing in itself. To date, this is my top DIPA, yes better than Pliny the Elder and Hopslam which I just had yesterday. Surly if you are listening, PLEASE BOTTLE OR CAN THIS!!!!!

Tap. Slightly hazy orange pour, light hoppy aroma and some head. Flavor is similar to regular abrasive, nice fresh hops, bitter orange and finished with a very dry aftertaste and woody aftertaste. Really enjoyable, glad I finally got to try this one.

Sampled at Winterfest 2012. Poured bright hazy orange with a little white soapy head that faded very quickly. Aroma was big citrus fruity hops with a little wood in there as well. Taste was awesome grapefruit citrus hops that was nice and bitter with a little wood in the finish. Palate was full and crisp with a chalky dry finish. This was one of my favorites that night, I kept going back for more!

Winterfest 11. From notes. Not a huge fan of this one. Pours looking like a hazy canned version, some head, no lacing (After reading other rates, I wonder what was going on here for my pour??). Aroma is all about the hops, with some fruit lingering in the background. Oak is evident in the aftertaste. Some interesting hop notes, but almost messy in the variety, and I am getting a touch of some medicinal flavors as well. Just OK.

Winterfest ’11. Pours hazy reddish orange with white head, aroma has big notes of citrus, touch of pine, and more citrus with notes of caramel. Taste is a bit off for me, more like a creamy orange soda. Maybe had this in the wrong order, had the cherry wood furious first. Overall good tastes, bet it would be awesome if in the right order.

Sampled on cask at the Winterfest 2011 in St Paul, MN. Pours a hazy golden orange colored brew with a thick and creamy off-white head that stayed with the beer. Aroma of tropical fruit, grapefruit, tangerine and more citrus. I had the glass roughly six inches away and I could still pick up the aroma. Taste is medium to full bodied. Plenty of citrus, grapefruit, tropical fruit and a hint of multi-grain malt. Finish is smoother than the regular Abrasive Ale. More citrus and grapefruit aftertaste, some oatmeal detected (sweet and silky malt) topped with a hint of vanilla. When Surly finishes their $20 million new brewery, I hope they start selling their beers in a party stichfass like they do in Germany. Especially this one.

Minnesota Winterfest 2011. Orange color with a large head. Strong tropical fruit aroma, like mango and guava. Those are ramped up in the flavor. Bracing bitterness. Moderate malty body and flavor is there, but only in flashes between blinding bitterness. Some woodiness shows through. Worth noting that after this, Furious tasted hopped like an Amber.

A beautiful beer. Cloudy, copper colored with a layer of thick foam, like a saison or lambic. The aroma is of powerful hops, grapefruit, citrus, and flowers. A fair amount of sugar in the flavor, but more hops here as well, in fact, quite the hop burn from this beer. Alcohol is hidden surprisingly well, the kind of beer those experienced in craft beer know is high, but this knowledge comes more from experience than any noticeable flavor, aroma, or mouthfeel, which is quite thick and heavy. I would conclude by adding I wouldn’t know it was oaked if you didn’t tell me, but it is still a fine beer.