Beer Review- Surly Bitter Brewer, Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter

These two beers suprised me for totally different reasons. Surly is a brewery that in the few releases I've had of theirs, tries to push the limit. Furious is an extremely hoppy/bitter beer. In fact the 99 IBUs makes it one of the most (if not the most) bitter beer in America. I think Bender is a really unique beer, combining elements of a brown ale, porter and stout with a lot of hoppiness. Their other seasonal releases tend to be unique or extreme as well. Needless to say, I was quite surprised when I heard they had released a British Bitter. It just seemed a little to be a little too "ordinary" of a beer for Surly to release.

Without much to compare it to, but in reading the description of the British bitter, I'd have to say Surly nails it on the head. This beer pours a pale orange color with a lacy white head. It has a fairly floral aroma of hops, and some biscuity aromas as well. It is bitter and dry but very easy to drink. At 4% alcohol this is the definition of a session beer. It has just enough bite and hoppy flavor to make it interesting, but nothing stands out a lot, and it is crisp and light. There is a lingering bitterness from the hops and the dryness is balanced with a slight malty sweetness. Not a beer I would buy often, but a beer that surprises me in its simplicity from a brewery that often goes over the top. In some ways I'm more impressed with this effort because I think what is lost in American brewing sometimes is the craft of making something simple and not overloading it with hops, alcohol content, or a dominating flavor. In the era of big beers, its impressive to see a brewery known for extreme to come out with a well crafted session ale.

On the other end of the spectrum is Flying Dog's Gonzo Imperial Porter. I have only had a couple of offerings from Flying Dog before and have never been overly impressed. The artwork of Ralph Steadman on their labels is always really eye catching, and I am impressed with the large variety of beers and styles they brew. They have a line of beers called Canis Major, which are bigger beers that include a barley wine, a double IPA, a triple, and the imperial porter. After drinking the Gonzo, I am going to have to revisit the Flying Dog Line. This beer is pretty impressive. It pours jet black with a finger of mocha head. Right away are peppery hop aromas as well as hints of coco, coffee, and roastiness. A creamy mouthfeel, not quite as creamy as a stout, but more body than your average porter. Similar to Old Rasputin, in the aroma, it has strong flavors of roasted malt with some chocolate. A really good beer, there is a lot of dark, roasty flavors going on here. A lot of bitterness, but some sweetness in the finish. Its a sipper, but gets better as it warms up, so that's a good thing. A very good beer and one I would definitely buy again.

Two very different beers, but both very good. I am planning on heading to Wisconsin this weekend, so hopefully I can find some new offerings from New Glarus or possibly Dogfish Head. Have a great long weekend.

Salud!

The Bearded Brewer

Beer Review- Surly Bender

Surly Brewing Company is a small brewery located in a suburb of Minneapolis. In the two years it has been in existence it has built up quite a following and has a great buzz around it, including being rated the #1 brewery in Beer Advocate this past year. Surly has been a brewery I've had a weird reaction to, and I'm not too proud to say that I think my reaction to Surly was a bit immature. When Surly Furious came out, I tried it several times, as I was excited to have a new beer in the local landscape. I really didn't like it, it is an extremely bitter, hoppy beer, in fact I've heard owner Omar say it is the highest IBU or most bitter beer in the country! I gave it several tries, and so did a lot of my friends. I have friends who like it, and friends who really don't care for it. I think the other thing (and my immaturity) is that there is a really strong following of loyal Surly fans, and it creates a real fervor that I have to admit I was adverse to. In fact reading back over my Hop madness post, I realize it sounds like I'm bashing Surly. Which I'm not. I think that there are some really cool things Surly does, like pushing the limits of local beer taste, taking risks with some extreme beer, and it's awesome they have an annual disc golf outing. Plus they have really done a good job of building up a buzz through some DIY type marketing.

So, in an effort to be a more fair and balanced blog, I decided to buy a four pack (cans) of Surly Bender (I tried Furious a couple more times on tap...still not for me). I also tried their 2 (second annual beer) an 11% abv stout brewed with cranberries. I thought this was pretty good, but thought the cranberries were a little too overwhelming.

So I bought Bender, wanting to give it another chance. This beer is really intriguing because its kind of a porter/stout/brown ale, but hoppy and yet brewed with oats that give it a really interesting body.

Thoughts: This beer pours a dark brown with some ruby red hues and a thin tanish head. At first you really smell cocoa and some hints of citrus from the hops. This beer is quite complex and different, it has some nutty and coffee roastiness, yet at the same time has some chocolate tones to it. Also, there is quite a hop presence that gives it a slightly citrus finish and a nice balance to the other "darker" flavors that are going on. This is a really unique beer, and something I would drink again. Its hard to describe, which is good. Its kind of hoppy brown ale, with some stout like characteristics.

So...I'll admit I was wrong. And will steer clear of any Surly dissing in the future. I'll stand by my feelings of the Furious, but that doesn't mean I won't buy Bender again, or try other offerings that come out in the future (I've heard good things about Cynic, a saison, from Brian, who isn't a Furious fan either). I guess the theme of this weekend's posts have been: don't make blanket statements.

Salud!

The Bearded Brewer