Beer Review - Surly Furious

A friend of ours had been down to the twin cities a few weeks ago and brought back some Surly Furious for us to try. Surly, a brewing company out of Brooklyn Center, MN cans their beer and tries to break down the stereotype that good beer only comes in bottles. Admittedly, we were a little put off by the can at first, but its about the beer inside right?

So here goes...

Style: American I.P.A.

ABV: 6.2%

IBUs: 99

Color: Amber-red

Hops: An American blend

Malts: Scottish Malts

Appearance: Cloudy appearance. Pours with a large thick head the diminishes after a few minutes. Head about a finger thick reducing down to a 1/4 finger that stays on top. Great lacing.

Smell: Nice, big aroma featuring loads of citrusy hop tones. However, the hop aroma does not overshadow the wonderful caramel malts.

Taste: While there are tons of hops that go into this brew, a near-perfect balance is produced with a beautiful caramel malt backbone. This is one beer that tastes just as it smells, a very good thing in this case. The hop tones represented in the Furious are both citrus and pine origin with some piney bitterness that lingers.

The Skinny: Wow. Now, ales are our specialty and even though we appreciate all of the ale varieties, the I.P.A. is not usually our favorite. This beer, however, provides a whole new perspective on the that whole branch of styles. Past I.P.A.s we've tried (ones that we've really liked) have not been able to strike the balance that this 99IBU monster has. Its highly drinkable and refreshing enough to have during the summer.

IN A Word: Encore