Beer Review: Surly Bender and Surly Coffee Bender

I've made no secret of my love for Surly Brewing's excellent beers. It's less than surprising, then, that I plunked down another week of my lunch money to have two more of theirs shipped to NYC - Surly Bender (5.1% ABV) and Surly Coffee Bender (5.1% ABV).

The interesting part of this tasting, then, was that it was to be an uphill battle against one of my stylistic prejudice. Most of the Brown Ales that I'd tried so far had been disappointingly bland, wielding mild flavors in inoffensive but unsatisfying ways. I figured if there was any brewery that could change my mind on this style, it would be Omar Ansari and Todd Haugh's.

As a bit of context, Surly's story started with Omar's home-brewing hobby. With each successive tasty victory, he built his confidence and skills. After a decade of hop and malt fueled DIY, he got a fancy-pants beer education, and decided in 2004 that he would throw his hat into the ring officially with a full-scale commercial brewery. Following this decision, Omar met Todd at the 2004 Craft Brewer's Conference in San Diego (which is the industry's CES / Detroit Auto Show / Davos equivalent). There, he pitched the then-head-brewer from Rock Bottom in Minneapolis on the idea of joining up to form their own brewery. A year and many logistical hurdles later (shipping, engineering, and even legislative), Omar and Todd had converted Omar's family's old industrial abrasives manufacturing facility into what would become one of the most well-regarded breweries on earth.

Surly! Credit to beermaniacs.com

A great backstory is one thing; great beer can be quite another. I cracked open a can each of Bender and Coffee Bender, and poured them out for the tasting:

Beer Review: Surly Abrasive + Surly Furious

Last Tuesday, I got home to find a package waiting for me. I had been expecting it.

It had come from Minnesota, and it was precious cargo. Surly Brewing, of Brooklyn Center, MN, for all intents and purposes does not distribute outside their state. Given their incredibly stellar lineup of extremely excellent beers, which have earned them the 11th and 14th spot in 2012 and 2013 on RateBeer's listing of the best breweries on earth, this small distribution footprint makes anything from Surly a huge score for beer nerds elsewhere in the country.

On the basis of a tip from a fellow beer nerd that I met at the Hell's Kitchen Pony Bar the preceding week, I managed to track down a small beer shop in Minnesota that ships Surly to NY. I couldn't even believe my luck. The second I got home that night, I ordered two four-packs of tall-boy cans (16 oz each) of their Imperial IPA (Surly Abrasive) and one four-pack of their IPA (Surly Furious).