Friends of mine have raved about Minnesota's Surly Brewing for a few years now - Heck, they're the brewery that single handedly changed Minnesota liquor laws to make it easier for the brewery to sell their own beer to the public. They've recently started selling their beer in North Dakota, making it easier for people like me who aren't planning on going to Minnesota anytime in the next 3-5 years to actually try the product. I usually end up picking up the beer in Minot and it's actually pretty easy to find at bottle shops and pubs alike. Later I'll be reviewing Surly's Todd the Axe Man but first off - it's time for me to review Surly's most popular beer, their Furious IPA!
Appearance: Surly's Furious pours a very thick, heavy opaque caramel brown with a light to moderate amount of beige head and a moderate amount of lacing on the side of the glass.
Aroma: I'm getting notes of very bitter hops right at the beginning, a bit of grapefruit, pine, floral notes, very sweet caramel, hints of citrus (lemon) pop up once in a while. The beer starts out furious to the nose at the beginning thanks to the beer's bitter hops, but it eventually makes way for the other notes here. Lastly, a hint of grass pops up at the very end.
Taste: As soon as it hits my palate, it gives off a bitterness from the hops reminiscent to a medley of pine and various teas. There's a light amount of lemon citrus following the hoppy bitterness and then a sweet burnt caramel flavour at the end. Very liberally hoppy but not as overly bitter as Alchemist's Heady Topper. It's hoppy and malty at the same time and doesn't leave a burning feeling on the esophagus.
Overall Thoughts: A very satisfying IPA, the kind of IPA that mellows you out after a stressful day of job searching. It's not overly bitter to the point that it hurts you but it's bitter enough for hop heads feeling satisfied. Good malt backbone that gives it a decent caramel sweetness and drinkable enough that I wish I had another four-pack of this beer. 6.6% ABV/100~ IBU
http://surlybrewing.com/beer/furious/
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