Surly Two

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Wow! I must say first of all, there's no way in hell I would ever be able to try this if it weren't for the generosity of Todd from Surly. Truly a treat, shared among good friends at the dinner table of his beautiful wife's restaurant Cafe Twenty-Eight. Poured into my glass, shines a dark mahogany brown with no head. Aroma is of bourbon, oak and cranberries. The taste was close to dessert like. Creamy, spicey, and well crafted. Absolute treat. Thanks Todd!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Sampled GABF 2008
Quite a dark, concentrated amber-brown color that is topped by a tan'ish frothy head. This is very strongly aromatic, with lots of Bourbon-like notes (vanillin, coconut, a hint of butterscotch and some light spicy oak that kicks in towards the finish along with some nose burning alcohol). There is a touch of non-descript fruit character underneath the strong barrel aromatics; definitely a bit too dominated by the barrel character though.

This beer is lightly tart somehow and not nearly as sweet or rich as I was expecting. There is a spicy oak and alcohol burn that is fairly evident in the finish and is more dominant than the other barrel-like notes that I noticed in the aroma; there is a touch of butterscotch here though. The beer is actually quite astringent, with a quite noticeable tannic quality to it in the finish. The body is a touch thinner than I was expecting, though it certainly makes it more drinkable. The noticed tartness adds / accentuates some flavors of tamarind, tart raisin, cranberry and sour prune (this last a product of the tartness and some rich malt notes).

This is not bad, but certainly not quite what I was expecting; the tartness and barrel character seem to mix in odd ways at times and it is missing the malt richness that could carry both notes a bit more. I had no idea while drinking this beer that it had cranberries in it, but the tartness certainly makes sense now.