Surly Coffee Bender

Today I have Coffee Bender from Surly in my glass.  And I think it's good, if a bit overrated.  Probably more overrated than Surly Overrated.  I've been hearing good things about this one for awhile, and while it's not bad, I'm also not overly impressed.  It has a decent amount of flavor for a 5.1% ABV beer, but that qualifier is necessary.  The coffee in this beer is probably most evident in the pleasantly rich nose, though there are some pleasant notes on the tongue as well, and the finish is surprisingly long and full.  Okay, this is one of the more impressive overrated beers that I've had.  If it was half as expensive and hyped I would probably call it a great beer, as is it nearly lives up to its reputation.

Surly Wet

Today, I have Surly Wet in my glass.  Unfortunately, it's not as sexy as it sounds.  I'm coming to a realization (either unfortunate or reassuring, i'm not sure which) that I'm not really into wet-hopped beers.  One of the first that I ever had, Sierra Nevada's Harvest (don't recall if it was Northern Hemisphere or Southern) was excellent.  I love the idea of drinking beer made with freshly harvested hops that are packed with juicy flavor, but so often I find myself disappointed.  Maybe I don't like this one because it uses Simcoe hops.  I'm detecting an unpleasant onion flavor with this beer that I don't care for.   I'm disappointed, especially considering I spent $5 for a pint-sized can.  If you really want to try it I recommend looking for a single, but I wouldn't recommend trying it.  Maybe if you're into Simcoe hops, I dunno.  It does have a nice, full mouth-feel, I'll grant it that, but the flavor itself doesn't do much for me, nor does the aroma.  File under "Overpriced, overrated." 

Surly Overrated

Today I have Surly's Overrated in my glass.  And I'll be honest with you, my first thought was that maybe there's a little truth in the name. I wasn't immediately wowed.  I didn't initially feel that my search across several stores to pay $10 for a four pack of this beer was worth it.  But slowly it unpeeled like a better-smelling onion and revealed itself to me and it's really a very good IPA.  Maybe a little thin for my taste, but definitely a complex beer!  Some grapefruit, a definite but not overwhelming aspirin bitterness, but most interestingly a mild but pervasive wintergreen note shining through on the finish.  Nice work!  Little confused about the artwork though.  Little red, decent amount of white, and mostly blue, with stars, fireworks, and fighter planes...this looks like a Fourth of July beer.  But today is June Sixth.  Help me out guys.