Surly Four
An iced double espresso milk stout? Come on now!
I was personally hoping for something a little more unusual from Surly for their 4th anniversary beer, but they continue to slip into mediocrity with all these BJCP-style aligned beers [that's sarcasm for the record]. In case you want to know more, Todd let us know it’s a big milk stout (19 plato OG) brewed with coffee and freeze concentrated. It will clock in around 10% abv when its released in kegs and 750ml bottles in Feb 2010.
December 7, 2009, 11:26am :: Posted by Eric in breweries
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Holy crap.
750ml bottles? Fancy. I hope they screen the labels onto the bottles like they did with Darkness 09. That came out slick. …though I guess that’s probably less important than what ends up inside the bottles. That part sounds pretty good, too.
So this’ll probably go direct to liquor stores, right, and not be a special release at the brewery (via BCL)?
This’ll be an interesting experiment… if it goes well, imagine all the limited-release fun they could have with that bottler.
Good point mattm! Now I’m even more excited.
Surly Rawks! This is going to be awesome, for sure. I eis’ed a few bottles worth of a recent batch of chocolate stout homebrew. It’s such a cool process for amping up the sweetness and abv.
Chip-
Maybe you should taste it before deciding its level of like, you know, total awesomeness.
Oh, hell, just go rate if A+ on BA and RB without even tasting it.
I’m sure it won’t be un-delicious.
Probably not, but deciding before you even taste something that it will be like totally awwwwesome dude fer sure! is pre-determining to some extent how you will perceive the beer.
Much better to eval it on its own merits. Or be a homer. Whatever.
In the words of our favorite Big Toe, Sgt. Hulka, “Lighten up, Francis.”
Chip-
You shouldn’t get excited for anything… EVER!
I anticipate this release with a calm, reserved, even taciturn demeanor, stowing any judgement of it’s potential until the liquid has found it’s place upon my palate. I might, however, venture to speculate upon the possibility that, based upon past tastings of this brewer’s efforts, the beer in question will, indeed, rawk.
Fanboys vs. Detractors
Yay!!!
This beer sounds good enough to be excited about, thanks for posting.
To each his own. Funny how having a differing opinion makes one a detractor. I don’t dislike Surly in general and never have.
When Two came out I was at the Gnome with 4, yes, count them 4 beer geek pals. We asked for a sample before ordering a whole pint of Two. None of us, not one, wanted to even finish the sample of Two after tasting it let alone order one.
Maybe the cranberry and roasted character aged well, but young I thought it was horrid.
Does that make me a hater? Or does blind devotion make some of you homers?
Nobody posted on here that they have thought EVERY beer was ‘super awesome’. The vast majority of their products are very good, hence the excitement. I didn’t care all that much for the Two either. People got on ya because you essentially told the guy not to get excited for a beer release.
Not to mention you also mocked him, beerfan.
I had a bottle of Two recently, it was great. I liked it young, too, but didn’t like it right away…took a few more sips.
Tow aged great.
And beerfan, I really couldn’t think of a better word than detractor to get accross the drama I was going for. Not sure I would want to be a fanboy either.
I was trying to be funny and make the point that the assumptions people make about a beer before you even taste it will color how you eval the beer.
I’d be willing to lay money down that in a blind tasting of Four Chip would say something completely different about the beer than if he were told first that it was a Surly beer.
For example, I’m not fond of Dogfish Head beers. Give me one and I immediately start thinking “This will be all out of balance and most likely too sweet.” Hand me the same beer in a glass and don’t tell me what it is and I’ll have to eval the beer on it’s own merits without first thinking one thing or another.
Isn’t freeze concentrating (Eising) illegal?
Mr. Mean, it is illegal at the home distilling (homebrewing) level.
ATF has also examined statements of process for ice beers. Our examination has found that the volume removed as ice crystals does not exceed 0.5 percent of the volume of the beer entered into the process. ATF thus concludes that removal of up to 0.5 percent of the volume of beer through the removal of ice crystals is customary industry practice and results in a product which may be considered beer.
Held. The meaning of the term “concentrate” defined in 25.11 does not include beer which has been reduced in volume through the extraction of ice crystals from the beer if: (1) the volume removed is a de minimis amount (not more than 0.5 percent of the volume of beer used in producing such product); and (2) the resultant product resembles beer. Under these conditions, the beer is not subject to the restrictions of Subpart R or to labeling requirements relating to concentrate. Such beer may be imported or removed taxpaid or tax determined and sold to consumers as beer.
So I guess everything is cool as long as they don’t exceed .5% of the volume.
[...] talking poddy-trained and in big boy pants… yup, the gang at Surly turns four this year. As we mentioned before, they’ll be releasing Four, an iced (eised?) double espresso milk stout. To celebrate four years, they’ll be having a release party at the Blue Nile in Minneapolis [...]
[...] style would be an Iced Double Espresso Milk Stout. He is brewing up 60 bbl’s for the release. MNBeer says that the beer will be freeze-concentrated, 19 plato OG, and around 10% [...]