Some updates from Surly Brewing Co… to summarize:

• Win a bottle of Darkness at Grumpy’s NE
• Happy Gnome Firkin Fest & Surly beer dinner
• Gitchee Gumee Brewfest April 5th
• Tours – someday?
• Surly doesn’t steal kegs, dig?

Here are a few Surly updates for those interested…

Grumpy’s NE is finishing off its ten year anniversary celebration this week. We kicked off their anniversary month with a keg of two and some cask beer. They are ending it with a free bottle of Darkness! How to get your hands on that bottle you ask, good question. Here is the latest from Pat; Purchase a pint of Surly before 8pm daily to get your free raffle ticket. Be present at the drawing Friday, Feb. 29 at 6pm to claim your bottle! Call Grumpys at 612.789.7429 for more details. And speaking of Grumpy’s, there is a new Grumpy’s in Roseville. They have taken over the old Majors location at 2801 Snelling Ave N. They have Bender on tap and Furious in the can.

A couple events at the Happy Gnome are coming up. First up, Firkin Fest, an outdoor event that will have cask ales from breweries across the Midwest. The date is March 16th. Todd has some ideas for some great casks that we have not poured anywhere else. Next up is the Surly Beer Dinner at the Gnome, April 15th. Call 651.287.2018 for tickets and details about both events. Who says the Gnome doesn’t get enough Surly beer events?

The Surly crew will be up in Duluth/Superior for the Gitchee Gumee beer festival. See you up there.

Tours are still a ways off. We finished epoxying the floors this weekend, now all we need is 6 new tanks. Any day now…. After we get them in place, we will get tours rolling again. Because the tours have become so popular, we will be retooling how they run. Looks like we might start a weekly tour and limit the number to 50-100 people. I’ll let you know when we figure out the details.

We are also waiting for some kegs to roll in. When that happens, we will be able to add a few more bars to our account list. We have been pretty tight on kegs for a number of months, so that has been limiting our expansion in to new bar and restaurants.

Speaking of kegs, last week was an interesting one. I found out that a few people in the industry have accused Surly of stealing kegs. Most people quickly saw this for what it was – an unfounded rumor. As someone that always has and always will operate with integrity, there is no other way to feel about this other than outraged. We don’t steal kegs, period. Oh well, it’s an interesting business.

See you drinking,
Omar