Overrated West Coast Style IPA
Surly Brewing Company

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From:
Surly Brewing Company
 
Minnesota, United States
Style:
American IPA
ABV:
7.3%
Score:
91
Avg:
4.08 | pDev: 8.09%
Reviews:
260
Ratings:
1,709
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 16, 2021
Added:
Feb 05, 2013
Wants:
  123
Gots:
  316
It's been said; "Its easier to brew an extremely hoppy beer than an extremely balanced beer." And you know us, we are always looking for the easy way out, so we jumped on the West Coast IPA Bandwagon and brewed this dry and hoppy ale. "Surly's a little bit of a one-trick pony, they just brew gimmick beers," and maybe we are OVERRATED, but at the end of the day it's just a beer. If yo like it, great, so do we. If you only liked us when we were small, then leave this one on the shelf. Let one of the fanyboys grab it.
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Ratings by MattyG85:
Photo of MattyG85
Reviewed by MattyG85 from Minnesota

4.36/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Poured from a 16 oz. can into a Surly tulip glass. Canning date of 04/02/2013.

Appearance: Pours a bright copper golden orange with a moderate amount of bubbles. Solid three fingers of white head that slowly fade into a thin creamy layer. Leaves a lot of lacing around the glass.

Smell: A crisp and juicy aroma of citrus hop esters and biscuit malts. Citrus hops upfront with good hints of orange, grapefruit, pineapple, mango, tangerine, and lemon. Solid hint of pine hop spice along with floral hints and grass. Solid bready malt backing with hints of biscuit, caramel, cracker, and yeast. Also some noticeable honey like sweetness. Smells like the West Coast style with the citrus presence although there is more of a malt balance here. Pretty good aroma.

Taste: Nicely juicy like the nose hints with a solid taste of citrus, pine, and bready malts. Citrus hops upfront with a juicy taste of oranges, grapefruit, mango, pineapple, tangerine, and lemon. Notes of spicy pine resin and grass along with some floral notes. Hops are lively but not overly bitter. Good malt balance with notes of bready biscuit, cracker, caramel, and yeast along with a little honey. A really well balanced citrusy taste that leans towards the West Coast style. Very good.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Very crisp, clean, and nicely creamy. Juicy and slightly oily. Very smooth with a fairly drying finish.

Overall: Another good one from Surly. A very different type of IPA than Furious. A pretty good take on the West Coast style. Similar to their recent Bandwagon IPA.
Apr 11, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.81 by LesDewitt4beer from Minnesota

Oct 16, 2021
Photo of cyclonece09
Reviewed by cyclonece09 from Wisconsin

4.12/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a can into a pint glass. Pours orange yellow with a fluffy white head. Smells of citrus hops with pine notes. Tastes of citrus and piney hops, nice balance. Beer is light bodied and easy drinking, good carbonation. Overall, a very good beer.
Jul 19, 2020
 
Rated: 3.75 by BEER88 from North Carolina

May 17, 2020
Photo of defunksta
Reviewed by defunksta from Wisconsin

4.04/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Appearance: Pours a clear, deep, medium orange color with a strong, clinging white head. SRM of 10. (4.25)

Aroma: Mild to medium aromas of deep and soapy orange and grapefruit citrus. Fresh wet orange pulped orange peel. It's deep and resinous with a sharp pine & flower aroma underneath the resin. Definitely deep and soapy. Not exactly what I was expecting on my first attempt. (4.00)

Flavor: Follows the nose with soapy citrus upfront. There's orange & grapefruit mostly that has support from pineapple and apricot. Heavy and malty upfront. Some Caramel and Crystal malts come through the middle. As the malt fades it allows some citrus nectar resin to come forth that is reminiscent of fresh and concentrated orange peel. Bitter, but also sweet and heavy. This beer combines bitter and sweet. (4.00)

Feel: Not sure what else needs to be said in terms of the body. Heavy and resinous. Low carbonation. Resinous but not too sticky. Definitely sweet. Feels like a Belgian Tripel in terms of sweetness/body. (3.75)

Compared to Surly's Yummi Bear West Coast IPA 3/27/20: So different. Similar appearance, slightly darker with a stronger head. Less hops on the aroma. Less airy citrus and flower. More resinous orange peel, pine, and malts. Heavier and sweeter for sure. Stronger crystal malts

Compared to SN Torpedo 5/23/20: Pours a lighter color. Stronger aromas of fruit. More orange and grapefruit citrus and more soap. Less caramel and pine. Slightly more bitter.

Overall: This was not quite what I was expecting. I went in expecting a nice, airy, intensely bitter citrus and pine beer similar to Yummi Bear. This was not quite that. This one is heavy, soapy, and malty. Aromas and flavors are restrained. Strong crystal malt flavor profile that balances an otherwise strong soapy bitterness. Amazing how bitter yet also sweet this beer is. Similar to Sierra Nevada Torpedo, but this one is soapier. Maybe could compare to Centennial IPA. It definitely does improve on my second rating. (First Rating: 3.68. Second Rating: 4.09)
Could compare to Bent Paddle or Stone
Mar 27, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by nruhlig from Minnesota

Feb 29, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by ian_graf from Minnesota

Jul 28, 2019
Photo of GuyFawkes
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois

3.84/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Drank 4/20/14 on draft @ Fischman's.

Semi-opaque bright orange hue.

White head; thick lace.

Orange juice & grapefruit nose.

Medium thick mouthfeel.

Orange pulp & grapefruit rind up front; hints of resin. A dry finish.

This tasted more bitter on tap than from a can-it's more 'West Coast' this way but less enjoyable.
Jul 01, 2019
 
Rated: 4.25 by rking1226 from Wisconsin

Feb 25, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by dafla67 from Pennsylvania

Feb 25, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by Gaddabble from Ohio

Sep 27, 2018
Photo of ordybill
Reviewed by ordybill from Georgia

4.15/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a 16 OZ can into a pint glass. The appearance is a is a murky gold color with a large white head. The aroma is full of hops and spice. The taste is a well balanced blend of hops and citrus.
Aug 13, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by Bunuelian from Minnesota

Aug 04, 2018
Photo of lockh099
Rated by lockh099 from Minnesota

4.59/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Definitely a beer I put over Furious.
Jul 27, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by jchanley from Illinois

Jul 21, 2018
 
Rated: 3.76 by Jcreek from Illinois

Jul 21, 2018
 
Rated: 3.73 by robotic_being from Illinois

Jul 18, 2018
Photo of HoppyBastard
Reviewed by HoppyBastard from Nebraska

4.22/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5
Poured from a 16 ounce can into a Shaker pint glass, "canned on" date 3-16-18.

APPEARANCE: pours a hazy, copper color with one-finger off-white head that slowly dissipated until a thin unbroken layer of small bubbles remained, there is significant lacing on the glass, medium carbonation.

SMELL: bread, caramel and some pineapple citrus.

TASTE: the taste follows the nose, initially bread and sweet pineapple citrus and then an earthy hop profile.

PALATE: medium body and carbonation.

OVERALL: this is a nice juicy IPA, I enjoyed and would buy again, I would recommend to anyone who enjoys the style.
Jul 02, 2018
 
Rated: 3.85 by Dms844 from Minnesota

Jun 16, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by Noelito76 from New York

May 18, 2018
Overrated West Coast Style IPA from Surly Brewing Company
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 1709 ratings