Sardonic Ale
Surly Brewing Co.

 

had a cask pour of this one at the good old groveland tap. its way better than norma cynic, somehow more malty, but also more complex, with a cool sort of wild yeast prifle, a lot more saison-esque than the base beer is by itself, and with cool notes of peaches and apricots and other fruits, apples, citrus, and white grape, its an easy drinking yet quite involved beer, and i think the cask format favors it. some richness, but also very dry, good head and creamy feel, but also light and easy, good layers of yeast and grain flavor, but at the same time real cohesive and well integrated, this is just well made ale, not as farmy as some, but the brett really fits in well. nice bubbles for a cask pour, and some tropical notes coming in with the brett, especially mango, and it goes down like nothing. surly continues to impress me with just about everything, and the cask stuff is net level. this is a better use of brett than i have seen from them in other beers before too, so high marks all around for this tasty and complex version of their saison!

At the beer hall into a tulip...i like but don't love cynic, and this takes it as a base, adding Brett and drying it out a bit... pours a clear glassy apple cider amber gold, 1 finger head that subsides quickly. Constant bubbles. Lots of pepper, orchard fruit, and some substantial hay and fruity band aid funk without being heavy...nose and taste are continuous. Brett comes on strong in the second half and the flavors develop. A little heavy and clunky for me...I don't know, it's fairly good but it just doesn't quite sing, even though the parts make sense and seem well developed, taken on their own

 

 

 

 

 

 

A nice spicy saison with strong Brett notes, this paired nicely with my braised short rib at the brewery restaurant. (My choice of beer pairing - my wife also got the short rib so of course I decided to get a different beer!)