Eleven (Anniversary Beer)
Surly Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

750 ml bottle into a tulip snifter. Bottled 5/11/17, had 7/24/18.

Well, it didn’t gush, but kept on coming out slowly, like a volcano- for quite a while. Otherwise, pours a dark amber, cloudy, with a one and a half inch foamy head with nice retention and a good amount of foamy lacing. Aromas of plums, some Belgian yeast, wheat, Brett, cherries, malt, grapes, some wine and chocolate, black pepper when warm. A little bit of a tart aroma. Flavors of malt, figs, plums, grain, bread, chocolate, grapes, some cherries, light chocolate. Tastes of light Brett and tartness, some bitterness throughout, has a spicy finish. Smooth, a little creamy, a very good medium to full body, well carbonated- and amazingly not fizzy feeling.

The blend of styles is very successful, it’s really complex. Grew on me as I worked through the bottle. If they made it again. I would buy it again. Very enjoyable.

 

 

 

Deep brown in color with very little light penetration. There's a fingernail of dark beige covering the top. The nose is a very unique blend of dark Belgian malt and funky Brettanomyces. There's a sweetness from the wheat in the mix, too. I'm tasting more of the dark Belgiant malt in the forefront along with alcohol, dates, and figs. The back of the palate offers some wheat and a touch of sourness from the Brettanomyces. The mouth is thick, chewy, and offers a bit of warmth from the alcohol.

Pours a translucent dark amber with as much head as you want it to have, a very fine foam, with extensive residual lacing. The wheatwine dominates the nose, with a light tartness from the brett. The quad shows up more prominently on the mid-palate and as the beer warms, with good Belgian esters, plum, and caramel. Overall, delicately balanced and well-executed. Enjoyable for fans of either style.

 

This is a really interesting beer. Pours lighter than I expected with the quad included, had more of a see through caramel color with a small head. The sour comes through heavily on the nose. Taste is a really interesting balance with a strong sour taste to start but a more typical quad flavor in the finish. I wouldn’t have thought of a sour quad but it makes it pretty drinkable and enjoyable.

 

 

 

The pour is a mahogany-tinged brown with a tan head. The nose is quad-forward, with stone fruit, banana, and clove prominent, but there’s a funky note from the Brett that mixes well with the quad components.

The taste is a rich amalgamation of flavors: stone fruit, banana, clove, Belgian yeast esters, the Brett. Another Surly anniversary beer that stretches boundaries in a most excellent way.

 

Bottle says its a Belgian Quad and it looks okay but OH MY GOD it blasts out like a grade school science project volcano the second the cap is removed.

When it settles down it pours dark brown with a wispy cream-colored head, like a regular quad. So maybe this is okay but the carb is off. Whatever.

Smells very malty and chocolatey, with nodes of grain and ripe fruit. Not really to style, but interesting enough to keep me engaged throughout the bomber.

Tastes... great. I think. Very good, at least. The very front is like a medium-hopped chocolatey brown ale from the late 90s, the middle is yeasty and pleasantly alcoholic, the end is ripe fruit and unplaceable sweetness and light wheatmalt bitterness.

This is a really good beer. It's nice, it's different, it's unusual, and that's what Surly's always done best.