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Bender
Surly Brewing Company
- From:
- Surly Brewing Company
- Minnesota, United States
- Style:
- American Brown Ale
- ABV:
- 5.5%
- Score:
- 91
- Avg:
- 4.07 | pDev: 10.07%
- Reviews:
- 766
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Oct 31, 2021
- Added:
- Feb 04, 2006
- Wants:
- 460
- Gots:
- 326
Here's what happens when substance meets smooth. This oatmeal brown ale defies traditional categories. Bender begins crisp and lightly hoppy, complemented by the velvety sleekness oats deliver. Belgian and British malts usher in cascades of cocoa, coffee, carmel and hints of vanilla and cream. An easy-drinking ale with many layers of satisfaction.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by NoLiberty:
Reviewed by NoLiberty from Pennsylvania
4.6/5 rDev +13%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
4.6/5 rDev +13%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Pours from the sleek, steel-playing-card of a can into a Sam Smith pint glass, and rocks up a frothing toffee colored head almost is if straight from the draught. Color is rich and dark: deep walnut with crimson edging. This beer is smooth and light but dark and assertive.
Nutty, chocolatey with a subtle hop presence. Very nice. Toffee, vanilla and caramel. Slightly sweet with a mild bitterness and alcohol smell toward the end.
Fortunately the taste backs up what the appearance and smell suggest. This is light but incredibly well rounded for a big brown. Chocolate, caramel, roasted coffee, and dry hop-bite ending and aftertaste...that lingers. I like this beer better when it's cold. I'd normally think that flavors are fuller and more distinct in beers of this depth and seeming complexity, but as it grows warmer it's less refreshing, which is where the light hopping is really nice.
Light and crisp, fluid and refreshing. Light to medium body. Dry and clear.
Dare I ask, could this be a great sessions beer? Too bad I can't get it more often.
Feb 23, 2008Nutty, chocolatey with a subtle hop presence. Very nice. Toffee, vanilla and caramel. Slightly sweet with a mild bitterness and alcohol smell toward the end.
Fortunately the taste backs up what the appearance and smell suggest. This is light but incredibly well rounded for a big brown. Chocolate, caramel, roasted coffee, and dry hop-bite ending and aftertaste...that lingers. I like this beer better when it's cold. I'd normally think that flavors are fuller and more distinct in beers of this depth and seeming complexity, but as it grows warmer it's less refreshing, which is where the light hopping is really nice.
Light and crisp, fluid and refreshing. Light to medium body. Dry and clear.
Dare I ask, could this be a great sessions beer? Too bad I can't get it more often.
More User Ratings:
Rated by Truegent2004 from Minnesota
2.67/5 rDev -34.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
2.67/5 rDev -34.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
The coffee and hops are way too intense for my liking.
Dec 26, 2020Reviewed by MNAle from Minnesota
3.16/5 rDev -22.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.16/5 rDev -22.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Sweet aroma, dark fruit, slight aroma of dark malts. Deep ruby with rising bubbles topped by a 1/2 inch tan, thick head, leaving nice lacing as it slowly settles. Thin feel. Mild taste with a subtly bitter, dry finish (despite the sweet aroma) that hardly lingers at all in the aftertaste. Taste is also subtle: dark fruits, mostly, touch of roasted malts. Very middle-of-the-road brown ale. Easy drinking. OK, but far from outstanding. I bought it because it was Surly's first beer, I've never tried it, and Surly is stopping canned distribution. This beer is all about subtlety, subtle aroma, subtle taste, subtle hops, subtle malts. In summary: ordinary tending toward macro level. Ratings here must reflect the Surly mystique rather than this actual beer. This is a nice beer, but only nice. Good for an evening at the pub, but not to seek out. I am astonished, given the ratings here, how pedestrian and mediocre this beer is. It is better than Newcastle, but only just. Understandable why Surly is making it tap only.
Feb 13, 2019Reviewed by TheSixthRing from California
4.23/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.23/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
From tasting notes 05/18/18
Poured from a can into a pint at StoneArch in the MSP Airport, St Paul, MN
Appearance - Served up from a can, standard pint pours dark cola brown with beautiful ruby highlights when held to light. Light tan, finger width head that holds firm until devolving to a thin, consistent layer of suds, thickening up quickly around the edges.
Smell - Mild aroma, with hints of chocolate, oat, brown sugar and floral hoppiness.
Taste - Flavor profile is mostly soft, but also assertive with floral and lesser citrus hops and with a fair roasted edge. Decent chocolate notes emerge mid-taste and follow through into the finish. Some cream and caramel. Finish is mostly balanced, edging slightly toward sweet with the accumulation of said flavors, and its a beautiful, harmonious blend.
Mouthfeel - medium-bodied with low, bubbly carbonation. Creamy texture makes this an easy drinker with a slightly dry finish.
Overall - I had the coffee version earlier today and it makes me question why they would do that. The former isn't bad at all, but this is far better. Soft, easy drinker with a surprising depth in the flavor profile. One of the best browns Ive ever had if I'm being honest.
May 27, 2018Poured from a can into a pint at StoneArch in the MSP Airport, St Paul, MN
Appearance - Served up from a can, standard pint pours dark cola brown with beautiful ruby highlights when held to light. Light tan, finger width head that holds firm until devolving to a thin, consistent layer of suds, thickening up quickly around the edges.
Smell - Mild aroma, with hints of chocolate, oat, brown sugar and floral hoppiness.
Taste - Flavor profile is mostly soft, but also assertive with floral and lesser citrus hops and with a fair roasted edge. Decent chocolate notes emerge mid-taste and follow through into the finish. Some cream and caramel. Finish is mostly balanced, edging slightly toward sweet with the accumulation of said flavors, and its a beautiful, harmonious blend.
Mouthfeel - medium-bodied with low, bubbly carbonation. Creamy texture makes this an easy drinker with a slightly dry finish.
Overall - I had the coffee version earlier today and it makes me question why they would do that. The former isn't bad at all, but this is far better. Soft, easy drinker with a surprising depth in the flavor profile. One of the best browns Ive ever had if I'm being honest.
Bender from Surly Brewing Company
Beer rating:
91 out of
100 with
1999 ratings
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