Magic Formula for Peace
Surly Brewing Co.

Thank you Chris for this one!

Pint can - dated 10/30/19 - poured into a bulbed ape glass at 45°F.

Pours a glossy black with less than half a finger of dark tan head that quickly recedes to a thin collar. Zero lacing. Typical imperial stout look.

Nose: Heavy roast, heavy coffee. The coffee isn't like brewed coffee, but rather the spent grounds in the filter after being brewed. Very roasty, with just a touch of coffee acidity. I do also get some faint orange zest as well. It isn't leaping out, but it's there. Some secondary bakers cocoa notes as well, as a hint of vanilla. Just a touch of booze.

Palate: Greets the palate both roasty and sweet, with plenty of coffee roast as well. There is an immediate presence of lactose. If there's no lactose in this, then I'm a three-headed penguin. Surprisingly, I actually do get some orange, but it's very early on, very faint, and disappears very quickly. The roast is there, and part of seems like a heavy roast, but the sweetness tempers that roast, and the lactose accentuates the sweetness further masking the roast. There is a lot of dark chocolate, some coffee, and some slightly charred malt notes that do manage to push through. Finish sees the sweetness fade away, revealing some more of that black roast, dark chocolate, and spent coffee. Little-to-no lingering roasty bitterness. Clean finish leaving behind some dark chocolate.

Mouthfeel/Body: The beer is on the fullest side of medium-bodied that exists. It's a heavy medium, but the lactose seems to add this little bit of viscosity, allowing the beer to feel thick, soft, and full without it actually being cloying or syrupy. There's actually an element of crispness to it, and it's easy to drink. Effervescence is quite low and fine in nature. Sweet and wet upfront, becoming fairly dry in the finish. Some stickiness around the lips.

Overall: For the sake of the review, I'm looking past the lactose addition. As an oatmeal stout at 10%+ ABV, it drinks quite well. Insanely drinkable for the ABV, and while it's sweet and almost tacky upfront, that roast really helps to level it out and crisp it up a bit in the finish. It's a nice progression. I do like the subtle orange peel note, though a bit more would be nice. I do think that the coffee quality is subpar and comes across just a tiny bit stale though. If I'm being honest, the lactose really ruins this for me, but I don't enjoy lactose, especially in stouts. I think this could hace actually been pretty damn good without the milk sugar. It lends an awkward upfront sweetness, an awkward lactose flavour, and I think the oats lend enough softness to where lactose just isn't necessary. The beer beneath the lactose is a solid 4.0. As-is, I have to go with about a 3.6ish. It's still good, but it isn't great. Enjoyable nonetheless.

Pours black with a thin tan head which fades quickly. I can smell coffee, dark roasted malt, cocoa, and chocolate. No citrus aroma. Tastes a bit sweeter than I expected with coffee, chocolate, cocoa, dark roasted malt, and oatmeal. No sign of any citrus or the sweet orange peel listed on the label. Medium to full bodied with average carbonation. Smooth and easy to drink. Nicely made.

Magic Formula for Peace pours a black color, with a very small tan head. Big rich aroma, creamy, with huge fresh espresso notes. Flavor is creamy, rich, great creamy oat notes, with big espresso flavors. Feels a little flat. Overall, wow, this is a big creamy stout, great strong espresso flavors, mixes very well with this beer.

 

 

Pours a dark brown with a thick light mocha head that has decent lasting power. Lacing is minimal. Aroma is full of fresh brewed coffee, roasted malts and cocoa. Flavor follows the nose, I also get cinnamon and a touch of orange rind if I try although if I didn't know it was there I'd miss it. Feel is medium bodied. Overall a nice beer and fun to drink.

On tap. Creamy tan head with lace. Black color.

The espresso shows nicely but not finding much citrus. Smooth and creamy without a lot of roast showing. Lots of chocolate and pastry flavors.

Medium to full bodied. Nice feel all around. Really solid stout.

 

Surly Magic Formula For Peace, 10.1% ABV. Pours black with a 1 finger tan head. Nose is coffee, lactose, chocolate, and light citrus. Taste follows, sweet, with a moderate bitter close. Decent mouthfeel, overall excellent.

 

Had this on draft 11/15/19 @ the Beer Temple.

Don't go looking for any balance here; this was a slap in the face of rich coffee bean, with notes of orange that emerged as it warmed. I like the profile, so I enjoyed it, but beer purists are advised to avoid this one.

10.1% ABV. Poured from pint can into shaker pint glass.
A: Pours a dark brown with 1/2 inch light tan head with decent retention.
S: Very nice espresso with cream with background notes of chocolate malt and subtle orange citrus.
T: Again very nice espresso and cream hits first quickly followed by a nice complementary note of orange zest. Background notes of chocolate malt.
M: Medium body. Extremely smooth! Silky and darkly sweet with a dash of citrus sweetness. Lingers nicely on the palate.
D: Started a little slow, but ended up a very nice and eminently drinkable brew. Not complex, but solid in what it offers with great balance.

Poured from a tall into a tulip.

Pours dark as night, but not overly viscous. The brew delivers a decent tan head. It quickly subsides, but the lacing is excellent. The brew delivers the look, for sure.

Aromas of roasted barley, char, chocolate, coffee, oat, and lactose all hold forth. The billed citrus isn't readily apparent here, but that's just the nose.

The citrus flavor arrives on the tongue, and helps elevate this brew to another level. The initial flavor on the tip of the tongue is classic imperial stout--sweet, roasted, and charred malts forward. The brew delivers a variety of chocolate flavors (cocoa, semi-sweet, milk, carob), meshed with espresso and french/sumatra coffee. Citrus and hops arrive in mid-stream, along with lactose and oat sweetness. The citrus notes are initially hidden, but as the brew is enjoyed, and as the temperature comes up, the natural citrus oils manifest more and more. The brew finishes with a touch of hop but a healthy dose of booze. In fact, the heavy booze note is the only thing that interferes here, but it isn't outside the bounds for the style.

The brew is medium-full, but not as heavy as expected, owing to some agreeably aggressive carbonation, some drying booze, and hints of acidity from the citrus.

I was initially skeptical about the marriage of stout and citrus. It worked remarkably well. This is a interesting tasty brew, that would probably take it up a notch with just a shade less booze.

16oz, canned on 10/30/19 [I think it says]. Near black body with a thinner tan head. Roasty aroma with espresso and faint orange. Bold flavors of roasted barley, dark cocoa, espresso, char, and nutty oats, with candied orange zest coming through more in the aftertaste/finish. Full body, very smooth, ample carbonation, booze is warming, balanced finish with dark chocolate and orange rind lingering - very reminiscent of a dark chocolate orange liqueur of sorts. Great idea and perfectly unique for a collaboration beer!