Sixteen
Surly Brewing Co.
- From:
- Surly Brewing Co.
- Minnesota, United States
- Style:
- Imperial Red Ale
Ranked #55 - ABV:
- 12.5%
- Score:
- 86
Ranked #24,728 - Avg:
- 3.83 | pDev: 10.18%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 10
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Feb 15, 2025
- Added:
- Sep 06, 2022
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 1
SCORE
86
Very Good
86
Very Good
It takes a measure of grit to persevere through sixteen years of business, and that ability to stick it out and keep pushing boundaries inspired this beer. The base beer started life as a strong red ale—not quite a barleywine but in the neighborhood. Then it laid down in a variety of barrels, including Parker’s Heritage Wheat Whiskey Barrels, Elijah Craig 12-year Bourbon Barrels, and a handful of ruby port casks to add a top note of complexity. Once the beer matured, we blended it with fresh strawberry and raspberry puree to add fruitiness and necessary brightness to this malty mosaic of flavors.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by bbtkd:
Reviewed by bbtkd from South Dakota
3.87/5 rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.87/5 rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Surly Sixteen BA Imperial Red Ale (anniversary ale), 12.5% ABV. Pours opaque blood-red, with a 2.5 finger way-off-white head that left great foamy lacing. Slight gusher upon opening. Nose is malt, spice, raspberry and bourbon. Taste follows, slightly sweet, moderately bitter. Mouthfeel is dry, with decent carbonation. Overall excellent.
Sep 15, 2022More User Ratings:
Reviewed by GrumpyGas from Illinois
4.06/5 rDev +6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
4.06/5 rDev +6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
16oz can dated 07/28/22 and poured into a stemless glass shows a muddy, ruddy, brown body that allows no light. Topped with a proud 2" head of tan colored foam that relaxes to a fluffy cap and coats the glass. Other than the foam lacing, it's a pretty ugly beverage.
Aroma of tart fruit is swathed in liquor with port on top. Pretty complex combination of smells.
Taste is equally complex. Raspberry and strawberry fruits dominate, but they are clearly soaked in bourbon and upheld by a solid caramel malt base.
Feel is unremarkable, yet easily drinkable, even at 12.5%, but 16oz is a lot to endure here.
Overall an obviously well crafted beverage, but maybe a bit too busy.
Feb 15, 2025Aroma of tart fruit is swathed in liquor with port on top. Pretty complex combination of smells.
Taste is equally complex. Raspberry and strawberry fruits dominate, but they are clearly soaked in bourbon and upheld by a solid caramel malt base.
Feel is unremarkable, yet easily drinkable, even at 12.5%, but 16oz is a lot to endure here.
Overall an obviously well crafted beverage, but maybe a bit too busy.
Reviewed by Giggy from Michigan
3.41/5 rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
3.41/5 rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Overall not impressed especially for the price and the hype in the description. I don’t doubt that a lot of work and $ went into producing this one but it didn’t pay out. The box it came in was extremely cool but my excitement ended after my first sip. I could identify the tartness of the raspberries & strawberries in the finish. Barrel finishing wasn’t quite there. A little too much on the dry side.
Mar 17, 2023
Reviewed by Whyteboar from Michigan
4.29/5 rDev +12%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.29/5 rDev +12%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Well bummer, generally speaking I put fruit beer in the fridge and barleywine in the cellar to drink at a warmer temperature.
This one is more barleywine than fruit beer.
Anyway, pour was deep amber color and the manilla head was never much but it never went away either. Nice.
The aroma is fruit forward but not like a juice, just present and accounted for.
The taste is a menagerie of flavors hitting almost at once, the fruit is certainly in there but so is some barrel and malt and, if my taste is on, some hoppy bitterness.
The feel is fine, maybe even ideal. But not the most important aspect of the beer. IMO obviously.
OA, glad to have tried it. Tasty and not as fruity as the description suggests.
Dec 04, 2022This one is more barleywine than fruit beer.
Anyway, pour was deep amber color and the manilla head was never much but it never went away either. Nice.
The aroma is fruit forward but not like a juice, just present and accounted for.
The taste is a menagerie of flavors hitting almost at once, the fruit is certainly in there but so is some barrel and malt and, if my taste is on, some hoppy bitterness.
The feel is fine, maybe even ideal. But not the most important aspect of the beer. IMO obviously.
OA, glad to have tried it. Tasty and not as fruity as the description suggests.
Reviewed by MonDak_Joe1953 from Minnesota
3.73/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.73/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
16oz can. Bottom of can is stamped 'CANNED ON 07/28/22'.
Amber brown colored body. Quickly receding beige head, which on the final pour sticks around as a bubbly cap. Leaves behind webs of lacing.
Aroma is rather faint, but does express red ale malt with some strawberries..
Taste is a mix of red ale, strawberry, and barrel. Not real integrated. Mostly red ale in the aftertaste.
Medium mouth feel. Very good carbonation. A little dry because of the higher ABV%.
The strawberry addition to the red ale makes this rather thirst quenching, but the barrel aging is indistinct. Quite malty overall. Higher ABV% is well hidden, until the sudden warming.
Nov 27, 2022Amber brown colored body. Quickly receding beige head, which on the final pour sticks around as a bubbly cap. Leaves behind webs of lacing.
Aroma is rather faint, but does express red ale malt with some strawberries..
Taste is a mix of red ale, strawberry, and barrel. Not real integrated. Mostly red ale in the aftertaste.
Medium mouth feel. Very good carbonation. A little dry because of the higher ABV%.
The strawberry addition to the red ale makes this rather thirst quenching, but the barrel aging is indistinct. Quite malty overall. Higher ABV% is well hidden, until the sudden warming.
Reviewed by mothman from Minnesota
3.25/5 rDev -15.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.25/5 rDev -15.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Can. Off white head head. Cloudy strawberry amber.
This is kind of a mess of a beer. Fruity and malty. Barrels lightly show. Strong and boozey without much complexity. Some bready and caramel malts. Strawberries show a lot.
Nov 12, 2022This is kind of a mess of a beer. Fruity and malty. Barrels lightly show. Strong and boozey without much complexity. Some bready and caramel malts. Strawberries show a lot.
Reviewed by maximum12 from Minnesota
3/5 rDev -21.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3/5 rDev -21.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Surly has a long history of anniversary beers that are…just fine. There have been a few exceptions, but the Hail Mary is off more than hit. 16 oz. can split with my wife.
The pour is a scuffed ruby red with a light coating. The nose is full on fruit. I could be sniffing a fruit basket if I were blindfolded.
Surly Sixteen is supremely blah. Where’d all them barrels go? Lots of rusty malts up front (clearly a red, nothing near a barleywine) with a mid-term of slightly tart red fruits. There might be port; I fail to see the intelligence of port-aging THEN adding fresh fruit puree, but I’m not a brewer, so perhaps I’m just silly. No bourbon detected. My wife is having an identical experience four feet to my right. A taster would have been just fine.
Not very interesting. A waste of good barrels. Some questionable choices. Overall this is just not an interesting beer. Mediocre.
Oct 30, 2022The pour is a scuffed ruby red with a light coating. The nose is full on fruit. I could be sniffing a fruit basket if I were blindfolded.
Surly Sixteen is supremely blah. Where’d all them barrels go? Lots of rusty malts up front (clearly a red, nothing near a barleywine) with a mid-term of slightly tart red fruits. There might be port; I fail to see the intelligence of port-aging THEN adding fresh fruit puree, but I’m not a brewer, so perhaps I’m just silly. No bourbon detected. My wife is having an identical experience four feet to my right. A taster would have been just fine.
Not very interesting. A waste of good barrels. Some questionable choices. Overall this is just not an interesting beer. Mediocre.
Reviewed by Victory_Sabre1973 from Minnesota
3.79/5 rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.79/5 rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Dark amber pour with a 1 finger slightly off white head. There's just a slight bit of lacing on the glass.
The nose is full of fruit aromas. Raspberry and strawberry.
Taste starts off a bit malty. Things go quite sour, in a pleasing way on the back. The strawberry and raspberry is quite strong and tart. The tartness lingers. I also kind of get a rye bread flavor in that mix. There's also barrel flavors that kick in.
Decent body, and slightly boozy. The feeling of the tart fruit lingers.
U
I am pleasantly surprised with this one. Pretty good.
Oct 08, 2022The nose is full of fruit aromas. Raspberry and strawberry.
Taste starts off a bit malty. Things go quite sour, in a pleasing way on the back. The strawberry and raspberry is quite strong and tart. The tartness lingers. I also kind of get a rye bread flavor in that mix. There's also barrel flavors that kick in.
Decent body, and slightly boozy. The feeling of the tart fruit lingers.
U
I am pleasantly surprised with this one. Pretty good.
Reviewed by zeff80 from Missouri
4.16/5 rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.16/5 rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
16oz can. Poured out a clear, golden amber color with a small, khaki-colored head of foam. It left sudsy trails of lace on the glass. It smelled of raspberry, bourbon, oak, vanilla and charred wood. Sweet raspberry taste with boozy, bourbon, oak and vanilla
Oct 07, 2022
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