Surly Nein

Had a bottle last night. The flavor was like a really boozy dark chocolate covered banana with some charred oak. The first few sips did not impress at all, but as I kept drinking, it became much more enjoyable.

 

Maple Grove Costco, $11.59

 

$14.99 to 15.99 here in Roch

 

Maplewood Costco $10.99

 

So I gotta ask... not because I want to stir up drama but because I'm generally interested in people's opinion.

What's your take on the price drop? Is it because too many anniversary beers were left sitting on the shelves at the higher price point? Is it the new brewery and the pumping out more quantity? Is it because the beer isn't quite what they thought it would be?

I love finally seeing an anniversary beer at a price worth checking out. Just wonder what caused the change.

 

Perhaps they acknowledged that an Imperial Smoked German Wheat beer just won't generate the same demand as a BA barleywine or RIS or sour. Maybe the cost of materials/production was lower. Speculation of course.

 

I'd go with D.

 

cheaper to produce, lower price point. It makes sense that it's in line with Smoke. It's not a barrel aged beer.

 

All of the above?

 

Seems entirely reasonable to assume it's a combination of a little of all of the above.

 

Yup. As you increase in scale you get better deals on ingredients. This beer also doesn't have tons of expensive hops and isn't a style where you could expect it to fly off of shelves regardless of price point. And since it's non-BA you can't say that that plays into the costs either. All those things probably contribute to the lower price point.

 

having gotten halfway through the bottle, i can see why that comment was made. i wouldn't say tarred, but the "smoked toffee" comes off as more like burnt sugar, at least to me. caramelized bananas left on the burner too long?

i like it better than i thought i might, but bomber is more than i ever needed with this one. kind of cloying.

 

I took down my bomber tonight. When I cracked it, a strong banana smell came out of the bottle. For a second, I was hopeful that I was wrong to be skeptical about previous comments saying that the smokey taste is a background thing. It isn't. There are decent layers of flavor, but unfortunately, they're all overwhelmed by the smoke. It's the first and last thing you taste. Hell, I finished my bottle a half hour ago and can still taste the smoke after drinking a glass of water.

I don't want to turn people away from trying Nein. The worst thing I can say about a Surly bottle is that it's interesting. This definitely was interesting; it just wasn't memorable. I'll buy a 2nd bottle, but that's strictly because I'm admittedly OCD and want to keep my annual vert going.

 

$11.40 at Costco in Maple Grove...only got 100 bottles on Wednesday though, so likely gone by the weekend.

 

I had it on tap during GABF and thought it was very dunked-y, mixed in with Smoked Malts. I didn't get the off-putting weird banana flavors, but definitely had some subtle smoked banana character to it that I enjoyed.

 

Had a glass at the tap room last night. I didn't really notice the banana smell or taste. Smoke smell and taste yes. To me it was smoky, roasty and toffeeyee. It was fine but not something I'll need to have a lot of.

 

FYI these bottles are selling for $12.99

 

Where? Prices are varied by liquor store as listed in posts above...

 

Out of curiosity, what sort of glassware do you use for this? I have a couple of traditional weizen glasses, but am unsure whether that would be a natural fit. What say you?

Has anyone had it at Surly? How was it served there?

 

Tastes best out of a red Solo cup when playing beer pong.