Did Surly's Todd the Axe Man Change?

The local bottle shops here in the Seattle area finally started getting Axe and Furious from Surly over the summer and I really don't get the hype. There are smallish craft brewers here in the Pac NW that make equally great IPAs without the sticker shock.

 

I felt Todd was underwhelming. So much better out there. Furious was just awesome though. Loved it.

 

I don't see how that's helpful if you've never had the beer before, as it relates to the OP's post.

@Junior First question, how fresh was it?

I'll certainly admit the first batch of Todd that showed up in CA (only batch thus far in my area) was underwhelming. That said, the last time I had it in the Midwest (April) I felt similarly. The beer was mute on both the nose and flavor profile. It did not resemble the potent tropical and dank IPA I remember. The nose on several previous years experiences was potent and 'in your face'. Lately it's been subdued. My $0.02 for my palate and preferences.

 

Yeah even fresh stuff (<30days from canning) in the past year has, for my palate and preferences, been severely lacking. Perhaps someone from MN, that sees greater batch frequency, can chime in with their observations...

 

Bought another four pack recently thought it was far superior to the 6 month old plus stuff I wandered across a few years ago in Wisconsin. Had it on tap in Colorado a few weeks ago & found it close to my canned experience.

 

Yes. Todd no longer brews it.

 

F

 

This beer has always faded super fast. Older than 3 weeks and I would never buy it.
When they started coming to WI 5 years ago we would get 1 week old axe. Now it’s hard to find and not worth it when old.

 

Meant to type this

Furious is a definite throwback to the malt driven well balanced IPAs. Still torques the pallet with hops too. Continue to always have this beer in my fridge.

 

I don't know if this beer has changed or not, but IPAs sure have. I was excited to finally be able to try this in PA as it recently hit the shelves here. This is how I like my IPAs, nice and hoppy! No fruity flavors, no sugar, no haze, just hops! If it used to be better than this, I'm sorry I missed it because it tastes great to me now.

 

Both Furious and Todd the Axe Man were introduced to PA last week. I bought my first 4-packs of each and I really hear you about "sticker shock". I have yet to drink Todd the Axe Man but my impressions of Furious is consistent with what was posted above of "malt driven".

Cheers!

 

Then Surly should update their packaging too. Cans say "Todd the..."

(When I saw what you were quoting, I thought you were going to make a joke about you brewing the beer or something.)

 

Yeah, I figured that could certainly be the case. Todd left them 3 years ago. Either it must be a really low priority for Surly or they had a ton of cans.

 

We're on it: https://mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com/2019/09/surly-updating-axe-man-ipa-furious.html

 

Todd the Axe Man has had some variability over the years, but this fresh batch is excellent. Of course, I've been buying it at about one week old, & it never reaches 7-8 weeks in my fridge, so I can't speak to how it might fade. But fresh, this is a superb old-school IPA.

 

Thanks Bill,

Is Coffee Bender coming to PA? I really like that beer.

Enjoy