Did Surly's Todd the Axe Man Change?

We don't really distribute to PA right now... only through Brew Pipeline, so as of this moment, it's only Furious and Axe Man. It's pretty likely that if we continue with another drop down the road that Coffee Bender might make an appearance. I really like Coffee Bender too. One of my personal favs.

 

I enjoyed some Todd The Axe Man a while back and thought it was good. The cans were pretty fresh at that time also so as a whole it was a good beer. I am currently enjoying Coffee Bender and its really good. I never had the original stuff (Axe Man) so sorry OP I cannot compare it to now but from my point the beer is still solid.
Cheers

On a side note I checked some of the recent reviews and most appear good.

 

Axe Man uses 100% Golden Promise malt (unless the recipe did indeed change recently), and that brings robust flavor that tends to shine through. I personally consider that a good thing, and Surly long was known for emphasizing flavor in both hops and malt. I think Axe Man is very much a beer of its time (the mid '10s; it debuted in 2014), a new-school, hazy (but apparently not hazy enough for some), reasonably dry, moderate bitterness (65 IBU) West Coast IPA featuring what were then trendy but now ubiquitous hops (Citra and Mosaic), yet it wasn't afraid to emphasize malt character as well in the Midwest IPA tradition. It's "juicy" by West Coast IPA standards (more citrus than pitted fruit or non-citric tropical fruit) but piney by modern standards. Its best comps probably are some Vermont IPAs (conceptually very similar to The Alchemist Focal Banger) and some Toppling Goliath beers. So it's effectively a pre-New-England IPA (although I know actual New England IPAs already existed by that time) in an IPA world dominated by New England IPAs and post-New-England IPAs.

I write this just to put the beer in context to help with expectations. I think it's delicious, although it would improve from about 25 additional IBUs, but if you're looking for something that's "juicy" by contemporary standards or malt-backward, it probably won't be your jam.

I believe Surly always has put canned-on dates on all of its boxes (since it switched to boxes). I'll also note that there can be wild swings in Citra and Mosaic flavors based on time (crop to crop and even when harvested within a season) and geography, so this sort of beer can taste quite different from batch to batch with no recipe changes (to me that's part of the beauty of craft brewing).

 

Two topics to discuss:

Dates on the 4-pack boxes

There are indeed dates on the 4-pack boxes. On the top of my box of Todd the Axe Man IPA in white ink (with a black background) in relatively large font there is the following information:

“CANNED ON: 10/31/19

0661 15:12”

Kudos to Surly (@BillManley) for using easy to read dates and in an easy to understand format!

Consistency of beer brands

Below is something I posted before:

“IPAs are dependent on hops (i.e., hop flavor, hop aroma) to produce their characteristic flavor profile. Since hop flavor/aroma is variable, this does present a challenge to commercial brewers trying to achieve a consistent product. I discussed this topic in a past thread:

“But the variation of hops from crop year to crop year (and hop farm to hop farm, etc.) is where the skill of the brewer comes into play.

There is a great discussion on pages 239 – 240 of For the Love of Hops by Stan Hieronymus where the headbrewer of Bear Republic (Richard Norgrove) mentions how he makes a consistent beer of Racer 5 IPA given that hops vary with the location they are grown, the particular year’s crop, and other variables. His last quote is revealing: “So, how do I make Racer taste the same when hops change? That’s what makes it craft.”

So, as can be easily discerned about the headbrewer of Bear Republic (Richard Norgrove) is an advocate that brewers should have the “craft” to able to produce consistent beer brands.

Cheers!

 

Once you could find it places, it stopped tasting good. That’s how this works.

You new here, OP?

 

Who's your distributor in NYC?

 

Same deal as PA. We don't have a dedicated distributor. We've been using the Brew Pipeline system for dedicated drops of limited brands, with any permanent representation.

 

Todd the Axeman fades incredibly fast, much like Jai Alai. Four weeks or older and I don't buy it, and it's hard to find fresh, even living next door. I've only found three four packs in the last 2 years that I found worthy of buying.

Also - Todd on draft is wayyyyyy better IMO.

 

Packages are dated Canned on . It is inked on the top flap of the carton.

 

Yes the beer, and now even the name did change. Surly is an absolute joke without Todd. He built them, they haven't made a truly good beer since he departed. As I said when it all went down, "wow Omar you really fucked up".

 

Hmm, interesting take. I know you're not a Surly fan, but what, in your opinion has changed about Axe Man from a beer standpoint. The recipe is the same, process is largely the same (although added improvements to the packaging capabilities at Brooklyn Center have got package oxygen down to levels impossible when the beer was first released, which is a real tangible benefit to hop flavor.)
Save for the person in charge of the people who actually make the beer, in your eyes, what else is different?

 

SinceTodd left Abrasive and Axe Man has lost its zing, don’t know about Furious, but imo Todd was the reason for those beers success.

 

So just curious, where did this now infamous Todd guy go? Was he the original owner of Surly? Head brewmaster? Just wondering if a new brewery has him now and who they are.

 

Next time you are in a store ,check any Surly boxed 4pk. Once you find it (date)you will know where to look for future purchases.

 

FFF 3 Floyds

 

BTW Abrasive came out about 10 days ago,very good this year,if you see it buy it.