Surly (2022)

Another year of no Bitter Brewer, Bender, or (my favorite) Cocoa Bender. Cautiously optimistic on Double Bladed Axe Man but guessing it's just a hyped up version of what the original already is.

 

Finally Darkness in a smaller serving size!!

Hopefully the price will be much lower per ounce in cans.

 

Wow, only three posts in here? Yeesh. Anywho, wondering if there were any beers available to go at Darkness Day that will not be in distribution. Wasn’t able to make it this year.

 

3 posts too many, methinks.

I kid, I kid...

 

Wet and 16 Grit were two of them available that aren't supposed to be distributed (I saw Wet was available at Stub & Herbs for Darkness Eve, but I think that was due to special relationship). Thankfully, they were available in the beer hall on Friday afternoon for those of us who didn't want to deal with Darkness Day.

 

These were both really good, especially Wet. I asked about distro and was told they would not be, but who knows.

 

Man, Surly Wet was a great beer. I really wish that would come back in cans.

 

Did everyone who went to Darkness Day or Stub & Herbs get to try the Parker Heritage BA Darkness? Pretty sure that was the best Surly beer I've ever had. Fresh BA 2015 is second, but it's been so long I'm not sure how close since it hasn't held up that well.

 

I wouldn't go so far as "the best" but damn, that Parker's easily won the day for me. Just a fantastic beer that played up the base Darkness & added some weight & fire. I'd buy that in bottles/cans any day!

 

I opened a BA 2015 the weekend before and I agree, it has not held up well. That Parker Heritage was fantastic. Completely different from previous years, if the 23 BA is like that I will buy too much.

 

Aside from Five, I'd say that PH BA Darkness was my second favorite Surly beer as well. As the night got busier at Stub and Herbs they started serving the PH Darkness in pint glasses. Don't ask me how many I had (I can't remember).

 

Hoping to get Abrasive in NE Ohio this year. We didn’t get any last year.

 

Was a big fan of Surly going back to the Todd the Axe Man Days, and I LOVED Abrasive. Used to grab a pint or two at my favorite watering hole when it was released. Unfortunately there isn't much Surly to be found as of late in the Chicagoland area. You still find Darkness at the local Binny's, but that's kind of it.

 

Yeah, last BA 2015 I had was in 2019 and I noticed it fell off then.. I have 1 or 2 left. Probably should have drank them sooner. But when that one was fresh it was up there with the best of them.

 

They had PH BA Darkness at ABR along with Wet last Saturday , very little lines ,suffice to say i hung out there for awhile . Agree with others is as good as Fresh - 2YO 15 Ba Darkness .

 

I haven't been to Surly since pre-covid and had a chance for a quick stop this past weekend I don't usually pay much attention to prices as my wife pays the tab usually (I just don't want to know to be honest) but I was by myself and ordered a couple pints of the bock (pretty solid) and a burger and fries and with service charges, etc my total came to a little more than $45..maybe that is par for the course in the cities now with inflation, etc...I live outstate so I wouldn't know but it seemed a little high?

Looking at the receipt the burger was 14.40 and the fries 5.50. Pint 7.25 each. Tax 3.85 Service charge (20% which I always give anyhow) 6.90. Total=45.25. One guy. A couple beers and a cheeseburger and fries. Not at a gourmet restaurant either. Not something I would do consistently if I lived there. Burger and fries were fine but I'd go to about a dozen other places for the burger ahead of Surly to be honest...It was good but not in my top tier.

 

Prices are absolutely out of control. Although my wife and I always felt like 'going out' was really more for a special occasion than with any sort of regularity, that is true even more so now. Food prices have increased in a tremendous way - even lunch meat is pretty crazy. I refuse to buy deli meat from Kroger when a brand-name ham is only about a buck cheaper (per pound) than a quality uncured version at Whole Foods. Oat Milk went from $5 at the start of covid to $6.50 now. Similar price increases are everywhere in the grocery store.

The few times I have been out (for work) have reflected what you have shown. A beer is $7-12, and food is $14-25 + tax + tip. It's just not worth it to go out when the food is by and large extremely marginal. If I'm going to spend the extra money, I'd much rather spend it on better food I am consuming/cooking at home.

 

Surly is doing a bottle club of sorts next year. Only four bottles over the course of the year, but hey, two of them are barleywines, so I'm giving it a try for this first edition.

https://surlybrewing.com/the-surly-bottle-project/

 

Ok dumb question here from PA……is abrasive ale and abrasive double ipa the same beer?

abrasive double ipa is currently on tap locally…is that the same beer that’s listed here on BA as surly abrasive ale?

thanks in advance

 

Yes

 

The label was changed from 'Abrasive Ale' to 'Abrasive Double IPA' in 2017 fwiw.

 

Great thank you for the quick reply!

 

I was perusing my local Binny's here in Chicago and to my surprise they had Abrasive back on the shelves. Grabbed a 4 pack and have to say that it's still a great brew, but it wasn't as hoppy as I remember. Maybe it was sitting on the shelf for a while or the recipe changed. But I remember being walloped by all the hops with a touch of honey at the end.