Surly Abrasive

Had some 10/26 with a friend a couple days ago in a session that included King Sue. The 10/26 had fallen off significantly from when it was first released. Still pretty dank but the citra was very muted. Didn't expect it to stand up to uber fresh King Sue but the difference was eye opening.

Disappointed the current production/distribution logistics continues to make it so difficult to enjoy this great beer at its best.

 

I'd be curious to hear folks' impressions of Abrasive on tap. I've not encountered any of the issues outlined here. How are your tap experiences?

 

I think tap is amazing as every year. Agree w the large variability in the cans. Odd.

 

Have any of you run into kind of fresh Abrasive? I'm hoping to find something canned in December. Thanks for any leads.

 

I can't find any Abrasive more fresh than 10/27 anywhere around Bville. Anyone seen anything else. 12/16 Todd is around but zero fresh Abrasive

 

It's simply not as impressive a beer as it has been. This beer used to have a tremendous nose, you could pop the top and know what it was from 5 ft away. It used to have a tremendous fruit forward hit, but it's muted, don't get me wrong it's still a very good beer, but it's not the beer I rated at 4.85 years ago. Sadly not a wow beer for me. Seems a bit over carbonated and a very dry finish. I'm enjoying in none the less, but it's not what I was hoping for. I was expecting a juicy hop bomb, it is kinda, but not at the level it was.

 

I'm honestly not that big of a surly fan. Abrasive, Todd and furious are all good, but not my favorites.

 

While I was also taken back by the price, I thought it was pretty impressive, BUT, I only had it for the first time the only time I've had it, well, four times for the first time....I feel I've babbled. Anyway, what I'm trying to express is that I don't have a historical benchmark to measure it against.

 

You moved this to a mid west thread and it's not exclusive to the Midwest. You can order it from France 44 to any ship to state. You misplaced it, it belongs back into beer talk because its available across the country.

 

but in the midwest forum we'll debate this for weeks whether it's as good as it used to be but never whether it was any good to begin with unless you're just trying to get a reaction from people. just watch.

 

Well no. I live in NC and I order this every year. There's others that do the same every year in any ship to state. It's an opinion based in years of ordering this beer. It belongs in beer talk because its available nationwide to most, it's certainly not a regional only beer.

 

I think you are spot on with this- there are other offerings have caught up or surpassed what used to be unique. Still great in my opinion, but many more quality, juicer beers than there used to be.

 

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/surly-abrasive.455436/page-6#post-5182428

All things Surly Abrasive

 

The Surly hype train isn't what it used to be

 

I don't think you are wrong. Early production of this beer was on point pretty much every time. The last three years I can only think of a couple of 4-packs that hit the right nose & flavor mix of tropical/juicy/dank. Issue has been amplified by production & distribution issues that leave massive amounts of the early canning dates on the shelf for 3-4 months or more.

Can't say I only see this issue with Abrasive though. IMO there have been several "wow" beers over the last five years that have similar inconsistencies. Hopslam comes to mind right away. Enjoy By as well.

More specifically though I see Citra heavy beers suffering from this problem. Pseudo Sue & to a lesser extent Zombie Dust don't hit the nail on the head every time either. Personal theory is demand for citra hops has lowered the quality these breweries are able to source and the production increases have taken the brewing out of the hands of the creator.

Many will say Lupulin Shift & changing palates is the issue but I have trouble buying it. There are many very good old standard IPA's & Pale Ales out there that these beers far out shined in the past but there are so many times recently when I drink them and can't honestly say the separation exits.

 

Stopped at Costco SLP this morning and picked up two Dec canned 4 packs of Todd rather than 10/27 canned Abrasive.

 

I recently had another 10/19 can, and even 2 months past its canning date, it was fabulous.

I still think some of the 10/26 cans were bad, but it certainly does not appear to be an issue like what Goose Island had with Bourbon County in 2015.

I will be purchasing more Abrasive. It's pretty cool to have such a good beer so easily available.

 

I have 2 cans of 10/26 I bought 3 weeks ago and I was pretty disappointed in it when I first tried it. Been meaning to try another can to see if something was off with me that day because it's been one of my favorite beers every year.