Surly Abrasive

Maybe a brewer can chime in but I've found similar variation with Enjoy By and Younger releases throughout the years, where a predominant booziness sneaks in and despite ample dry-hopping there's a muted nose. My gut feeling is that the two are not related. That is, it's a process or ingredient or packaging issue and general shifts in peoples' collective palates issue, not a recipe issue, presence of a particular brewer issue, dry-hopping issue (if anything that should have made the beer MORE aromatic), or recipe issue.

 

About to place an order on France44 and before I do I was curious as to when Todd The Axeman was released? I see they still have a bunch for sale on the website, just don't wanna waste money if it's super old. Any advice?

 

I picked up some 10/26 Todd in Iowa last night so there are some recent canning dates out there. Didn't taste that good to me. Not the tropical grapefruit bomb like I've had in the past.

 

9/20 was the last batch, I believe. France 44 has pretty good turnover, so I'm guessing it's not super old. You could always call and ask before ordering. The staff there is super helpful.

 

Good deal, much appreciated

 

Todd is year-round now afaik, but yeah just email them and ask what date they have

 

Do you need to be a Costco member to buy alcohol? I know you don't at Sam's Club.

 

Nope, that's why they all have a separate entrance. Once in a while the person at the register will slip and ask for a membership card, just kindly remind them you don't need to be a member to buy their booze in Minnesota.

 

Actually, it's just not Minnesota. I believe in all states it's illegal for any retail outlet to charge a "membership fee" in order to purchase alcohol or prescription medication, which is why I believe you never need to be a member to buy booze/medication at any Costco or Sams Club across the country.

 

With all due respect to my esteemed colleague from the great state of Iowa (sorry, letting election day seep into my replies here), it looks like that's true for only about a dozen states:

http://www.savingadvice.com/article...buy-alcohol-at-costco-without-membership.html

Granted, that's only from one random website but Googling around it looks like a few other articles back that claim up. Ultimately it comes down to reading and interpreting the nuances in each state's law, not to mention convincing store employees of that reading and interpretation.

Luckily in Minnesota it's a little more clear cut. Any retail establishment selling packaged alcohol has to have a separate entrance from any other business and can't restrict sales based on membership. In this case, Costco is no different than the Targets and Cub Foods up here that also sell alcohol.

 

I ordered some Todd and Abrasive last week for France44. Box came on Saturday. Todd was canned 10/7/16.

 

While I certainly enjoyed my annual four pack of Abrasive, I agree that it is unlike years past. Much drier, less dank, and less powerfully aromatic. That's not to say it isn't dank, and aromatic, it certainly is. I also appreciate the drier finish.

 

Abrasive is my favorite beer, as in "#1 of everything I've tried," so I was curious to see how this year's iteration compared to year's past, especially in light of the recent changes. The following are one beer nerd's thoughts after having 3 cans dated 10/26/16:

1. The aromatics aren't nearly as present when first opening the can. I can remember my eyes literally popping WIDE open when cracking a can in year's past - the citrus/grapefruit aromas literally hit you like a 2 x 4 between the eyes. They're definitely still present in this year's version, but not nearly as biting or explosive, for lack of a better term.

2. The color is darker, significantly so, IMHO, This year, the color is nearly a copper, edging past burnt orange. In year's past, the color was a brilliant golden straw color, probably the most beautiful beer I've ever seen.

3. The flavor is still dank, with the ever present grapefruit rind at the forefront, but this version is definitely hotter and dryer. It's not worse, but it definitely tastes different on my palate.

I purchased three 4-packs last Thursday (11/3/16), and had two pints that night. I muled two more pints to Aruba and had one on Monday, and liked it more than the first two, but that may have been influenced by a long, hot day on the beach (I was parched).

I'm going to have the last one tomorrow, right when we get outside and I get propped up in my beach chair. I saw in a couple of posts that the beer may be a little green, which was my initial thought last week while drinking the first two cans. I'm interested to see how can #4 drinks with 2 weeks of age. I will say this, though - I still LOVE the beer, but it is decidedly different, IMHO

Drink well, BA's.

 

I agree with most of the sentiments here. Still very enjoyable. Definitely a little sharper and dryer. Aromatics are good but not as assertive as last year.

 

Here's today's sample .....



Aromatics are still muted, IMHO, but it's going down pretty great. I think the scenery helps.

 

I bought a 4 pack of 10-26 as well. I echo the thoughts in here, still a great beer but bummed about the lack of aromatics. I really enjoyed getting smacked in the face with the aroma of hops, but it is still a great beer to me.

(It's no Saga though... )

 

My second 10/26 4-pack had far less head retention than the first. So there.

 

Bought a 4pk of 10/26 . Thought it was a good IPA? well carbonated and well crafted and tasty , would not have picked it as abrasive in a blind taste. So i bought a single of 10/19 some said it was better it had the same taste. Good as an IPA but not my 2IPA that relate to Abrasive.

 

It's probably because Todd left.......

 

Agree with those saying Abrasive may have been "green" when experienced very close to the canning date. Had a 10/26 tonight that was very well balanced. Not just malt v. hops but also the sharper/dank hop notes vs. the more rounded (very) tropical notes. Still lacks the great nose (something I've missed for a couple years now) but this beer was very close to the Abrasive we knew and loved.