Surly Eight Ale Label

It was fantastic on tap and the bottle I had last week was equally great. Have another bottle and won't sit on it long.

 

Is it possible Surly doesn't or isn't very good at barrel blending so some 8 bottles are tasting different? That could also explain why some people had a hard time deciding if the Darkness they had on tap was BA or not since some kegs may have had more barrel notes than others if the blending wasn't very good or done at all. Just a guess.

 

Just opened a bottle and can see what u guys are talking about w a brett smell/character, but I disagree that it's infected and/or different than on tap. I think it's just the orangish/citrus flavors of the beer.

Personally, I enjoy it just as much as on tap and am a big fan. Just my opinion.

 

Just opened a bottle, no sign of infection. Delicious!

 

Just opened one as well.
Not a huge fan, but definitely NOT infected.

Actually better than I had on tap awhile ago at 3 Squares, but not good enough to make me want to try it again.

 

I enjoyed my bottle of Surly Eight more than my bottle of '14 Darkness. Not enough however, to buy another.

 

I shared a bottle with my parents yesterday during the Detroit game and damn it was tasty, totally different than I remember the sample I had when I bought it.

 

I opened one recently as well. Didn't think it was infected, but was expecting to like this much more.

 

Opened a bottle last night. Thought it was pretty tasty. Definitely not infected

 

Opened a bottle last night that had a definite off taste. Between 4 of us we didn't finish the bottle. Kinda sad because I have liked it the 2 other times I had it on tap.

 

There are too many people commenting on their bottles of 8 tasting off for there not to be some type of problem with some bottles. If the people making these claims didn't also taste 8 on tap several times and say there is a big difference I may not believe it but I think there is an issue.

 

I didn't have any on tap but, the bottle I had did not quite taste right as well. Left a banana like flavor aftertaste. Not what I expected.

 

I've had it on tap at Dakota and Gnome, very good both times. Classic barrel aged barleywine style, carmel, oak, rich, sweet and appropriately boozy. (I know it's an oatwine, but I've never had those before, and it reminded me of many of the better bal-aged barleywines I've had.)

Both of my bottles (bought at the same place) were off. Tart barrel character. (Like I said previously, taste bud memories of Collage, which was a bal-wild ale at its core.)
Not fully developed regarding the tart aspect, but much different than the 2 tap glasses I had. I didn't finish either bottle, and I would have had multiple pours on tap.

one man's opininon, ymmv. Others commenting on the bottles have said they taste fine.

 

I know someone mentioned that they posed this question to Surly - has anyone heard an update from the source? Or would there be a legit way of actually asking the brewery?

 

Todd seems to be pretty good about responding to Twitter, otherwise you could go through the contact form on their website

 

I haven't bought a bottle because 20 some bucks is too much for a possibly infected *off* beer. I'll go buy two discounted twelve packs of SAGA instead.

 

Bumping this thread... I cracked a bottle for Christmas, and holy cow... It's almost as sour as pentagram. In fact it actually reminds me slightly of the high west barrel aged pentagram at All Pints North a bit. There is no denying this bottle is infected at all... Not even close. Very sad since on tap I have had it so many times and I love the sweet carmel marshmallow flavors and whiskey heat.

It is however still drinkable and not a drain pour for me... However I am a bit sad not really because of the price but because I would love to see what this uninfected would age like and the intended beer was pretty great.

 

We had one a couple weeks ago and it tasted great...if you have anymore bottles I suggest contacting surly for a refund!

 

I did contact the brewery and let them know for sure... and yeah I have heard it's not every bottle from other friends. I just wanted to let other BA'ers know since there was some speculation about some possibly tasting a bit "off", there was no speculation in my bottle as it was really, really sour. I do have a couple other bottles I am hoping are ok so I'll play this lottery at least a couple more times.