While Surly Brewing is a relatively new brewery in many respects, they have been at the top of the craft beer world since their very inception! It’s really quite amazing to think that Surly shipped out their very first kegs of beer only back in February 2006, yet before they even turned 18 months old, BeerAdvocate magazine named them the Best Brewery in America. And as if that we not kudos enough, in 2007, RateBeer dubbed Surly Darkness the  “best American beer in the world”.

Sufficed to say, Surly has been in the spotlight from the beginning and they have never slowed down! Growing and expanding within Minnesota, the demand for Surly has never been bigger, and thankfully the opening of Surly’s new Destination Brewery in December 2014 has allowed them to finally come to Wisconsin! Ever since we got word that Surly was headed our way, we have been holding our breath that we could get an event put together!

This Thursday, that dream becomes a reality, as Owner/Founder Omar Ansari and Oscar’s On A Roll food truck will be here, and the newly opened Growler Gallery Patio will be open, for a Tap Takeover of epic proportions!

Here we go! The final tap list, along with descriptions for each of the ten outstanding brews:

Furious

Hybrid of American IPA and British ESB styles:

“An amber-colored ale with citrusy hoppy aromas and flavors, balanced out by a chewy caramel malt backbone (sweetness), with a refreshing bitter finish.”

Doomtree

“Surly started with some homebrewing in a garage. Doomtree started with some noisemaking in a basement. A decade later, Doomtree meets Surly. Instant crush. We’re both indie and strong-willed. We love Minnesota and we’re allergic to focus groups. We convene at the brewery to scheme. Working in extreme secrecy, we decided to make a beer team Surly suggests, a “bastardized style” that will build on a classic, but buck convention. Guided by instinct, we came up with this dark gold, toasty, aromatic, subtly spicy, bitter enough, dry-hopped brew.”

Devil’s Work

Robust Porter:
“The Devil’s Work is a robust Porter brewed with blackstrap molasses, star anise and dry hopped with Sterling hops. The dark ale has flavors of black licorice, blackened malt and spicy-floral hop aroma.”

Todd the Axe Man*

West Coast Style IPA:

“Our version of the West Coast Style IPA first brewed in collaboration with Amager Brewery in Denmark. Brewed with one malt, Golden Promise from the UK, with Citra and Mosaic hops. If you think Todd is a good brewer, you should hear him play his axe (guitar)! Named by Amager’s marketing director Henrik Paps?.”
*No Growler Fills of Todd the Axe Man. Thank you for your understanding.

Cacao Bender

American Brown Ale:

“Bender made with cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and coffee.”

Damien

American Black Ale:

“From the blackest depths of the brewhouse comes Damien, Child of Darkness. Spawned from the usually discarded remnants of Darkness, Damien is a dry-hopped black ale. Flavors of roasted malt and dark brown sugar suffocated by aromas of tangerine and pine.”

Mild

English Brown Mild Ale:

“British-style “session ale” (3.8% ABV) that’s full of bready, toasty flavor. Light on alcohol but anything but mild in flavor.”

Fiery Hell

Lager with Puya Chiles and Red Oak:

“Simply put, this is Surly Hell aged on red oak with the addition of puya chiles. The red oak comes in the form of pieces of oak that have been drilled out in a “honeycomb” pattern to maximize surface area. This adds a warm oak note similar to what you’d find in a freshly toasted barrel. Puya chiles are a Mexican varietal, similar to guajillo but hotter. They have a light fruity flavor profile, with licorice and cherry undertones that brings to mind wild berries.

CHILE ADDITION: We add actual dried chiles, not an extract.

HEAT LEVEL: Definitely present and leaning towards warming. Chiles can be difficult to integrate into beer, but this captures both a pleasant heat and the distinctive flavors of the chile. It is very easy to either overwhelm the beer with capsicum heat or go the other direction and become unnoticeable except in name.”

Simpson’s Scottish Ale

Scottish Ale:
“This medium-bodied Scottish Ale leans towards toffee and caramel notes and is an exclusive malt-focused collaboration with Brewers Supply Group (BSG) made to showcase a new malt variety from Simpsons Malting. Todd Haug & Surly were specifically invited by Simpsons Malting to create this beer for the 2015 Craft Brewers Conference in Portland, Oregon.”

Darkness*

Russian Imperial Stout:
“This massive Russian Imperial Stout brings waves of flavors; chocolate, cherries, raisins, coffee, and toffee, finishing with a non-traditional dose of aroma hops.”
*No Growler Fills of Darkness. Thank you for your understanding.

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Ray’s Growler Gallery
8930 W. North Avenue Suite G
Milwaukee, WI
(414) 258-9521