Surly Furious

Beer Name: Furious
Brewery: Surly Brewing (Brooklyn Center, MN)
ABV: 6.6%
How sold: 16 oz. tallboy cans
Where bought: Purchased online at France44 (Minnesota)
Price: $9.99 for 4-pack of 16 oz tallboys

Date Canned: October 16, 2015
Date Purchased: November 11, 2015
Date Opened/Drank: November 18, 2015
When brewed? Year-round beer.

Where distributed: Surly Brewing ships to select U.S. states and is usually NOT shipped to the Pacific Northwest. Click here for more!

What's on the Can: "A tempest on the tongue, or a moment of pure hop bliss? Brewed with a dazzling blend of American hops and Scottish malt, this crimson-hued ale delivers waves of citrus, pine and caramel-toffee. For those who favor flavor, Furious has the hop-fire your taste buds have been screaming for."

What's on the Website: "Hybrid of American Ale 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." Click here for more!

REVIEW:

Appearance (5%): Pours a slightly hazy crimson/amber into a pint glass. Maybe a millimeter (very minimal) of off-white to off-tan head. 4.25/5

Smell (25%): Awesome balance of citrus-grapefruit, caramel, and malt. 4.25/5

Taste (40%): Again, very balanced between bready, malt, citrus, and caramel experiences. For me, the malt hit first, quickly followed by the citrus. Some bitterness lingers for a few seconds, then slowly fades away. Definitely maltier and more complex than the IPAs I'm generally used to. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel (10%): Medium bodied; the citrus-bitterness engulfs the mouth as the beer provides good carbonation. 4.25/5

Overall (20%): An excellent IPA. Another beer that scored extremely high on BeerAdvocate (96) and RateBeer (100). This one has the balanced IPA identity more commonly seen in the Midwest and on the East Coast (whereas West Coast IPAs may be more citrus-intense). Furious is certainly a better bargain than its Abrasive big brother. At least on the can of Furious that I had, it's not as citrusy as the Bell's Two Hearted Ale that I remain a huge fan of. For me, I do prefer the single IPA over the double on most days (probably because I'd be more likely to drink another one). While Furious in my book will be more drinkable in that sense than the Abrasive, Abrasive gets the slight nod for its higher ABV but amazing drinkability. 4.25/5

Final Weighted Rating: 4.25/5