Shout out to my best friend Ben, who’s also a de facto admin on this site, for sending me a shipment of Surly beer! Surly IPAs, made me a hop lover. I used to hate IPAs and thought they were overly harsh and bitter. Then, ironically I tried a Furious and an Abrasive one night and something just clicked; IPAs suddenly made sense.
Anyway, onto the beer, flashlight shows a hazy, golden to milk chocolate color with solid head retention. Smells of dense hops, predominantly citrusy and floral, with piney undertones. Taste is moderately bitter hops up front, with a smoky, roasted malt flavor hiding beneath, just noticeable enough to add some depth to the experience. A full body fills the mouth as the dry, highly bitter finish sets in with predominantly pine and citrus peel notes. Overall, a really cool beer, definitely still an IPA, but with a dark, smoky malt bill underneath that adds just the right amount of complexity without stealing the focus from the hops.
