Surly has helped put Minnesota on the map for craft beer in a very short time, becoming the rock-stars of brewing. I appreciate this and I really like their beers.

This is one of the few breweries that is really tough to get in to. You have to book your tours months in advance and have some stiff competition...so good luck to you! On the other hand, Surly has several festivals each year, that make it more available: Darkness Day is the Fall release of their limited Darkness Imperial Stout--folks stand in line overnight for this, drinking beers and camping out in the parking lot. Surlyfest is the Octoberfest offering with cheaper beers, music and food...as well as access to the brewery. They also hosted an AHA rally for homebrewers and gave out 5 gallons of unfermented Surly beer for us to take home in 2009.

The brewery itself is located in an old industrial building in the sleepy suburb of Brooklyn Center. They do have a nice tasting room with a TV and tables.

The beers are always fun, and there is something for everyone. Furious is the flagship beer, a very, very hoppy IPA. Bender is a nice American Brown ale that goes great with a lot of foods. Seasonals such as Smoke, and teh yearly anniversary beers are in high demand.

reviewed on: 2010-05-27 09:00:34

I did the surly brewing tour, it goes like this...

the tour consists of signing up at their website to attend their friday tours (6-8ish) you go there, show your id, get a you get a wristband with 5 tabs on it and that entitles you to 5ish samples, more if there are samples left over after the tour. 4 styles of beer were available for sampling at the time of my tour.

Omar gave the tour this time and started out while people are tasting the beer, he goes into a slight history and such of the company with comedic and historic anecdotes that give you a little insight into the beer company that you're standing in...

The main tasting room has a standing tap off the store... there are bathrooms here as well... the brewery is thru one of three doors, that is the next part of the tour.

Taking you out into the brewery, the brewing, canning, trials and tribulations and future projects (depending on the tour guide) are hinted at, explained, and told in story form. The brewery is all 100bbl tanks, and has a lot of room for expansion, something that most younger breweries do not have... noticing the floors are slanted toward trench drains is something that in my opinion is key for any brewery and being that the floors were redone to attain this is awesome. We were urged to go and grab a beer if we ran out during the tour and resume in with refreshment when needed.

after the brewery walkthru, the final tasting and shopping in the gift shop commences...

your personal experience may vary.

Surly beer is just okay with their seasonals being better then their standby's... tho the furious is good, but that's just my opinion.

reviewed on: 2008-10-06 00:01:03

Once you drink a Surly Beer you will be hooked.
They have a beer for everyone.

Furious is a very hoppy beer. This next line comes from their web site and sums it up best.

Four American hop varieties are used at a rate of over three pounds per barrel. The result is a rich malt sweetness infused with bright hop flavor and aroma from beginning to end. Oh yeah, it's about 6% alcohol and around 100 IBUs.

Bender-This beer is an amalgamation of styles; brown/porter/apa. Five distinct malts, including two from Belgium, give this beer added complexity and depth.

These 2 are the main brews but they do release others throuhout the year. Right now you can buy Surlyfest Beer.

If you ever get a chance to catch a tour the owner and brewmaster give it to you. That I thought was really cool

reviewed on: 2007-09-27 01:41:24