TennisJoel and I were out for some tennis and beer tonight, and the last stop is Pigfoot’s place, the Blue Nile. Al always has some good things on tap. Little did these two conservatives know that tonight was some sort of party for a Democrat Congressional candidate. I was afraid the television camera would find me there. Anyway. This is a good beer but the least impressive I have tasted form Surly, and I only say that because they have set a high bar for themselves. This beer has a powerful hop aroma, rather than the light Octobery aroma I expect from a marzen. The beer is red, and has a large, lacing white head that does last a long time. Flavor is almost all hops, with very light malt, the opposite of what I expect from an Octoberfest. I like Surly and have yet to have a bad beer from them. But this beer is predictable however, and it is time for these guys to branch out into something that does not leave a hop burn. Good work, but go for more guys.