Can shared by artusory. Slightly hazy straw body, thin off-white head. Bready nose, earthy and chalky, with light floral spice. Potent, punchy spice body, floral, with fennel and bitter notes, potpourri, and light bready malt. No soft, sweet, flabby malt heaviness here. Robust, aggressive, and spartan.

Surly could have done a lot more with this. The smoke is very light, but it is there in the aroma and flavor. The flavor is also lightly sweet with a touch of fruit, but this is quite dry for a Baltic porter. I would like it to be a little sweeter. As it is, it seems to fit the Scotch ale style well with the dry malt flavors, some earth, and lack of hops. Smooth palate, very easy to drink.
Earlier Rating: 10/1/2007 Total Score: 3.9
A good beer, not the ABR highlight I was hoping for. This is one of the most lightly hopped beers Surly has brewed, and is more traditional than some of their products in a style that doesn’t rely on massive hops for flavor or aroma. But it is still more heavily hopped than any other Baltic porter I have tasted. The aroma does have roasted malt and just a touch of soy sauce. A thick, black beer with some carbonation. Flavor is medium sweet malt, some roasted character, and a hint of red wine. Unusual finish for the style and the hops do show themselves much more at the end.

Awesome beer from a can! And hoppy? Man. At 6.2% its an IPA, but the hop rate here is all DIPA levels. Big huge piney resiny hop aromas, followed by monstrous resiny hop flavors. Hugely bitter finish. Huge, just huge. There’s a brown sugared toast for the malt, which is heavy enough but is clearly taking a back seat. Lightly hazed dark reddish copper, big beige head, thick and protein rich, with moderate lacing.

Thin offwhite head. Amber body with light carbonation. Intense oily mango aroma with catty hop notes. Dry-and-sweet roasty catty mango taste, somewhat chalky. Slightly oily mouthfeel. Dry chalky catty hop aftertaste. It’s good, but it’s a bit one-sided and thin. Still interesting. (0.47l can at Knut Albert’s.)

Thin brown head. Deep dark red body with carbonation. Complex tropical fruit hop aroma with smoky chocolatey notes. Dry, yet sweetish, smoky chocolatey malty taste. Dry fruity hop and roasty malt aftertaste lingers for a long time. (0.47l can at Knut Albert’s.)

From a Big Boy Can. O ya. Pours out a nice hazy copper topped with a off white head. Aroma of malt and some hops. Tast of sweet fruit and a little hops. I also picked up a touch of spice. thanks Jake.

From a Big Boy Can. O ya. Pours out a nice amber topped with a off white head. A very nice hop aroma along with a great hop tast. A very nice and thick body. Thanks Jake.