Friday Drankin’: Surly Brewing

When I am looking for breweries for Friday Drankin’ I often try to go with the closest brewery to the opposing team’s stadium. That worked out very well for Nebraska, as Boiler Brewing was within walking distance of Lincoln’s Memorial Stadium. Today we have another brewery within walking distance of the stadium, as Surly Brewing Company is less than a mile from TCF Bank Stadium.

Surly Brewing Company

520 Malcolm Ave SE

Minneapolis, MN, 55414

Surly asks you to embrace your abrasive side, and they combine everything you need in a tap room. Their main taproom serves an array of pub fare and looks like a great place to stop before tomorrow’s kickoff. They also distribute throughout the Midwest, as I found them at Binny’s Beverage Depot a few weeks ago when I went to Illinois.

Here are some of their more intriguing options:

Hell Lager – 5% ABV – I actually tried this one as a single from Binny’s and it was a decent basic lager. Here is their description: Dorit Ansari is from Germany. Omar Ansari is her son. He has a brewery. She wanted a beer that reminded her of home. This is that beer.

Hell is a pale-gold lager not unlike the zwickelbiers popular in Dorit’s hometown of Bremen. It’s not filtered and it’s brewed with lager yeast. You can expect bready malt aromas and flavors, floral hops, and a balanced finish.

BTW: The name is a reference to the German word for “light”, not Satan’s nefarious kingdom, so you don’t have to sell your soul for another.

Heat Slayer – 5% ABV - The mercury climbs, the humidity oppresses, and the sun bakes. Our solution? HeatSlayer, a crisp, refreshing answer to the summer swelter.

#Merica – 5% ABV - Light gold in color, #Merica! is an old-school pre-Prohibition American Lager that was brewed in 2015 for the Annual D4th of July party put on by the Minneapolis-based punk band Dillinger Four. One of the only beer styles truly born in the U.S.A, pre-Prohibition American Lagers used corn as an integral part of the flavor profile, rather than as a simple substitute for barley malt. The flaked corn used in #Merica! comes across as a subtle, fresh corn flavor, while soft hop aromatics come from Warrior and Willamette hops, which add a mild fruity, herbal character that stays in the background. #Merica! is perfect for a hot summer day and celebrating the country’s birthday and 21 years of Dillinger Four.

Coffee Bender – 5.5% ABV - REFRESHES LIKE AN ICED-COFFEE, IS AROMATIC AS A BAG OF WHILE BEANS AND SATISFIES LIKE YOUR FAVORITE BEER.

Guatemalan coffee, roasted locally, added to Bender, our oatmeal brown ale. Coldpress coffee aromas, intense coffee flavors balanced by the oats in the malt bill, resulting in a cappuccino-like creaminess.

Surly has tons of other options, including at least half a dozen IPA variants. It looks like they can a fair amount of what they make, too. As I mentioned above, they were at Binny’s Beverage Depot in Champaign, so they can be found as close as Illinois. They are definitely worth checking out.