Surly Wet

Last night, Wednesday, the occasion of our 5th Anniversary party for Surly at the Blue Nile, was fun, exhausted, joyful, and painful. I'm getting old, and I worked hard, so in the end, I pay the price. But, it was good times and good beer. Great to have Todd and Omar, as well as some other hard-working Surly-ites there, and the many fervent followers I've known through the years. From 6 0'clock until half-past, I was a cask cherry-wood Bender pumping machine. From 7pm until all the tickets were honored, I was a Imperial Brown Eye pouring machine, and from 8 o'clock until all the red ones were collected, Pentagram glass-filling was my only goal. I didn't sell any more after that, because there were some ticket holder who weren't going to make until 10, and I had to save the beer for them. There was just enough in the keg for theirs, and a little left over for us, for both the brown and the Pentagram. It was very satisfying to be able to actually drink and enjoy the beer we'd been pouring, after our long day was over. Happens so rarely, actually. Most of us didn't get any Moe's Bender, and none of us got any cask cherrywood Bender.
(The posts of the other day, actually were tasted Tuesday, an advance tapping that I did just to make sure I got some, in case I didn't. Have to prepare for those eventualities.

So, while we're still in a Surly mood, here's Wet. I actually did something similar to that Andescher and held on to a can of Wet for way too long, not for 3 years, but for 3 months or so, I have no idea why. Here's what the can reads:

"Get Surly! You are about to drink a wet hop beer - brewed with American hops so fresh they've never had the chance to dry out. Day 1: picked. Day 2: shipped. Day 4: tossed in the brew. The only delay from the field to your glass is the time it takes for fermenting. The hop varieties vary, but you can always expect the intense resinous character that only comes from the fresh hops. This ain't a beer for aging. The beer quickly loses its aromatics. So invite your friends over and enjoy this West-Coast Style IPA...now."

I always found that "now" kind of funny. "Now! It's no good if you wait! Now, shchnell, Achtung!" People started to speculate, "this is a week old, is it still any good." That was really funny. "No, it's crap now, don't buy it."

Well, after months...yep, it lost it's luster. Nothing bad about it, just not as fantastic as it was.
Anyway, here are my notes from my first serious sit-down sampling back in October of 2009, very shortly after I first sampled it.
Check the note about how many I had at the initial release. Five just because I couldn't help myself, another because Omar ordered one for his wife, and it was too hoppy for her, so he gave it to me, and the last because it was on happy hour, and I couldn't help myself.


"1400 Pounds of hops in one batch. One small batch. 50 barrels, was it? Centennials and Chinooks, picked in Yakima, WA and shipped off to Brooklyn Center, MN, tossed into the brew kettle a mere three days after the picking. Wet as in not dry, not old, fresh as they get. Big, bright, bold, brash hops up in there and all over. So good I had 7 pints in a row at it's release. Two nights later, I sit down with one to investigate it.

Appearance: clear, bright crimson...dazzling...big, creamy beige head, rocky, lace leaving, ...lovely....great looking glass of beer.

Aroma: pine needles, lemon zest, orange rind, grapefruit, bright, fresh, lively, beautiful. Hop lovers rejoice, this is heaven, here in the nose.

Taste: Bam! Big fat hop blast on the palate, fresh and fruity, gobs of resiny hop oily goodness dripping all over...so much transferred from the leaf, the cone, the plant...the flavor swims around, the bitterness spills and clings to the corners. Sticks and survives. Hangs on. Nothing but the essence of the hop here. Big and juicy. So tasty. Mmmm...yu-um.

Hardly any malt feel in this one, just barely enough to keep it beer, but there's no complaints here, and the hop bitterness keeps grabbing, keeps holding it's ground. Hangs on, clings, stays, survives. Lays in. Blends in. Fades back and becomes part of the background. Never leaves.

Yum, I say. I say, Yum. Such a treat in the mouth, for the afifcciando of the hop. Gets no better than this.

I know that Fresh Hop/Wet Hop isn't a style, but if it were, it would be my favorite. Bar none. Hands down.

Drinkability is amazing, actually. I forgot to ask about the ABV on this, but it's not much. I'd guess 6% or so. If it were more, I couldn't drink as much as I can. It's amazing. Mmmmm. Love me the hops. Mmmmm."