Surly Hell Munich Helles Lager/Zwickel/Keller bier. 4.5% ABV. 20 IBU. Minneapolis & Brooklyn Center, MN.
I first wrote notes on this one in August of 2008, when I first tapped a keg of it. It was released in cans the next year. Many Surly fans had no idea what they were buying. Four Firkins owner Jason Alvey tells a story of how quickly people emptied his store of Hell, and how one IPA lover who grabbed his fill, returned to tell him that "it tasted like Grain Belt." That's the problem when consumers expect a brewery to only make one kind of beer, and when they are unfamiliar with a style, they come aways disappointed that it's not as hoppy or full-bodied as they'd like.
I had one tonight, ...here's what I wrote nearly three years ago:
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| Photo of the 2018 Vintage, much better than the 2011, still preserved below, with notes from 2008. |
Hazy straw yellow, big, lovely white head...
Beautiful aromatics, floral, herbal,...a trifle grainy...but altogether pleasing.
to drink: bing: there's the smooth. Bang: there's the malt, and Boom:...there's no Boom...just the smooth and the malt, and some light hops, plus the deliciousness of the yeast.
Disclosure: To those who don't know already, I'm not a lager lover. Just not enough flavor. I'm partial to unfiltered brews, as well. Like Belgian ales, some German ales, certain Americans...like Surly...wait, Surly made a
German lager...and it's unfiltered? Sign me up...wait, I'm already drinking it...oh, okay...
I do like kellerbiers, when I find them. Can't think of one I haven't liked. Kep that yeast in, please! More flavor, por favor!
And here I am drinking Hell (a name I wish they'd saved for an abbey ale, or something, but I'm not in charge, am I?)...and I am enjoying it. If this had zero yeast in it, I probably would report the doldrums by now, but there's just enough going on in the mouth to keep my tastebuds happy.
Clean, yet fully flavored. You can hand this to a lager-lover and win them over, I think. Hey, it worked with me!
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