Surly Brettliquor I.P.A.

Here's a new one from Surly, draft only, recently released at Darkness Day, with extra kegs finding their way to bars. Like the one I run. So, I'm sitting down with this enticing brew, takin' notes. First off, the real quick skinny on "Brettliquor". "Belgian style Imperial IPA fermented with Brettanomyces and dry-hopped with Styrian Goldings. 8.3% ABV." That's how they put it, that's how it is.

Let's leap in and look at it. Clear, golden, apricottish appearance, large, looming, well-kept head, whitecaps sit prettily atop for quite some time, leaving abundant attractive lacing.

Aroma: sour, funk, and fruit. I recall that in a sales sheet, Surly calls this a "fruit bomb." I hate that term, any which way it's applied, but it's all up in the nose, that's for sure. Brimming with wild Belgian character, a little sweet, a little bitter, and a whole lot funked up. Love it. So unique, so unusual, so inviting.

Taste: Citrus and tropical fruits up front, followed by hop bitterness, ending dryly. Second sip in, it's very clear we've got a highly hopped-up Imperial IPA of some sort, but the Belgian quality never leaves your mind or your senses. It's a brilliant combination, with a flavor unheard of, reminding me at times of other Belgian IPAs, particularly American-brewed versions, like Flying Dog Raging Bitch or Harriet's West Side. But there's something quite extra at play here, and it's utterly delicious. Fruit continues in the taste, always matched with bitterness, and accompanied by that funkification.

Here's more information from Surly:

Style: Belgian Imperial Brett IPA. (You know, one of those!)
Malt: 2 Row, Aromatic, Crystal
Hops: Styrian Goldings, Chinook, Simcoe
Yeast: Brettanomyces
OG: 17.2% Plato
ABV: 8.3%
Color: 11 SRM.
IBU: 70

This has incredible balance, among such disparate components, and is ridiculously consumable, despite the high alcohol content. Taste-wise, it's genius, and it's definitely one of my favorite Surly beers ever, if not one of the best beers I've ever had. Really. When you get right down to it.

I remember liking this at Darkness Day, in a plastic cup, outside, among a noisy crowd on a cold day.

Right now, I'm practically in love with it.