Surly 1349 Pale Ale

Hey, check it out, another Surly beer that I've notated upon in the past month, unable to reveal to you until now. It's another ...well, you'll get the picture once you read these notes...from July 22, 2015, at 3:44 A.M.

Surly/Lervig 1349 Pale Ale. Alc. 6.66% by Vol. (naturally.) Brewed and bottled by Surly Brewing Company, Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center, MN.

Hmmm. Another collaboration with a Scandanavian brewer, another beer inspired by a heavy metal band. Ho hum. Get out of your rut, Surly! Make a beer with an Argentinean brewery, inspired by a barbershop quartet.

This is one of two 1349 beers, the Pale one. Okay, the wax is off, the cap removed, the ale in the glass. Let's drink:

Appearance: clear, bright golden, slimmish, but lasting chalk white head.

Aroma: Lovely, lovely piney and citric hop notes hit first. Tropical tones are ushered in next, Pineapple, orange, mango, guava. Soft, supple, sensuous.

Taste: Again, bittersweet hop notes board the palate first, some floral tones, too, but fruit remains dominant. Lean, that is to say, light-bodied. Exquisitely drinkable. Bright and beautiful citrus and tropical fruit notes explode on the tongue. Bitterness remains steadfast, holding strong, but falters or wavers or edges into the realm of the overbearing. It's high hopping reminds one of double IPAs, but the moderate alcohol level keeps it from becoming one.

There's some grandiose verbiage on the back of the bottle, urging us to revel in the Dionysian pleasure(!). A lot of gobbledygook. It does introduce a new word to me, one I'm aching to understand: "feinschmacker." I'm not sure what that means, but I know they've been called worse.

Oh, yes. It's good beer, and you can drink it. But, I don't think it's worth $15 a bottle. I've seen the Dark Ale going for $20. Bring it down, guys, they can't all stand with Darkness.