Monday, August 24, 2015

Surly Todd the Axe Man IPA


Surly Todd the Axe Man. India Pale Ale. Originally brewed by the Danish brewery Amager in honor of Todd Haug and his musical skill. The bottles that were imported here sold out quickly and were never seen again. It wouldn't be like Omar or Todd to make a beer and name it after themselves. They merely re-created Amager's tribute and kept the self-aggrandizing name. Nothing wrong with that. And now, it's in cans, and now I'm drinking one. "Beer to shred your face, in a can." Let's see if my face gets shredded.

1 pint, 7.2 % alc. by vol.

Appearance: Lightly hazed, bright golden/amber-hued, solid ivory head, leaving a little lace.

Aroma: Ah, there's the stuff, that's the spark. A bit of tropical fruit character is mixed in with the usual citric suspects. Some pineapple and mango to match orange and grapefruit. The gentlest whiff of cat pee takes time with the scent of the pine forest floor. Some floral meets the fruit, and it's quite lovely. (Gosh, that didn't sound metal at all....perhaps I should imagine it reminds me of great suffering and horrible pain? Conjures images of demonic hordes and rivers of blood, etc., etc?)

Taste: Fierce flood of hoppy delights ensues from the onset. Nice and bright, aggressive, assertive, all
the wonderful things you want from a big and bold IPA. "Wonderful things"? How utterly un-metal of me. How about: "fills the fateful warrior with the pleasure one only gets from vanquishing foes underfoot and defiling their families with vileness and violence." Man, I should go to Munster, Indiana and work for Three Floyds.

Hops deliver the goods, but the bright, buoyant Golden Promise malts really do the trick with this one. Medium-bodied, long, bitter finish. Tasty as heck. Incredibly enjoyable. No, I can do better than that. "Rewarding as the moment of perpetrating unthinkable evils upon an unworthy world." Hmmm. Not great. I shouldn't write heavy metal lyrics.

Hey, look, there's some gobbledygook, let's find out how Surly sells it. "The Axeman Cometh. Amager Brewery in Denmark named this beer after our head brewer and heavy metal guitarist Todd Haug. They collaborated to make an IPA with hop character as intense as a thrash metal guitar. Golden Promise malt provides a blastbeat background to the screaming citrus notes created by overdriven amounts of citra and mosaic hops. Pour this in a tulip glass and let the aromas and flavors assault your senses."

1 comment:

Unknown said...

It's good beer, and you can drink it.