Haze is the craze, and now Surly's gotten into the game. Now in the canned form, anyway. They've been piloting NEIPA variations since last summer at the Beer Hall and this final version, pieced together from the favorite parts of previous iterations, "thrashes into our entire distribution footprint this week. The Docs are laced up, the flannel is tied around our waist, and we're ready to rage against whatever machine you put in front of us." Okay, whatever.
All hazed up and cloudy, murky golden toned, slim white head perched above.In the nose: Dank hops. Expressions of citrus and tropical fruit, with a trace of pine. Sweet stuff, floral, funky. I'm hooked, so far.
In the mouth: Juicy hop flavors flood the palate, hops and yeast character apparent. Bright, sweet, and soft in mouthfeel, malt and hop delivery. Medium bodied, and easy drinking. Tangy. Tasty.
I'm still not on board the Haze Craze. I'll drink them, but every time I do, I wish it were a regular IPA. I don't see the appeal, or more precisely, why one would prefer this style to the non-hazy IPA. Give me the bitter, please, not this stuff. People like it, though, so I'll remain the lone dissenting voice, fading far off into the distance.
Maybe I've said this before, but I will say it once more: I feel that the people who favor hazy/NE IPA, or milkshake IPAs, for that matter, are those that never liked real IPAs in the first place, and were drinking them because they thought they had no other choice. Well, by gum, some of us liked it that way!
I like it enough that this is can #6 for me. I bought a 4-pack before Surly sent me a couple. And they all went down well. Here's the last one, the one I take notes on, and I have to say that Surly got it all pegged. It's soft on the palate and in bitterness, it's fruity and inoffensive. But, dang, it's missing that bite I want. Again, I have to say, they should call it something else. They just don't feel like IPAs to me.
I guess I'll have to stay among the ranks of the curmudgeonly. Earlier this year, Surly announced the end of Bender and Cynic, two of their first beers. There was some public outcry among their fans, a group to which I belong, but in reality, how many of them really bought those beers all that much? I bought both sporadically, but not significantly. If the brewery's not making money on them, what are they supposed to do? Some bemoaned the loss of these beers from their portfolio and wondered what would replace them, more IPAs? Yes, exactly. This beer and Sleek IPA are now year-rounds. If only folks were reaching for brown ales and saisons a little more often.
I've got a theory that these altered versions of IPAs are warping some palates and keeping drinkers from finding the styles they should be liking, and those styles will go away, fewer and fewer being brewed. We'll have all the hazy IPAs and no one will get to try Scotch Ales, Witbiers, Ambers and the like. It'll be sad days, for sure.
BREWED FOR: THE ACE OF SPADES, LACING UP YOUR DOCS, AND STARTING YOUR OWN SCENE
An absurd dose of Amarillo, Citra, and Mosaic dry-hopping hoists this IPA above the fray. Juicy and hazy, it’s the perfect soundtrack to the music in your head. Running in a circle and shoving yourself optional.
NEW ENGLAND IPA
COLOR
Hazy Gold
HOPS
Amarillo
Citra
Mosaic
MALT
Golden Promise
Carafoam
Unmalted Wheat
Flaked Oats
OG
16° Plato
YEAST
Burlington Ale
IBU
Low
ABV
7.2%
SURLY MN USA
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