Surly Brewing

Darkness Day 2015. Five stars. I feel that that is enough of an explanation, but for those of you who need additional details, keep reading.
Darkness Day is essentially a free Surly metal concert (held at the old brewery) featuring food trucks and a bunch of dark, generally very limited, beer options.
We tried four. Four beers. Shared between two people. Over two hours. And we had to go sit in Caribou for a while before I felt comfortable driving home. Wowzers!
There’s Surly Darkness, which is kind of the event’s all star. People legit camp out for this stuff. In Minnesota October. And then pay $ 20 for a 750. I don’t know that I think it’s THAT good, but it’s pretty damn good. 12% ABV
We also tried the Damien and the Furious Black. They were good. You can see descriptions in the photo.
Annnnd the Pils. Which smelled like weed and tasted like old fungus. It was really bad. Shame on you, Surly.
Still five stars though, because I said so.
Seriously. Go next year. Devote a day to it.

I visited this brewery on Surlyfest weekend. By total accident, we showed up for their biggest beer fest and for the MN Gophers homecoming. The building is massive and located near University of MN. There is ample parking and is located on a bike trail, so they have lots of bike racks available.
The tap room is quite impressive. From the bathrooms to the merchandise store. The bar is large with plenty of seating and the tables are bierhall-​style. The industrial décor fits with where the brewery is located. There is an ample patio that looks delightful to sit on when the weather is pleasant.
I’ve had Surly brews before and have been delightfully pleased. I had the Cacao Bender on draft — 4.5 stars. I also had Todd the Axe Man, Doom Tree and Fest. None of these beers were below a 4 star rating. The Fest was interesting, as it was a hoppier version of the traditional Oktoberfest beers.
We did not have a chance to eat, but the food looked wonderful.
I’ll definitely be back to Surly when I make it to MPLS again. Next time, I want to explore some of the pubs in town so I can really get the full effect. MN is a destination for beer lovers — Surly is no exception. Thanks for the great service and delicious brews. Keep up the good work!

It’s hard for me to write a well rounded review for Surly, because there is just so much left to do here. The parking was adequate for how many people were squeezed in here. The décor was cool, the merchandise was very reasonably priced. Gear was actually stuff that I would wear and have in my house!
Their bartenders were knowledgeable and happy to give out samples to help patrons decide on their brew of choice — except with two bartenders the line was still 30 people deep (and that was in the separate UPSTAIRS bar, not the main level with restaurant. The line made it a little stressful to sit and talk beer with the employees.
Seating was a little thin, but it was quite painfully obvious that they just weren’t quite all put together yet — we look forward to coming back once they’re a little more organized and have some tours going!

My new review will be upgraded to 5 stars and this is why. We arrived on a cold winters day for the Surly’s new facility grand opening that cost them around 30 million dollars. The long line moved very quickly and that pleased me. Then I tried several
of their fantastic beers and gathered my company to the second floor for a merry conversation and to sip the velvety smooth Cacao bender. Once we had are fill we saw a very clean and modern brewery. The various fire pits were a nice touch to warm your hands outside. But all the staff we encountered seemed happy to be here and get people drunk or tipsy. People of Minnesota will enjoy this large and spacious place for years to come.

Awesome beer. Furious is my top choice. Go to Surlyfest if you get the chance — it is a great time. You may even get to dance with Omar.

This. Place. Is. Awesome. Seriously. The beer is soooo good. I tried Cynic and Pentagram and they were both delicious. Totally different from each other. Pentagram is my favorite so far. The BF had BLAKKR and Furious and loved both of them. BLAKKR was my favorite of the two. They had the Rusty Taco truck and that made the night even better. We love our craft beer. As transplants from Chicago, we knew finding new breweries would be the best part about moving. And we definitely lucked out, since it seems Minneapolis/​surrounding area has a super awesome craft beer scene. Win.

The beers are all fantastic! I mainly drank Hell the whole time I was here. Scott, our tour guide, was knowledgeable and friendly. Be sure to show up for each tour an hour beforehand to make sure you get a spot! I highly recommend this brewery to anyone living in or visiting Minneapolis!

My search for a world class brewery in the Twin Cities is over, but my search for a world class combo brewery/​brewpub continues.
I must admit, I LOVE Surly Furious beer. It is one of the best IPAs I’ve ever had, and I spent a few years in the Southern California elite beer scene. And the fact that it comes from a can (when not on tap) is amazing.
This brewery/​brewpub (should I say tasting room?) was kinda hard to find. It is behind a bunch of warehouses and such. But we found it. Inside looks nice, and it has a great store with a lot of high quality merch. The beer of course rocked my socks.
The problem with this place is it is SMALL, with very few seats. It was packed too. My girl and I had nowhere to sit, and I think we spent most of our time in the little store side room thing.
The décor is nice, especially around the taps.
I hear they are moving to a bigger location, and I’m looking forward to that.

What a great way to experience all the great flavours of a beer I already enjoy!
This is in a little seedy area of the city but not horrible. They have a nice sized tap room and very friendly staff that really know their beers. Nice gift shop and a great image of what they want to be know as, a great tasting beer (my take on it).
I have to say this might be a regular stop for me and I cant wait until the new location opens in one of my favourite areas of town!
KT

This is one of my very few 5 star reviews, and well deserving of it. I showed up at 2:15pm, just in time to get signed up for the 3pm tour. Scott was the tour guide and not only was he educational, he was also VERY humorous. I had a wonderful time here and I will most certainly be back. Keep in mind this is coming from someone who isn’t considered much of a beer drinker. My personal taste is stuff that isn’t hoppy and isn’t bitter. I’m relatively new to beer and my personal preference is beer that is dark and flavorful. Surly Smoke is a new favorite of mine and I will most certainly try to stock up at home. I thought I would like Coffee Bender, but it is much too bitter for my taste. I’m glad I finally had the opportunity to experience a tour and I HIGHLY recommend you take a tour if you have the chance. Keep in mind you can enjoy a beer from the taproom during the tour.

Surly beer gets a solid ⁴⁄₅.
If you want merch, Surly does it well.
Good service here too. Food trucks often.
But…I couldn’t help but feel very «blah» about being here. I’m not trying to be swooned away by a tap room but when you compare Surly against the others, I kinda feel like I’m in somebody’s basement with a few high tops, a decent bar, a 32″ TV and some painted concrete walls.
Sure, it gets the job done… but I don’t feel like hanging around here for the atmosphere.

This place was practically impossible to find for an out-​of-​towner. Apparently 46^th ½ St split into 47 & 48 St. So don’t bother look for the 47^th street if you are on Brooklyn Blvd because it ain’t there.
Anyway. I’ve had their core beers before; Bender, Coffee Bender, Hell, Abrasive, etc. So when I came here I was looking for some special stuff. Too bad they did not have that much specialties here on a Thanksgiving weekend. I understood Darkness is out of the question. But I did managed an El Negro Hefe and Damien to boot.
Service was good. Lots of people, pretty noisy. Not that impressive of a taproom though.

Last Saturday based on high rating here on Unilocal made my way with a friend to Surly Brewery. Here’s my take:
Parking: They have a parking lot, everyone parks on the street. Why don’t people park in the lot? Strange.
Atmosphere: Found the public/​drinking area bare and sparsely decorated. Mostly tables and bars along the wall for folks to stand at while drinking. Gets packed with people who are there to drink. Not at all pub like, not what I would call warm, cozy or inviting but not bad or unpleasant either. I would call it industrial with alot of Gothic and heavy metal touches. Not really my thing.
Beer: Now I have to say the best part — understandably — is the beer. Had the Abrasive IPA then the coffee infused Cacao (sp?) both of which were outstanding brews. Yum.
Tour: Not exactly a tour — you stand in the brew room and listen to a guy tell you about the brewery and its founding. That’s not a criticism mind you, I learned alot and he was rather entertaining.
Overall recommend — best part is the beer!

If you don’t have anything planned for a Saturday afternoon, then head out to the current Surly Brewery location in Brooklyn Center. No need to pack food as they always have a great food truck on hand to fuel your appetite. I have to say the «Abrasive» Double IPA is a fantastic, easy drinking, delicious IPA. They always have sports on the TV so if you can’t find anything to talk about with your friend or new friends, drink #craftbeer and watch TV. Their gift shop is full of items to buy your jealous friends who don’t live in MN and can’t get Surly beer.
We took the tour and it is interesting to see how big they are and to hear how much bigger they are about to become. Hearing the story of their start is pretty crazy too. It is FREE so why not take the tour. They fill up fast and happen at 2pm and 4pm on Saturday’s. We got there at noon, (actually we were in the parking lot at 11:30) when the doors open and there was already a line so I suggest come early. Now you know why people camp out for Surly Darkness Days.
They are now expanding shipping of kegs in Chicago. Imagine growing from 60 barrels to 600 barrel tanks. Maybe I heard it wrong, but they are expanding and 70% of the beer consumed is Surly Furious!
PS Just because the door is open before 12:00pm doesn’t mean go in before 12:00pm. Respect the team they get slammed all the time:) Cheers

Great beers. Had a few exclusives on tap that I appreciate a brewery having. Had the Pentagram and Urine Trouble which were both great.
We asked the bartender for recommendations for dinner and a beer shop and she came back with a hand written list of places. Crazy.
Only downside is you can’t buy cans from them. You’ll have to go somewhere else in town.

Stopped by the new Tap Room on Friday. I had the Cacao Bender. Loved it so much (and the fact that this is the only location you can buy it) I had to go back on Saturday to try it again. Note to Surly — Please keep this Tap Room open after the new one opens in Prospect Park. Be true to your Brooklyn Center roots and so I don’t have to drive all the way to almost Prospect Park to sample your beer. :)
I am now a helluva Hell fan too after giving it taste. I know Surly beer is available at quite a few bars/​restaurants these days. But, not all the various types in one location. That is why I love this place. So, I’ll definitely be back and I will make the trek to Prospect Park once it’s open.

The new tap room opens for business tomorrow! I don’t know what took Brooklyn Center so long to license them to sell their own been on site, but you no longer have to watch the tour availability schedule like a hawk to score the freshest batches of Minnesota’s most popular craft beer. The taproom has several pour sizes: primarily half pints and full pints of the «mainstream» brews, and 10 oz pours of the more specialty beers like Smoke and Coffee Bender. Most of the half pint pours cost a mere $ 3, so you can try a variety without breaking the bank. There are tables and chairs, but no formal outdoor seating, yet. It’s a bit noisy because it wasn’t designed to actually be a bar (the building is an old abrasives factory), so don’t expect a quiet evening schmoozing. If you expect a raucous night of boozing, you’ll certainly go home happy.
Now, they just need to work out some food truck partnerships. The lack of anything to soak up all that delicious beer makes the long drive home (from anywhere really, because, let’s be honest, no one lives in Brooklyn Center) precarious unless you planned a DD in advance. That said, it’s a big day for Surly drinkers.

This review isn’t for the tour, more the company and product.
Overall strange marketing– waiting lists at liquor stores here and beer being sent out of state to cliquey groups. It’s like a frat gone awry. Hey, your company, your rules.
Great beer, but at nearly $ 16 for FOUR CANS!!! Prettty proud of that beer eh?
For half that I can buy Tallgrass, an equally amazing product.
I can afford whatever beer I like, but if I stayed loyal to Surly, that wouldn’t be the case very long. And yes, a case would be $ 96!

Well worth the trip and wait to get the tour here. We enjoyed 5 free beers of our choice. That allows you to try a lot of what they have. The tour is very informative and fun.
I just wish they still sold the growlers :(
The bathroom there was pristine too. I’ve never seen a cleaner toilet. That is always a plus!
I think I’ll have to do that tour again!

Amen!