Surly Abrasive

Surly Brewing -  They are located in Minnesota and have zero distribution outside of that state.  Heck some people i know that live in Minnesota have never even heard about this small brewery.  Many people in the craft beer world have been hunting down bottles of the Surly Darkness which is their version of a Russian Imperial Stout and Surly Furious Ale which is their IPA.  Surly Abrasive Ale is a double IPA which comes in a 16 oz can and at a nice 9% abv.  The artwork on this can is awesome it is big, bold and in your face with what looks like a circular sander hitting a keg and exploding the hops.

Appearance -Pours nice hazy orange and keeps a good head when poured.  The head slowly calms down and leaves chunky white foam lacing throughout the outside of the glass. 

Smell - Pineapples, floral hops, pine & orange peel which smacks you right in the face when you pour it.  One of those DIPAs that you can smell almost 10 feet away because of how dank the smell of sweet hops come out of this.

Taste - OMG! Citrus & tropical fruit love nectar is what first comes to mind when this hits the mouth.  The floral hops mixed with huge pine taste as if it came straight out of the forest hits you and reminds you that this is a DIPAs and it is amazing.   The sweetness of this beer follows through from the citrus notes and finishes with a nice light hop pine flavor as it goes down.

Mouthfeel - First impressions is that this is one of those DIPAs that sticks to your teeth and inside your mouth.  The sweetness quickly covers the inside of your mouth and is like a small shot of syrup.  The carbonation is light and is still watery enough that the syrupy residue that sat in my mouth quickly fades away.

Overall - This is a beer I would dream of and can't wait until the next time I am offered to drink this beast.  This has been one of the best examples of an DIPA i have tasted in awhile because of the balance of the hops and the overall citrus flavors of this.  Many DIPAs out right now are trying to be way on the hopside or sweet side but this one stands out because both sides are tamed but still stand out.  If i was able to buy this i would have a good amount of these cans in my fridge at all times because it is one that tastes light and drinks like a low abv IPA and would go well with a lot of peoples palates. 

Food pairing - Curries, pulled pork dishes & caprese salad.  I would pair this with any food that is highly acidic because the citrus/pine flavor will cut through any acid/vinegar taste from food.