Surly - Five

I'm especially excited for tonight's review.  Surly Brewing has been in existence for five long and prosperous years.  They have made it a tradition to brew an anniversary ale every year since their inception.  Each ale is a unique brew that is only released once.  After all the bottles are sold, you are SOL.  You will never be able to taste that beer again.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to get my hands on a bottle of Four last year.  And years prior to that I was naive to Surly's anniversary creations.

So tonight is my first experience with a Surly anniversary brew.  Five is unlike anything Surly has brewed before. Five is 100% fermented with Brettanomyces.  "Brett", as it is affectionately known in the brewing world, is a type of yeast that produces a distinctly sour flavor throughout your beer.  Some of you may be thinking "Why the hell would anybody want a sour beer?  Isn't that a bad quality?"  In most beers, yes.  If you open a Pilsner and you taste sour, throw that crap down the sink.  However, Brett is unique in that the sour quality added to the beer is one that plays nicely with the other ingredients commonly found in beer.  The most prominent examples that utilize a sour flavor are Fruit Lambic and Gueuze beers - the primary flavors in these styles involve fruit (duh).  However, it wouldn't be a Surly beer unless they took a normal use for an ingredient and turned it into something completely unique.

The first thing you notice with this beer is the bottle.  How cool is that art work?!?  Plenty of breweries include unique art work on their bottles but I haven't seen anything that compares to Surly.  Aesthetic Apparatus is a local Minnesota art shop that was commissioned to create the label for Five.  I love the dark green theme with a demon-like antelope (I think).  Its an image I wouldn't want to face in my dreams.

Five is a dark ale aged in red wine barrels.  Both Todd Haug and Omar Ansari wrote a note on the back of the bottle describing the inspiration and tasting notes for their fifth anniversary ale.  Todd mentions the use of Dark Munich to provide a smooth malt chewiness along with a few tasting notes that include cherry, tobacco and oak.  He also mentions that this ale can be consumed immediately or be cellared for a few years.  I'm obviously going with his initial recommendation.

Surly Five looks like a demon flowing out of the green-waxed top.  Smooth as oil with a minimal tan foam, this ale is a very deep mahogany which lets no light through.  The aroma is distinctly "Brett".  Not Favre, although he looks like someone who smells sour.  Hints of tobacco, cherry, and I think red wine support the initial sour aroma.  The flavors are amazingly smooth.  The Dark Munich really gets the job done here.  Sweetness from the Munich offset a noticeable sour base flavor.  Its not subtle, but its also not overpowering. This sour tang supports the cherry, oak, green apple, subtle chocolate and tobacco flavors throughout.  Carbonation is very low which keeps the sour flavors from becoming too sharp.  I also am having trouble finding any alcohol flavors as well.  I have no idea what the ABV is but I imagine its above 7%.  It wouldn't be a Surly beer otherwise.

Overall - I must say, I've never tasted a beer like this.  The profile is extremely complex.  I couldn't discern all of the flavors but I'm sure others will have no problem.  Everything blends together nicely between the sour, sweet, earthy and fruity characteristics.  This isn't an everyday beer but its one that you must try.  If you have an adventurous palette you should try to hunt down a bottle.  This is a very limited release so go find one now!!!