Abrasive Ale
August 3, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
So a friend of mine came to town months ago via Minnesota. As any good friend would do, she brought me beer! As a lover of the dear hop flower I was pleased to see that not only did she bring beer but she brought the amazing Surly Brewing Company Abrasive Ale, a Double Oat IPA!
Lets start with the packaging. The Abrasive Ale comes is a very cool 750ml can. I dig cans personally. I recently read, I think in the Beer Advocate magazine, about how people still complain about a metallic taste from caned beer. Well you aren’t supposed to drink from the can dummy. Seriously people, this is fine ale, not soda pop. One thing I dont dig about cans is the amount of plastic they use. They are able to avoid that awful metalic taste by lining the thing in plastic, not good for our health. Speaking of plastic. My friend was only here for a short bit so all she had in her abode was these plastic cups, don’t hate.
Good friends dont just bring you beer, they treat the beer right. That includes keeping it chilled and out of light, mostly important for teh home brews she brought as well, which I will tell you more about in my next post.
According to BeerNews.org, “Surly Abrasive Ale is the reincarnation of Surly 16 Grit, a popular growler-only beer that the brewery produced at the end of 2008- before it had to stop selling growlers.” It was originally called 16 Grit, a size of abrasive grit used at the old Abrasive factory that once stood where the brewery now resides. (fascinating history!)
The aroma is hop-sweetness right from the get-go. The ale is on the scene and you know it’s presence in the room. Pouring a bright copper colour with a nice white head this is a beautiful big ale.
The flavour is more of that sweet hoppyness. There is a malt backbone, oats? standing this beer up at all times. The mouthfeel is viscus and smooth. It is a big heavy beer and not a chugger at all.
In fact this isnt a surly beer at all (inclined to anger or bad feelings with overtones of menace). I found it rather friendly.
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