Minnesota’s Surly Nation
This month’s Minnesota brewery spotlight is a local favorite—Surly Brewing! As an innovative brewery committed to the Minnesota community, Surly is so much more than just a brewery. Surly pledges quality craft beer to Minnesota and beyond. Currently serving in 12 states, Surly continues to gain recognition for their distinct Midwest brews and community impact.
The Short History of Surly Brewing
As a relatively new Minnesota brewery, Surly began in a family-owned industrial abrasions factory near the end of 2005. Founder Omar Ansari convinced his parents to convert a portion of their abrasions factory into a brewery. After the release of their first beers Bender, an oatmeal brown ale, and Furious, an aggressively hoppy IPA, Surly’s name spread like wildfire throughout Minnesota. Even after converting the entire factory into a brewery, the demand quickly outgrew the space in the abrasions factory. Omar had a vision for a destination brewery after traveling abroad—but Minnesota’s outdated prohibition laws prohibited the sale of beer on-site.
Omar worked with Minnesota legislators to change the law and his efforts along with the presence of Surly Nation made way for a new era of Minnesota breweries. The “Surly Bill” passed in May of 2011 which now allows the sale of alcohol on site for breweries and distilleries in Minnesota. In December of 2014, Surly officially moved into the old Brooklyn Center Taproom—a 50,000 square foot facility with a brew house, beer hall, beer garden, company store, event center, pizza restaurant, and Festival Field venue.
Surly Gives a Damn
In addition to brewing classic craft beer, Surly has a volunteer organization called Surly Gives A Damn (SGAD) committed to bettering communities in Minnesota. With 2,425 volunteer hours in 2022, SGAD contributes volunteer hours along with charitable donations to further Minnesota’s education, environmental efforts, arts & culture, and human services. As stated on the Surly website, “Our volunteers are a really active, passionate bunch and man do they give a damn.” If you “give a damn” and want to volunteer with Surly, check out their volunteer opportunities on the Surly website today!
Surly’s Bold Beer Selection
With six brew categories, Surly offers their timeless classics while also pushing their creative experimental brews. Unlike other breweries, Surly cans their brews rather than bottling them. Their cans can easily be spotted considering they’re all covered in intricate eye-catching artwork. Their distinct flavors paired with coordinating bundle of colors and designs make Surly cans a perfect representation of each brew. This is one of those times where you can judge a book by its cover—or at least the taste of a beer by its can.
IPA
Front and center for Surly IPAs is the hoppy brew that made them famous—Furious IPA. Along with Furious, Surly offers 4 year-round IPAs and two seasonal IPAs.
Hop Forward
With a blend of juicy, citrusy, hazy, piney, and dank flavors, Surly’s Hop Forward brews will knock your socks off. With three favorite brews out of rotation and three brews limitedly brewed, Surly’s juicy pale ale Logic Bomb is the leading force for Hop Forward brews.
Crushers
Surly Crushers get their name because you’re bound to have another and leave a trail of crushed cans in your path. Bold fusions of sweet fruity flavors with classic ales results in six year-round brews and one seasonal Crusher.
Malt Forward
Surly’s Malt Forward brews are all about deep rich tastes cemented with heavy flavors. With five limited brews and an October fest lager, the main malt is Surly’s Coffee Bender brown ale.
Darkness
None are blacker than Surly’s Darkness brews. If you’re a fan of deep and distinctive dark stouts, Surly’s Darkness brews are for you.
Left of the Dial
Surly’s Left of the Dial brews include a mix of sour, sweet, and tangy flavors. With six limited flavors, Surly’s Prodigal Sunrise is the prodigal leader of this category.
Drink Surly with Us!
Stop by TimeOut Tavern to enjoy our selection of Surly brews! We are proud to serve beers from local Minnesota breweries like Surly and Schell’s. Helping support your local community can be as easy as drinking our selection of local Minnesota brews with a meal from our menu. Ask your bartender or server about what Surly brews we have available. See you there!