Chicagoist's Beer Of The Week: Surly Mild

By Jason Baldacci in Food on Mar 21, 2014 8:20PM

We were really excited when Minnesota's Surly Brewing Co. started sending beer back down to Chicago last November. This week, we're taking a look at one of the brewery's seasonal releases.

Surly Mild is an English-Style Mild Ale from Brooklyn Center, Minn. It pours amber-brown in the glass, with tan foam that's reminiscent of the crema on top of a shot of espresso. We pick up a myriad of roasted malts on the nose, giving off aromas of toffee and butterscotch. On the palate, we're met with a little bitter cocoa nib, a hint of spiced nuts, and a touch of toasty tobacco. The hop profile is earthy, but very subdued, offering up just a little lingering bitterness on the backend and letting the malts stand front and center. This beer is incredibly sessionable, and a great example of a classic, English style that we don't see much of on this side of the Atlantic. At 3.8 percent alcohol content, Surly Mild is very light in body, but still packed with plenty of flavor.

We love beers like this because they're brewed to be easy drinking. In a time when a lot of breweries are making Double and Triple IPAs and aging their Imperial Stouts in Bourbon Barrels, we're glad to see Surly taking a stab at a traditional style and keeping it around 4 percent alcohol by volume. If you're the kind of person who feels guilty for having a beer at lunch (don't look at us), a beer like Surly Mild might help to relieve that guilt. You could easily down a pint or two and still have a productive afternoon. If you want to have a couple beers after work and be able to stay awake to catch up on your DVR when you get home, a beer like this is perfect.

Surly Mild is only available on draft in a handful of places, check beermenus.com to see where you can find a pint this weekend.