Josiah White

Review of Surly Brewing Co.

I'm a little bummed writing this review, because I...

I'm a little bummed writing this review, because I've always been a big fan of Surly beer. My fiancee and I finally decided to try out the brewery and get dinner there. The bar area we sat at was nice, and the service was very accommodating. However the food was underwhelming for the price. I'm a huge fan of fried chicken sandwiches so I got the Kentucky hot sandwich along with a pretzel to share. The pretzel was a little too hard on the outside and wouldn't have been worth finishing if not for the tasty dipping cheese. The sandwich was a big letdown. It's flavor profile was heavy on the black pepper which washed out any ability to taste the chicken or aioli. The fries were fine but nothing special. As for the beer, the taste was fine, but the prices blew me away, 6-7 bucks for 10 oz glasses, many of which didn't have pint options despite not being high in ABV. I could have gotten a pint of their flagship beers for cheaper or the same amount at a different bar.

All in all, this is definitely a brewery where you pay a premium for the atmosphere.