Surly Brewing Co. Review

I've been to many breweries that are different sizes from big, medium to small operations throughout the State, Midwest and South. Surly is of my favorites and is one of the bigger breweries with this new location. The space is awesome, the patio is even better than inside and the drinks selection is very impressive. Definitely a place to check out if you are in the area.

Super cool brewery specializing in West Coast style IPAs. A great mix of different style beers overall though.

Top 3 things:
1. It's a beer hall so.... that part is obvious. But this place is also all about the food!
2. Hog Frites
3. The smoked meats - Pork and Brisket

Things I wish I knew ahead of time:
1. Upstairs is a great and different type of pizza place (used to be more of a upscale restaurant)
2. Be prepared to wait - it gets super busy but I've never had an issue with finding a place to park
3. It's pretty much one of the best things in the cities, the beer, the food, the outdoor space, it's great. Come in the early afternoon with some friends and just hang out and enjoy that this all exists in one place.

Is this place owned by Anheuser Busch? Not at all what I would want from a place that I was expecting to be a micro-brewery. I appreciate what Surly did for the micro-brewery scene in Minnesota, but they have strayed way too far from their roots opening a wanna-be "club". If you are looking for a cozy place to have a beer this is not it. Surly is the type of place I would expect to see college frat-boys smashing beer cans on their heads. There are many other breweries in the area that I would rather visit....try Wabasha, Fairstate, Broken Clock, Able, or 612.

Surly is clearly taking the safety of their customers, employees, and the community seriously. I haven t physically been to
a restaurant since the pandemic started until I had gone to Surly. Everyone was wearing masks when not eating/drinking/distanced. They have very easy to follow protocols in place. They also have amazing food! Their pizza is excellent. I no longer drink, but back when I did I have fond memories of their beer, too.

A well-done tour by a guide with fantastic knowledge and humor (ask for Forest as your guide). Plenty of free samples where you learn WHY beer tastes like it does, AND you get a souvenir glass! Fantastic value. My one gripe is that I would have liked to see more of the actual beer making process in action. But still, totally worth the price.

Absolute best brewery experience in the cities. Excellent food plus extensive tap list of well-made brews that are often only sold here and not in stores. A must-visit for anyone looking for a great summer evening.

We love surly! What a great experience and the beer never disappoints!

Such a fantastic destination brewery. The new pizza restaurant upstairs is delicious paired with a cold Surly. And the evening view from the balcony makes a Minnesotan proud. Cheers!

I hate to write one star reviews but I left very disappointed and this is not the first time. We had a large party and our server was not very good or very busy (too many tables). It was a Thursday night and I arrived late to join my group. It took a while before they took my order and 25 more minutes after i finished my drink. I expected her to ask me for food order right after but she did not. This is not a big deal since its a busy place, the worse part is when I complained to the "managers" I got the worse response ever. Its what you would expect from a biker bar in the middle of nowhereville. If you want to come and just hangout in the awesome looking patio or just chat with people, its perfect for you. If you want and expect good service (and are willing to pay the premium prices for it) this is not your place. You will not be treated with respect and hope to god you dont try to complain to a manager. I am very sorry because I love the beer and the location. Maybe Omar the owner will do something about it, but at the moment they have so much business they really dont seem care.

It's a brew hall but you need to stay in your same seat the whole time for some strange reason. I don't get it at all and won't be back ever.

Holy moly, food was fast beer was great, and Paul was an amazing server!!!! Highly recommend!!

This would be a 5 star review if I didn't have to wait 1 1/2 hours to be seated! The beer is amazing, my husband and I have been fans for a long time. My favorite is the Coffee Bender and he loves Furious. It was fun to try some beers that aren't available outside of the brewery. The tours were sold out for the day so we'll have to come back another time. Once we were seated we were served promptly. We started with the pretzel with spicy mustard (amazing) and I ordered the NY Strip steak, smoked potatoes and we split a side of brussels sprouts. My steak was a perfect medium rare and the sprouts had a surprising kick of lime that was amazing. I wasn't a fan of the potatoes but my husband wolfed them down readily enough along with his burger. We'll go back, but maybe in the middle of the day to take a tour and be seated more promptly.

Great place, great food, great variety of beer for anyone.

Awesome beer selection. More than you can find in a liquor store. Food was also excellent.

The good:
--beers were great
--food was good
--like the industrial design vibe

The bad:
--1 1/2 hour wait for table and long lines for beer. No great places to hang out
--$200 for four people for beer and upgraded bar food seems a bit pricy

My aunt was home for a visit from England recently so we got on the harley and took a ride to Minneapolis for the day, I reserved a spot on the tour a couple of days ahead of time so we wouldn't miss out on it like we did a couple of years ago. I'm so glad we were finally able to tour Surly, our tour guide was full of energy and information, we could tell he was passionate about his job and the industry. He did a great job of explaining the ins and outs of the brewery and the brewing process. Surly is a really cool place to visit, they offer a great atmosphere and there's a really chill vibe about the place. Three whole property is laid out really nice, its definitely a destination, it's a place you could spend the day hanging out with friends and family or just chilling in the corner with a beer catching up on work.

the staff is friendly and helpful.

We had great time and I can't really come up with anything negative to say, the experience was really great!

Awesome Space, huge brewery with an informative tour, and although I didn't eat food it all looked wonderful. 10/10

The beer is great, the space is huge, the food is good and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. A great place to visit whether you're a young couple (such as my wife and I) or a family with 3 kids looking for a fun day out. Plenty of games to keep the kids entertained while you work your way through an extensive list of fantastically crafted brews.

The 60 below IPA is killer! Only reason I'm not giving it five stars is because of this new trend of wooden tables and hard chairs Surly has bought into. I'm hanging out with my friends for more than an hour, I need something better to sit on!

Our tour was a great experience. The guide, Colby, was enthusiastic and knowledgable. He was happy to answer our questions, and made sure that we learned a lot and had a good time. I would have happily spent more time talking about the brewery and beer (and trying new beers), but I was satisfied with the time we got. The souvenir glass is pretty cool, too.

As always, the beer was fresh, tasty, and interesting. We toured at 1:00-2:00 and then sat at the bar until about 4:30; we didn't eat. The bartenders were also friendly and informative.

Def the best brewery I've been to in MN for sure. There's plenty of outdoor patio seating, and indoor communal seating on the 1st and 2nd floors. It was a Saturday night so very busy with patrons. I like how there were several places to order a drink (as this helped diffuse the waiting time). Beer selection is phenomenal- plenty of IPAs, seasonal, lagers, you name it. They also have food, swag, public brewery tours, and even private party rooms. Great first time experience here and can't wait to visit again soon.

Public parking is available. They have a lot but there's also a general dirt road by the tracks, that everyone seems to parallel park and it's not an issue.

Always a great place to get some food and a couple beers.

Great food. Good selection of beer. The menu is limited however. The one thing that prevents this from being five stars is the separation of the pizza restaurant and the other food restaurant. Pizza upstairs and everything else downstairs, no mixing. Basically you have to decide what you want to eat prior to arriving. However, the two beers I had were good and I would return to this establishment again if given the opportunity. The serving staff was polite and fast and the restaurant was clean. There is a gift shop area for shirts and water bottles, etc.

Not a bad place, very trendy and very apparent they charge too much based on the massive amount of money they have dropped on the place.

Lively and fun. Great selection of beers and ales. The beer hall was vibrant and the wait staff was enthusiastic. Loved the extra large pretzle. Three thumbs up!

Super clean, cool, fun envirnoent. Food was good and served quickly! Seating takes a bit, but I'd say worth it. Overall good time

Surly is fantastic! Recently did their tour and really enjoyed it. Free samples and a cute tasting glass you get to keep. Menu for vegetarians has recently improved - the vegetable toast was fantastic! Even when this place is crazy busy you can usually find parking in the giant lot which is helpful. Staff is always smiling and helpful - they seem to really love working here!

I'm a chef. Was brought on the brewery tour. Then after was in for more of a surprise. Their food. Amazing best in years what a compliment to the palette. Can't wait to go back

My 1 must-go-to in Minneapolis, every time I visit. No matter what I eat or drink here, it makes the entire visit worthwhile. If it is a date, or you want to bring the kids and dogs, this is a place where everyone can enjoy, particularly in the summer. Don't forget the tour; it's absolutely worth the charge (paid back in beer and humor!).

How to order and pay was challenging and nobody really wanted to help us so much.... it's why we only stayed for 1 round...and the wait staff was not very friendly at all... I was trying to give grace, considering I figured people aren't happy about losing their jobs, but I've also worked in customer service enough to know that you all need to be kind and friendly/social.

Tried your beer last night tasted like pine sap didn't experience any other flavors as can stated was worst thing I tried in my life. That's 12 bucks wasted at concert.

Never disappoints. Food is fabulous. Service is great too. Beer is always good and always new ones added. Great space, especially when weather is good.

Tour was fantastic! Big John was hilarious and a great tour guide. We ate afterwards and it was worth the short wait!! Food was phenomenal and the service was FAST!! Can't wait to go again!!

Been here multiple times now. Great service, amazing food, great beer, nice atmosphere. Love this place. Occasionally a bit long of a wait, but it's easy to grab a beer and chat at the bar.

This place is huge! I loved the food, service was great, and the beers were perfect! Just seeing the large brewing equipment through the glass is amazing! It gets crowded and really busy, but I guess that just means they're doing a great job right?

Surly's pizza is now open upstairs. Counter style ordering and they provide table service when your pizza is ready. Thin crust pizzas, appetizers, and salad are available upstairs. Outdoor seating is available in the summer

Awesome brewery. Amazing selection of beer on tap. Great outdoor space. A destination brewery.

Beer is fantastic Food is a bit on the expensive side - $9 for a single tiny piece of sausage. Normal brewery food would get this place 4 to 5 stars easily.

This was my third time to Surly. My previous experiences had been good. I was with a group for a friends going away party. The hostess wouldn't seat us until we had at least five people there. Yet a woman was seated by herself at a large table as her party trickled in. Waited over an hour for a table. The hostess then said we would have to be separated as she couldn't get a table big enough for us. We were ok with this. We filled up one table and then a few of us were going to sit down at another table the hostess said we could have. As we were trying to sit down another party came and were being seated at the same time. The host let them sit there so about 12 of us squeezed into the first table. No apologies and the hostess was being rude. Our server was great but the other server that brought our food out was extremely rude. It was very loud and she was calling out the food, no one answered so she said "I'm only going to say this once." Really? Very disappointed with my experience. I do like the beer and food but not sure if I will return. There is no reason for staff to be rude.

As an avid homebrewer and beer conisueerI have always looked forward to their beer and what they represent. However, tonight both my wife and I were treated terrible!! There for date night and my eyes "appeared" red so they wouldn't serve me anymore. Really?? People falling down drunk all around but red eyes from allergies and annoying contacts. Also,pretty suspicious that my wife's phone from the bar top went accidentally missing. Omar, if you read this, thanks for the great beer but maybe work on some real customer service.

Regards,

I quit Surly

Beer and food is top notch. Tour was lame. Beer is way too good for such a boring tour

Great atmosphere and solid food and beers. What's not to like?

Quick stop off the Greenline before U2 concert. Very nice establishment, will be back!

If you plan on doing the brewery tour buy your tickets at least a week in advance, getting a table for lunch or whatever can take a substantial amount of time. It is a good sized place but they get REALLY busy and fill to capacity.
Tour was informative and fun, great easy going atmosphere. Food was very good and very quick to get to the table our party of 8 took literally 10 maybe 15 minutes from order to eating. Servers were well informed and great for advice with beer selection.
Would beer again.

I've always enjoyed Surly beer, but this new location is perpetually overcrowded with tourists and suburbanites, serves overpriced food, and doesn't seem to handle reservations well at all. I'd much prefer a more intimate beerhall experience over this chrome gymnasium, and luckily Minneapolis is lousy with them.

Beautiful crisp evening in an atmosphere that felt safe and inviting

Great beer and a good community steward. Try the Stout.

Great tour guide and desirable beverages! Very quick food and service.

One of my favorite place to chill with friends. Good food and beer. Wish they had more Stout beer option but overall very nice place. Especially the summer time, its nice place to chill outside and drink, my favorite is good stout beer and the cheese board. Recommended

Amazing place to take friends to due to a relaxing atmosphere! I will come back again and again.

My husband loves beer, I do not, however I thought this would be a fun place to spend an afternoon and I was right! And BONUS, I found a beer that I can actually tolerate!!! I would recommend to anyone looking for a fun, chill place to spend an afternoon and hang out with friends or a loved one. Surly really knows how to serve up a good time.

Great eggs benny and good Bloody Mary but overall outstanding service!!! Mona was fabulous. Flying through Minneapolis and stopped to have some breakfast. Excellent music and fun vibe! Thanks Mona for making it a great day!!

Hard to beat the best beer in town with an incredible space to drink it.

Lunchtime and we brought two children with us. The food was wonderful, as always, and the service was very good. We always enjoy Surly.

Fun atmosphere and of course fantastic beer. I could only stop in for a quick sampling, but the server was very friendly and knowledgeable. If you are in the area I highly recommend stopping in.

Giving a solid 3 great vibe, great beer. Awful server! Totally uninterested in serving us, trying to get a second round of drinks was nearly impossible. That's after round one and food was gone. He was so put off when we flagged him down. Only gave a 20% because it was the right thing to do. He certainly did not earn his $100 from us. When letting the amazing host know about the issue. ...' yes he gets like that sometimes'... really this is acceptable behavior? Why? Very disappointing

Pizza, yes the pizza is tremendous. Plus great beer as always.

Amazing beer and grub with quality exceeding the cost. Delicious and filling food. Upbeat atmosphere. Make sure, if you want a table, to arrive early, as weekends can have waits over 2 hours. However, you can easily find standing space, high table space, or bar seating. Amazing gifts and souvenirs for good prices.

Great ambience, amazing food and drinks but its usually very busy so plan for a bit of a wait!

Great food and drinks.
Service can get slow sometimes if there is a big crowd.

This is a review for their "restaurant". The menu was literally an 8.5x11 sheet of paper but then they tried to make it "hip" with select "fancy" foods. Maybe 15 things on their menu... rabbit being second. And then $7 for a single pretzel that the people next to us had and looked like you would get at a Target food court. Our waitress also never came back after I told her why we weren't eating, so I got pissed and had to go up to the bartender to tell him we had two drinks to pay for, then she suddenly showed up again.

Why weren't we eating? Well Surly folks - I'm a long time fan. I went there for my Birthday and was so excited to see the new brewpub. Had 150 bucks burning a hole in my pocket to spend in the gift shop. Damn though, sat down and realized they have rabbit on the menu! Honestly never would have thought I would be a rabbit person as I've always had cats and dogs, but my girlfriend and I now have 4 house rabbits. Awesome pets and smart, we have ours taught tricks, they are litter box trained, and respond to their names and other commands. So it's really not cool with us to have the now third most popular pet in the US on the menu. I wouldn't expect DOG or CAT to be on the menu either. I was seriously so disappointed and seriously can't support Surly any more until that comes off the menu and they don't contribute to the slaughter of them. They may think (and those who eat it) that they are serving the wild rabbit you see in yards or the woods, but that's not what it is - it is the white ones that people would associate with the Easter bunny. I've always bought Surly, always bought the special edition yearly brews as well as Darkness. Damn I love their beer but these are my morals. Does it really need to be on the menu?

What an incredible experience!!! First visit to Minneapolis from Tampa, Florida and absolutely enjoyed my wonderful stay at the Moxy Minneapolis Uptown! The HIGHLIGHT was chatting with Dave from Surly Brewing Company! Not only was Dave handing out koozies, stickers and pins, he was giving samples of AMAZING BEER!!! No I m not just tipsy, it really was Fantastic! I enjoyed the DARKNESS STOUT and all I can say is... WOW!! Forget Guinness, GO DARKNESS!! Soooooo smoooth and malty! Yummy! THANK YOU DAVE for the wealth of information and the professionalism!! DAVE NEEDS A RAISE!!! Looking forward to a TOUR if I can squeeze it in after the Vikings/Broncos game tomorrow. I highly recommend trying this beer!! Looking forward to FURIOUS tomorrow at the STADIUM!!! Thanks again Dave and SURLY BREWING CO!!! Will be back for MORE!!

Great beer. Great space. The lawn is an amazing experience. Fire, games, grass, and stuff. Kids and fog friendly. I think I'm still drunk writing this review. Omg their pizza is pretty good! I loved it!

Great great experience. Bring your friends for a good beer in a cool, modern and comfortable location!

The beer here is some of the best you will get anywhere .. the hamburgers with the homemade pickles was also very good.. where they lost a star was the Ruben sandwich it was so greasy it was dripping with grease on the plate.. i couldn't eat it .. overall worth the wait .. if you want to beat the crowd go on a week day and around lunch .. after 5pm a longer wait .. and parking gets very hard to fine after 6pm..

Surly is always busy, but the beer is tops and the food is delicious!

Seems to have gotten very corperate. Please bring back the old surly we all fell in love with!!!

Delicious beers of all types, great food! Get the broccoli appetizer and a furious. Huge indoor space, huge outdoor space.

Best brewery in the Twin Cities, well, really in the world:)

Really fun patio atmosphere and if course great beer.

Place was very crowded on a Friday night. We were from out of town and had no idea what to expect. A bit overwhelming but they manage to deal with numbers very well. We scored two seats at the bar and settled in for a magical experience of beer and food delivered by a very informed bartender. The brussel sprouts and pulled pork were unreal. Beer was good with a huge selection of flavors perhaps too many.

Great beer and great pizza. I'd recommend Darkness and any of the pizzas with the vegan cheese option. The baba ghanoush was surprisingly delicious too.
Family friendly with board games and a cute kids area.

Our tour guide was awesome!! He was very funny and knowledgeable about the brewery!! I would have given 5 stars but the beginning of the tour was very loud and we couldn't hear what the guide was saying. The information we could hear was really good but wish we could have heard the whole introduction and what Surly was about. Other than that the tour was fabulous!!!

Great beers, pulled pork and brisket sandwiches, as well as their new pizza!

I ve heard so many good things about this brewery that I had to come check it out for myself.... I was not disappointed! The food was amazing and they had plenty of options of beer. The only thing I wish you had was flight options. I ll definitely be coming back in the summer!