Get Surly!
February 2015
Greetings!  
We're Invadin' Iowa
In case you haven't heard the Surly invasion of Iowa begins Tuesday, March 3 in Des Moines! We're not visiting, we're staying. Make room. We'll roll into town with our friends and collaborators, Twin Cities hip hop collective Doomtree for a special show. The three groups will hit one of either Quinton's, Mullet's or Ingersoll Tap for a couple at 5pm, then all head to the Up-Down around 7pm, and then close out the night with a Doomtree show upstairs at Wooly's.

 

Wanna join? Meet us in Des Moines for beers and the Doomtree concert. Get your tickets online here while they last: http://ticketf.ly/1A6fNSJ 

 


 

March 3 Is Just The Beginning... 

Are you ready to #GetSurly Iowa? We have a lot more planned over our months-long invasion starting on Tuesday, March 3. We're not leaving after the Doomtree concert, we'll be hanging out at different bars and liquor stores around the state to help Iowans get to know us a little better. Then we plan on being a permanent fixture in bars, restaurants and stores.

 

Follow @SurlyBrewingIA on Twitter and check out our Iowa events page at http://bit.ly/SurlyIowaEvents.

 

Hell Yeah We Give Damn About Iowa!

Surly Gives A Damn is our program that "taps" into Surly Nation's goodwill and passion for giving back and supporting the community. We follow through with donations of beer and swag, and with opportunities for our volunteers to participate in service projects. 

On Saturday, March 21st from 8:30-11:00am we'll be bringing SGAD with us to Iowa and will need 40 Surly SGAD volunteers to "kick it" in Davenport.

We will be helping the city with their spring corridor cleanup. This cleanup helps ensure that unwanted garbage doesn't make it into the local creeks, streams and waterways this spring and summer.

SIGN UP HERE! Someone will get back to you within 48 hours to let you know if you have a volunteer spot or not. If you do not hear from anyone, check your junk mail.

If you are from Iowa, we want YOU! If you are from Minnesota, you can come too because we'll be sending a bus down with some folks! (FOLKS!) Come and Give A Damn in Iowa. 
Surly Doomtree Cans Are Coming 

For the last couple of months Surly Doomtree has been available on tap around the Twin Cities and at the Surly Beer Hall, but tonight, Wednesday, February 25, you'll be able to get cans at Doomtree's sold out Minneapolis First Avenue All Hands Tour show. If you got a ticket you'll be one of the first to drink Surly Doomtree from a can.  

 

If you missed out on a ticket, you can still get your hands on a can tonight - they'll be on sale next door at The Depot Tavern starting at 4pm before the Doomtree show.

 

Starting next week you'll be able to get cans of our collaboration beer at more bars and liquor stores in Minnesota.     

 

Big thanks to Dessa, the rapper/public speaker/philosopher/singer/poet/host/lecturer/writer and now hand model for the pic from her Instagram feed. 

 

    

P.S. We've got a long-form video about the Surly Doomtree collaboration coming soon. Watch the Interwebs. 

Q&A With Todd & Linda At Surly MSP 

We sat down with Linda Haug, Surly's Hospitality Operations Director to talk about her husband Todd, our Brewing Operations Director. Then we interviewed Todd separately. We figured Linda would share info about Todd, that he might not share about himself. Here goes.

 

INTERVIEW WITH LINDA:

 

Todd's pretty soft-spoken and doesn't come across as a very vocal "beer geek," does he ever share how much he knows?

LH: Well, that comes from the confidence of him brewing for more than 20 years. He's very secure in his knowledge and doesn't need to prove anything. He'll definitely speak up if he hears someone sharing wrong information. He is approachable, though, and if you ask him a question, he can certainly talk for hours about the complex science of beer.

 

Todd's able to fix and build anything, he even built the canning line that was shipped from Italy without directions, just by looking at pictures. What do you think of his ability to figure things out like that?

LH: Todd has always been able to work things out in his head. Whether it's beer recipes, processes, whatever. He can reverse engineer something, figure it out, know how something is supposed to work, and even make improvements over the original design. The man is a genius.  

 

Now that the new brewery is built, is Todd taking it easy and working less? 

LH: He's always working, always thinking about how to do things better, how to make improvements. Good enough is never good enough for Todd. 

 

 

INTERVIEW WITH TODD:

 

Now that the new brewery is built and brewing, what are you working on currently?

TH: We're still in the middle of stabilizing some of the processes, whether it's canning, kegging, or centrifuging. The brewhouse is fairly stable but there's still stuff that comes up. There's still a lot of learning about how the equipment works, flavor development, and different processes that are unique to this brewery, different from Brooklyn Center. 

 

Surly has to meet the expectations it set with the beer brewed in Brooklyn Center. Has that been a learning process at the Surly MSP brewery?

TH: That's always been there. It's learning only because it's different equipment, but no matter what brewery you work at, it's always a learning process because your raw materials change a lot all the time, so you're always evaluating them, the flavors you get from them, and the processes that get them. The brewhouse works well, but "well" to us means the beer tastes good, doesn't mean that it's efficient or whatever. So it's just a matter of time before we get to where we feel like things should be, or better than they ever were. We're getting there but it takes months.

 

Does the new brewery make it possible to do things you've never done before?

TH: With the mash mixer, we can do more intensive mash regimens and a lot we can't do at (our original brewery in) Brooklyn Center, which has a single infusion mash/lauter. So there are some more technical things we can do, but right now we're just focused on making Furious and Abrasive at the new brewery, so we try not to mess with it too much.

 

There's a lot of Furious brewing at the new brewery, will there ever be something completely different brewed in pretty large quantities here?

TH: Yeah, we brewed Surly Doomtree here, to start canning. To make 300 barrels of anything is a large amount of beer, it's not risky, but we want to make sure everything's dialed in if we're going to package it all.

 

Is it ever weird to you that you're 'just a guy who makes beer' and you have fans, 6,500 Twitter followers, and were even recognized on the streets in Copenhagen?

TH: It's very weird. It's definitely changed in the last ten years for a lot of brewers. Social media has changed the ability for anyone to promote whatever they do and be associated with that product. Ten to fifteen years ago people might love Summit, but they didn't know anyone who worked there. They might know Mark (Stutrud), but they couldn't research it out very easily, maybe find a picture to know who he is, but that's it. With me, I have the brewing thing mixed up with the music thing, which are somewhat similar, but it's never been weird, as in creepy or anything, it's just people who are excited about what you do, so it's good.

 

You've had mentors, do you have a desire to teach and mentor others?

TH: Yeah for sure. That's a bigger part of my job and I enjoy it now more than I ever have, showing brewers new stuff, seeing them learn and make mistakes that most people make while they're learning, and helping them get through it. It's fun and rewarding, too.

 

--

 

Without Todd & Linda, Surly wouldn't be Surly. 

Scheid Hall Opens at Surly MSP  

We'll be offering event space rental for wedding ceremonies and receptions, corporate events, and private parties starting in March in Scheid Hall, our main upstairs event space. The hall is dedicated to the memory of the late Senator Linda Scheid, the state legislator who championed the "Surly Bill" that made our Destination Brewery possible.

 

Scheid Hall has state-of-the-art event amenities, A/V, a pre-function space, a full-service restaurant providing numerous catering menu options, and of course, Surly beer. It can be booked for events starting Sunday, March 1.

 

The Boardroom is our private dining room adjacent to our upstairs restaurant. It's still under construction but can be booked for events to be held later this Spring.

 

Non-Profit Mondays 
We'll be offering "Non-profit Mondays" where we'll be donating our events space, Scheid Hall, to non-profit groups. This means there will be no rental fee, no required food and beverage minimum, and complimentary AV equipment, linens, setup and event staff.  

 

Get more information on the event spaces and Non-Profit Mondays HERE. Wanna book an event at Surly? Please email [email protected].

Calling All Artists 

Can you draw a turtle, pirate or beer-drinking mythological monster? Wanna stick it to everyone who said your art was a waste of time? We're looking for this year's Surly Featured Artist! We're continuing our annual tradition of picking one artist, who this year will create the art for SurlyFest 2015, Darkness 2015 and our 10th anniversary beer in 2016. The art will be featured on bottles, posters, shirts, tattoos, etc.

We're looking for unique work that reflects the artist but is still Surly, like the art created by our previous artists: Erica Williams, Josh "Jawsh" Lemke, Brent Schoonover, Michael Berglund, Aesthetic Apparatus, DWITT, Nic Skrade, and Adam Turman.

 

This isn't just for recognition and free beer-this is a paid gig. So, we're expecting the artist we choose to work through concepts and designs with the crew at Surly and deliver on a specific timeline. The art can be in any format--we'll take care of the production details.

 

If you are interested, like Surly beer, and don't suck at art, send some info about yourself, your connection with Surly, and examples of your previous work (links to your portfolio, etc.) to [email protected] by Wednesday, March 11. We'll check out your stuff, discuss with previous Surly artists, and either let you know you're a finalist, or crush your hopes with rejection. If you've already sent artwork last year, you can send it again.

 

#GetSurly With The SWARM and RollerGirls 

Be sure to Get Surly if you're heading out to an upcoming Minnesota Swarm home game at Xcel Energy Center this season or a Minnesota RollerGirls bout at The Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul.

 

At the SWARM games they'll be selling Furious and Hell on draft in section 103 and 117, and they'll also have cans of Furious and Bender in several sections. 


Timberwolves Beer of the Game
There'll be a special 'Surly Beer of the Game' at two more upcoming Minnesota Timberwolves games this season. Check out the game schedule below for upcoming special pours.

 

Monday, 3/16 vs. Brooklyn Nets @ 7pm

Wednesday, 4/1 vs. Toronto Raptors @ 7pm

 

Watch the Interwebs to find out what special beer will be poured at each game in section 106. At every home game this season you can Get Surly Furious and Hell at our cart in section 106 and in sections 111, 229 and in the Backcourt Club.

Get Out The Cold And Get Surly At Winterfest
We're going to be in St. Paul at the Union Depot for the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild's Winterfest event this weekend on BOTH Friday, February 27 and Saturday, February 28. This is the premier Minnesota winter beer fest, which is being hosted over two nights this year.

We're pouring both nights, so if you got a ticket for Friday or Saturday, come find us. Don't have your tickets yet? We have been told that this is the LAST CHANCE to grab tickets, click HERE

 

We're going to be pouring Doomtree, EIGHT, Abrasive, The Devil's Work, Barrel-Aged SYX, Pentagram and casks of Damien, Overrated and Darkness.

 

SGAD Is Working Hard and Getting Damn Cold

Surly Gives a Damn, the public-spirited side of Surly, has been busy giving a damn already in 2015 by prepping the snow sculptures and helping out with the beer garden at the City of the Lakes Loppet Festival and helping with the Habitat for Humanity ReStore reset. Thanks to all of our amazing volunteers for kicking 2015 off right. 


What's coming up next? You can sign up for the Surly Polar Plunge to help raise money for the Special Olympics Minnesota. That's right, we want you to jump in a freezing cold lake with us on Saturday, March 7. If you don't want to jump (coward) you can still pledge money. Get more details HERE.

 

Also, we'll need 50 folks (FOLKS!) to head out to The Food Groups New Hope location on Wednesday, March 18 to help sort donated food, pack specialty food boxes and do anything else that they may need a hand with. We'll be posting a sign up on Wednesday, March 4 HERE.

 

We'll also be heading to the Prospect Park Community Garden to build out their space on Saturday, March 28 from 8am-noon and will need 40 volunteers to help. We'll be posting a sign up on Friday, March 13 HERE.  

 

Get more info online and check out this video to learn more about SGAD: http://bit.ly/SGAD-Video 

Does Your Job Suck?
Does your job suck? If so, you're in luck because we're still hiring. We're looking for Line Cooks for the Beer Hall, restaurant, and beer garden, Expos, and a Restaurant Assistant General Manager.

Tip: Make sure you send a kick-ass cover letter with your application, it makes a huge difference. We read every single one.

 

Check out our LinkedIn page HERE and check out our job postings and submit your resume to our website HERE.    

Surly Beer Hall FAQ

A big thanks to everyone who has made it out to our shiny new brewery in Minneapolis, we've had a blast serving you and we hope you keep coming back to grab a beer and some food at our digs. If you haven't made it to the Beer Hall yet, here are some frequently asked questions to help you...

 

 

Do you take reservations?

No, we don't take reservations, it's first come, first served. While you're waiting for a table get a beer in the 'Beer Only' line and then take a look around.

 

What's on tap?

Want to know what's on tap at the brewery? Go HERE, click the "Beer Hall" tab on Facebook or follow @SurlyBeerHall on the Twitter machine.

 

Where do I park?

If you're driving, use our valet service (Wednesday through Saturday only) and be sure to follow the no parking signs. We want our neighbors to like us and don't want you to get towed.

 

Don't want to mess with parking? Take the Green Line, we're really close to the Prospect Park stop, or get on your bike, we're near the Dinkytown Greenway/University of Minnesota Transitway bike paths.

 

What's there to eat?

The Beer Hall has an amazing menu of food that tastes good with beer. You can get your hands on some more exciting dishes like bone marrow, beef cheek birria, house made charcuterie and more. Or you can get a more approachable item like a burger. Check out a recent review by Star Tribune about our Surly Burger.

 

Do you have to be a tattoo 25-35 year old with no kids?

No, who said that? We've had senior citizens and families with kids and babies. We've got kids meals, a waiting area with a tiny table and shelves full of Dr. Seuss. No one deserves to go out for a beer and a meal more than parents.

Dates For Your Beer Drinking Destiny

#GetSurly and hang out with us at one of these upcoming events. Want more info? Check out our new events section at surlybrewing.com

 

2/25: Surly Brewing presents Doomtree at First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN
2/25: Surly Tap Feature at Buffalo Tap - Savage, MN
2/27 & 2/28: Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild's Winterfest at Union Depot - St. Paul, MN

2/28: Surly presents Green Sky Bluegrass at MIll City Nights - Minneapolis, MN 

3/1: Memorial Blood Center: Gift of Life Blood Drive at Surly MSP - Minneapolis, MN
3/3: Surly presents Doomtree Show at Wooly's - Des Moines, IA
3/4: Surly presents Doomtree Show at The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE
3/5: Surly presents Doomtree Show at Aggie Theater - Fort Collins, CO

3/5: Surly Tap Takeover at El Bait Shop - Des Moines, IA

3/6: Surly Night at Uncle Harry's Five and Dime Tavern - Cedar Falls, IA 

3/6: Surly presents Doomtree Show at Gothic Theatre - Englewood, CO
3/7: Surly Team Polar Plunge on St. Thomas Beach, Lake Calhoun - Minneapolis, MN

3/13: Surly SURGE! at Grumpy's NorthEast - Minneapolis, MN 

3/16: Surly presents Enslaved, YOB, Ecstatic Vision and Vulgaari at Mill City Nights - Minneapolis, MN
3/18: SGAD 2015 at The Food Group - New Hope, MN
3/19: Fuse Fest Duluth at Clyde Iron Works - Duluth, MN

3/26: Surly Night at Pappy's - Rochester, MN 

3/28: Northern Lights Rare Beer Fest at Minnesota History Center - St. Paul, MN