(Brooklyn Center, MN) – With the impending end to the growler fun at Surly Brewing, it would seem fit that the brewery would find another way to re-route some of that beer to the consumer, probably through more draft availability. But THIS is a pleasant surprise. The brewery with virtually straight A’s on Beer Advocate is poised to add another beer to its canned line-up this winter.

Surly Brewing got label approval this week for Coffee Bender, a spin-off of its popular brown ale that introduces a coffee kick. This looks like it could be a winter seasonal though an email has been sent to Founder/Owner, Omar Ansari, for more info. While the year-round brands are available in some parts of Illinois, the other seasonal, Bitter Brewer, appears to only be available in Minnesota at the moment (when canned).

The beer is steeped, 20 gallons at a time, for 24 hours (per BA) in cold-pressed coffee (Chowhound discussion link for anyone who wants to know more about this style of coffee). The cold-pressing more or less takes away some of the acidity and bite out of it, making the flavor a little more subtle. Finca Vista Hermosa (aka “Beautiful View”) is the family-owned company that grows the beans in Guatemala and Roastmaster, Jim Cone, does the roasting locally at Coffee & Tea, LTD. in Minneapolis.

Despite its inclusion in Surly’s canned lineup in late 08 (possibly early 09), Coffee Bender actually debuted in early 2006, not long after the brewery produced its first batch of beer on New Year’s Eve. It didn’t take long to master the recipe considering the beer won accolades at both the Festival of Barrel Aged Beers in Chicago and the 2007 Great American Beer Festival (Gold Medal). The beer has also made a successful appearance at a number of non-judged events including this past summer’s Oregon Brewers Festival where 15 kegs of Coffee Bender were one of the highlights of the festivities.

Specs: 5.1% ABV, 45 IBU