Ben Smith is the Head Brewer at Surly’s Minneapolis facility. Ben Smith looks like someone with that title: black t-shirt, black jeans, black boots. (Granted, he was wearing a Western-style plaid shirt during this interview, but go with it.)
Ben Smith also loves rosé.
“I’ve been a wine drinker my entire adult life, and really got into rosé once I started working here. I will buy it by the case.”
It also led him to wonder if he could craft a rosé-influenced beer.
“We’ve seen other breweries attempt rosé-style beers as a kettle sour, but that really doesn’t capture what makes a rosé tick,” says Smith. “Basically, I wanted to deconstruct the flavor profile of a rosé, then rebuild it using beer ingredients and some of our brewing processes to create something to match.”
That deconstruction soon became one of the most popular beers in our Beer Hall—outselling hazy IPAs, outselling flagships, outselling everything. It is also the latest in our series of BC Small Batch beers, as Surly Rosé is hitting store shelves the week of July 2nd, just in time for the holiday and the summer heat.
As noted, Surly Rosé isn’t a sour, but rather a lager.
“It’s fermented on lager yeast, then finished with champagne yeast to dry it out even further,” says Smith. “If you’re familiar with the brut IPA trend, we’ve used a ‘brut’ process on a number of beers in the Beer Hall, like Frisson and DAF. We used it here as well. Enzymes break down the carbs, allow sugars to ferment, and completely dry it out for a crisp, clean finish.”
Rosé’s fruit profile comes courtesy of measured doses of organic black currant and strawberry puree from Oregon Fruit. The end result is refreshing, sessionable, and, well, pink (for a beer).
PARTICULARS:
- Very light body with notes of strawberry and concord grape.
- 5.2% ABV
- The pour is…rose-colored. Duh.
- As with previous BC Small Batch beers, this limited release (along with Mosaic Kettle Sour) will hit MN, ND, WI, and Chicagoland beginning the week of July 2.
Any final thoughts, Ben?
“Three words: Rosé. All day.”
We have not one but two BC Small Batch Beers hitting the market this week. In addition to Rosé, we’re canning another Beer Hall favorite, Mosaic Kettle Sour.
Summer is ideal for a fruit-forward beer. Mosaic Kettle Sour fits the profile perfectly. Only there’s no fruit.
Our brewers have been trialing kettle sours for a while, hoping to combine the flavor of a dry-hopped IPA with the fruit and funk of a traditional sour. The Mosaic hop, with its tropical fruit profile, proved to be an ideal complement for the style. It also produced the next beer in our BC Small Batch Series.
“Mosaic Kettle Sour has these mango and pineapple-y aromatics, it tastes tart and fruity, and there is zero fruit in it,” says Head Brewer Ben Smith. “The Mosaic dry-hopping, combined with Saccharomyces Trois fermentation, produces a funky, tart beer.”
(Beer nerd aside: Saccharomyces Trois is a popular yeast strain in NE IPAs.)
The end result is a beer that is perfect for a hot summer day. The long-range forecast says you’ll have a chance to see for yourself.
PARTICULARS:
- Dry, refreshing, and tart with a hint of bitterness for a clean finish.
- 5.5% ABV.
- The Mosaic adds citrus along with an earthy, grassy characteristic.
- Hints of lemon, lime, and mango.
Look for Mosaic Kettle Sour (and Rosé) in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and the Chicago area beginning the week of July 2.
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