As the can says, "Welcome to Hell"! America's only canned "Keller/Zwickel Bier", Surly's Hell just hit shelves for the third year. This, their summer seasonal, has been canned since 2009. Hell represents one of nine different brews that Surly is canning, talk about prolific! If you're within striking distance we highly recommend picking up any, and all, of Surly's brews. Cheers!

From the Surly site:

"Finally, a Surly beer my German mother will drink. She says this one tastes like a bier from back home. Not unlike a Zwickel Bier from Germany, Hell is not filtered and fermented with lager yeast. American hops takes a back seat to the Pils malt sweetness and fresh bread aroma. The color is well... hell (Deutsch for light). It’s fiendishly drinkable, and you don’t have to sell your soul to get another."

Here we go...

Pour - light golden in appearance, clean and very clear with a soft, bubbly inch of foam on top that fades rather quickly. 

Aroma - faint hints of apples and raisins along with some grassy and citrusy aromas. There are also some honey and light malty/bready notes. Not overly aromatic but pleasant nonetheless.

Taste - light on the tongue and palate, Hell has some nice earthy and citrusy flavors combining with some bready sweetness and it's got a bit of tanginess in the finish, sort of like hard cider and/or honey. Carbonation levels really leverage this beer and make it refreshing. Very smooth and easy drinking. Another well done beer from some folks who know what they're doing. 

Overall - what this beer lacks in complexity it makes up in sheer drinkability. This is a great beer for drinking on a warm summer day or night. Not one to pass up as the style presents something new to many craft beer drinkers and, oh yeah, it's in a can. 

Availability - Summer release

Would I buy more of it? -  like everything else that leaves the Surly brewery...yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

Note - a "keller or zwickel" bier is (according to the folks at BeerAdvocate): "A rather old, rare, and unique German beer style, Kellerbiers are unfiltered and unpasteurized lagers that date back to at least the Middle Ages. The beer is matured, unbunged (beer is exposed), in deep vaults. The final product is a smooth, naturally cloudy beer that's rich in vitamins (from the yeast). Hop bitterness can be high and alcohol will vary. Zwickel Bier is similar to a Keller, but not as pronounced."

Welcome to Hell