Surly Brewing Pentagram Is Back
(Minneapolis,MN) – In Winter 2014, we filled a bunch of red wine barrels from California with our Brettanomyces-fermented dark ale and we waited. Now, 18 months later, that batch is ready. Pentagram is back on shelves this week.
Pentagram is a dark ale fermented in stainless steel tanks before being aged in used red wine barrels. “Brett” is a unique yeast strain that produces flavors that would be offensive if they weren’t intentional.
Many of the flavors in Pentagram come from the blends we’ve been building in our wine barrels, some of which we’ve had since we brewed our fifth anniversary beer, Five, back in 2010. “Barrel-aging beer is a leap of faith,” said Johnson. “Every barrel is different, so we have to trust the aging process and hope for the best result.”
“Some of the joy of barrel-aging beer comes from the lack of control a brewer has over the process – you’re just going with it – so it’s one of the more interesting and surprising things we do. But the pay off is worth the risk. The barrel tasting days at the brewery when we finally crack them open after a year and a half are fantastic.”
Pentagram offers flavors of sour cherry, tobacco, oak, and classic “Brett” barnyard funk, balanced by Dark Munich malt chewiness. 750ml bottles will be hittin’ shelves in all our markets starting on this week. Enjoy it immediately or age at cellar temperature for a couple years.
