Surgenor Brewing is a new brewery from Comox BC.  Their first two beers are just finding their way to the shelves of the lower mainland’s better beer stores.  I’d heard about Surgenor a while back and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of their beer, which I managed to procure last week.  Surgenor brews two beers, Steam Donkey Lager and Red House Ale.  I bought and enjoyed drinking both, but I really liked the Red House Ale, which I found to have a malty sweetness as well as a nice level of hop bitterness.  I found it to be a well balanced and enjoyable beer that I would buy again.  Well played Surgenor, your initial offerings have me looking forward to further beer releases!

Aluminum Surgenor bottles emptied by me

What I find really interesting about Surgenor is their choice of packaging.  They bottle their beer in aluminum, yes bottle.  From a beer protection and shipping standpoint, the light blocking and light weight aluminum is an ideal material choice, but then why not can?  I’m guessing that this packaging is more part of a marketing strategy than anything else.  For Surgenor, brewing good beer is just the start.  They need to get noticed to stick around, and aluminum bottles might be just the gimmick they need.  Personally, I really liked the feel of the aluminum bottle.  I hope it works for them, but the only way to ensure that Surgenor makes it is for us beer fans to start buying their beer.

Cheers,

Chris