Beer Review: Surly Wet

Reviewing the Surly Wet from Surly Brewing Company out of Minnesota. According to the beer's description, "2,400 lbs of hops picked freshly in Oregon and shipped to Minnesota immediately. We brewed this beer three days later." Last year's batch (2011) was made entirely with Citra hops. This year's batch was made with Simcoe hops only. 
Score: 93

Can is from September 24, 2012. HUGE thanks to fan of the blog Mathew Schraufnagel for hooking me up with a few four packs of this wonderful nectar. Served in a Founders tulip and enjoyed on 10/15/12.

Appearance: Pours a very clean, bright and translucent honey-orange color that reminds me a lot of blind pig. Three-plus fingers of frothy cream colored head off the pour settles to a bubble ring around the glass and clump of head in the middle. Nice soapy lacing, but mediocre retention -- though what sticks around really sticks around. 4/5

Smell: Earthy, "dirty" tangerines, dank grass and pineapple. Faint caramel in the background. 4/5

Taste: Super fresh, earthy citrus and bitter, "dirty" and grassy hops! There's a nice hoppy bite upfront mellowed out by sweet tropical citrus on the back end. The hoppiness seems somewhat confined to the center of the tongue. Resinous pine sap, pineapple, and "earthy"-but-zesty orange. Sweet caramel malt backbone. The caramel mostly comes out towards the finish. Quite balanced and tasty. There's a faint "spiciness" towards the finish too. Surprisingly balanced in flavor. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel: Lighter side of medium bodied with light-medium carbonation. Super oily and slick on the palate. Towards the bitter end of bittersweet. 4.5/5

Overall: Delicious, but I have a suspicion that last year's all Citra batch was even better...I drank this side by side with Broo Doo last week and I preferred the Broo Doo.

Recommendation: Worth drinking, but not worth seeking out at its price point.

Pairings: Thai food.

Cost: $16 for a four pack of 16 oz cans.