In celebrating the passing of the Pint Law, Surly held the Power Of The Pint at the brewery on June 18th 2011.  Entry was free and included a Surly Power Of The Pint glass for each visitor.  As the gates opened, so did the sky with a downpour that soaked most.  We headed inside to the brewery tasting room to get the first pints (having a nice stockpile of wooden beer tokens from previous Surly events meant we didn’t have to stand outside and purchase them before getting brew).  First up was the pint of Moe’s Bender pictured above.  This vanilla and cocoa nib infused version of Coffee Bender is the perfect way to kick off any day.

As the rain let up a bit to a drizzle, we headed outside to checkout the offerings in the outside tent.  Outside they were pouring a great lineup that included year-round brews like Furious, Bender, and CynicAle along with seasonals Bitter Brewer and Smoke, Surly’s smoked baltic porter.  A pint of Smoke please.  That’s right, a pint of 8.3% ABV brew.

As the tents filled with Surly fans, bands started to play on the stage setup just outside the brewery gates.  Many other pints were consumed and plenty of time spent talking to a large number of good beer friends who had come out to help celebrate the victory.  Omar, the president of Surly, got on stage, thanked everyone for helping to support the change in Minnesota law and remember Senator Linda Scheid who had authored the bill and passed away shortly after it passed.  The celebration continued as the rain turned into only occasional drizzle and people continued enjoying countless pints of delicious craft brew.  A great event to celebrate a big change in Minnesota and the beginning of even better things to come for Minnesota brewers.

Front and back of the Power Of The Pint Glass filled with Surly Smoke.

A pint of Bitter Brewer was a good way to end the day.