Quality has always been a key priority at Surly Brewing Co. We strive for the highest quality in every corner of our business – from the experience and food we offer in the beer hall to the beer we package and send out to your favorite bars, restaurants, liquor stores, and your home.
Our quality assurance team conducts sensory and microbiological testing on every batch of beer we make throughout its entire “life cycle.” It starts during brewing and continues well after a beer is on shelves. It’s through our microbiological analysis that we pro-actively discovered the presence of wild yeast in some batches of bottled BAOW, our barrel-aged oat wine, that was released in July. Sensory panels confirmed that the wild yeast was creating a funky or tart off-flavor that was not intended in the style. It is not harmful to drink; it will simply have a different flavor profile. We have not received any consumer complaints of off-flavors but know they will develop the longer the beer is stored. No other beers packaged during this timeframe were impacted; they all have cleared the sensory and micro-testing for quality.
We’re working with our distributors and retail partners to remove any remaining BAOW bottles from the market. If you received a compromised bottle of BAOW, we’ll be offering reimbursement. Only a portion of the bottled BAOW has been impacted, the following date codes are stamped on the front of the bottle just above the label to help you identify what you might have:
- 6/11/18 and 6/12/18 – wild yeast is present
- 6/18/18 – no wild yeast is present
If you’d like to receive reimbursement for your bottles, please fill out this form or send us an email at [email protected].
Please include your full name, address, where you purchased BAOW and a photo of the bottle.
If 12 years of brewing has taught us anything, it’s that we’re always learning. The biggest lessons often come when systems fail, and this is one of those times. We’ve already started to develop better processes to make sure this doesn’t happen again and ensure you’re getting the kind of Surly beer we stand behind.
Best,
Will Crosby, Director of Brewery Operations
Riley Seitz, Quality Assurance + Control Manager
