Looking to swap your Surly beers for my West Coast beers

Hi there. Anybody out there with access to Surly beers want to set up a swap for some West Coast beers? I am in Los Angeles, so have access to some great breweries. One in particular that might be interesting for Midwest folks is The Bruery, an Orange County brewery that I understand isn't available in Minnesota. They make funky Belgian-style ales. There are several other great breweries out here that I could track down, if interested.

The Surly brews I am looking to try are CynicAle, Bender, Abrasive, and any other "can't miss" releases.

Cheers!

I have a can or two of the CynicAle.

wow i was just going to post the same request. funny.

Looks like you're (the OP in this thread) from southern and he's (the guy above me I responded to in the other thread) from northern Cali, so this might work well for me. Just like I told the other guy:

I can hook you up with some Surly. What kinds would you like?

I like browns, strong belgians (dubbels, trippels, quads etc.), porters and stuff like that. Not really a fan of the whole overly hoppy beers, but I like good balanced ales also.

Don't really know what I can't get out here from Cali, so name some brands/beers and if I can't get it here, I wouldn't mind trading.

Off the top of my head, Lost Abbey (http://www.lostabbey.com/), The Bruery (http://www.thebruery.com/index2.html), and Firestone Walker (http://www.firestonebeer.com/) are three outstanding California breweries that might have what you'd like.

As for what I would like, definitely CynicAle, Bender, Abrasive and/or Bitter Brewer. Darkness obviously sounds great as well, but I realize that might be asking a bit much.

I only have 2 bottles of 2010 Darkness left and one of those is going to be traded for a Dark Lord, and the other I'm plan to keep to continue aging. Sorry!

But the others I can get you depending on what they have in stock these days. I can stop by the liquor store tonight and see what they have in. I can guarantee Furious will be in stock, and I imagine Bender, maybe Coffee Bender, and CynicAle at the moment. Not sure what the seasonals or specials they have right now might be. Hell, perhaps?

I'm pretty sure that none of those that you mentioned sound familiar, so they probably aren't distributed here, and I would be interested in those in the style types I mentioned.

EDIT: The Bruery is distributed right across the border in WI, so that one I CAN get.

Sweet! I'll pretty much take anything they've got. I'm insanely curious.

From Firestone Walker, I can recommend pretty much anything. For your tastes, Double Barrel Ale (well-balanced English bitter) and/or Velvet Merlin (oatmeal stout) are great choices. Pale 31 is an outstanding pale ale, but not sure that's your speed. They also have a great porter called Walker's Reserve that is hard to find.

The Bruery is all Belgian styles, but it looks like you're good given that it's in WI.

Lost Abbey has a ton of great Belgian-style choices as well. I'll hit up the liquor store today as well and select a few along the lines of what you suggested.

Yet another option is Alesmith, from San Diego. They make pretty great beers.

I'm interested in any of the breweries you mentioned, and I think you've got a pretty good handle on what I would like to try.

I'm sure my Belgian habit could get spendy for ya, so I can let you know what I spent on the Surly products if you wanted to keep the costs somewhat even. Most Surly 4 packs run 10-15 bucks, and if you want, I'll pick up whatever variety they got, and let you know what I picked up and how much it was.

Did you want just one 4-pack of whatever they have for now until you figure out what you like?

Can't help source this, but I was just in MN last weekend, and had the Surly CynicAle. I thought it was fantastic. Now this is after quite a few other beers, including some very good Summitt beers. But Surly stood out. Looking forward to the next time I am in Mpls.