In 2006 Omar Ansari realized a dream and turned his homebrewing obsession into a profession. Together with brewmaster Todd Haug, stolen from the Minneapolis Rock Bottom brewpub, they quickly took their upstart brewery from obscurity to near cult status. Despite a distribution area that didn’t extend beyond the Twin Cities metro, Surly became a nationally sought-after brand within a year of putting beer on the street. Even today you can get virtually anything you want on the underground beer trading network in exchange for a four-pack of Furious. Their beer inspires a legion of nearly fanatical followers. Over the last five years Surly has seen tremendous growth, adding huge amounts of capacity and still not meeting demand. In an industry marked by rapid growth, Surly’s success has been an anomaly. To celebrate five amazing years Omar, Todd, and the whole Surly crew want to say thank you with fan-appreciation events all over town throughout the month of February.

With these anniversary events, Surly is taking it back to where it all began, staging them at bars and restaurants that were the brewery’s first tap accounts. They will be offering an array of special releases including Moe’s Bender – a coffee, chocolate, vanilla oatmeal brown ale aged on oak, Chili Smoke, and rare firkins like Cherry Wood Bender, Tea-Bagged Furious, and Oak-Aged Abrasive. They will also unleash Pentagram, a single barrel version of their fifth anniversary ale Surly 5. Surly 5 is described by the brewery as “a 100%Brettanomyces (wild yeast) fermented dark ale aged in used red wine barrels.” Five will be a blend of 60 different barrels. Events will include giveaways of surly gear and Surly beer, including rumored bottles of their hard-to-get Darkness Imperial Stout.

Here is the schedule of anniversary events.

Wednesday, February 2 – Blue Nile, 2027 East Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis

Friday, February 4 – Winterfest, Minnesota History Center, 345 Kellogg Boulevard West, Saint Paul

Saturday, February 5 – Mackenzies, 918 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis

Monday, February 7 – Muddy Pig, 162 Dale Street, Saint Paul

Tuesday, February 8 – Acadia Event, 329 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis

Thursday, February 10 – McCormick & Schmick’s, Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis

Tuesday, February 15 – Happy Gnome, 498 Selby Ave, Saint Paul

Wednesday, February 16 – Pizza Nea, 306 East Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis

Thursday, February 17 – Stub & Herb’s, 227 Oak Street, Minneapolis

Sunday, February 20 – Triple Rock, 629 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis

Monday, February 21 – Grumpy’s NE, 2200 4th Street NE, Minneapolis

Wednesday, February 23 – Bryant Lake Bowl, 810 West Lake Street, Minneapolis

Sunday, February 27 – Mac’s Industrial, 312 Central Avenue, Minneapolis

Monday, February 28 – Groveland Tap, 1834 St. Clair Avenue, Saint Paul

Wednesday, March 2 – Whistle Binkies, 3120 Wellner Drive NE and 247 Woodlake Drive SE, Rochester