As volunteer coordinator and tour master, Keith Doten has an all-access backstage pass to Surly. And he's pretty much your only chance of ever getting inside the brewery.

By day, Doten is a mild-mannered (sort of) telecommunications consultant.

As his alter ego Surly Boy Wonder, Doten is a megaphone-wielding presence on most tours, assisting Surly owner Omar Ansari or leading when Ansari isn't available. Doten schedules the tours, organizes 30 tour volunteers and updates Surly's Facebook page.

Doten got his volunteer position soon after helping out at the Surlyfest fall event a couple of years ago. Impressed that Ansari was donating a portion of the proceeds to charity, Doten offered his time to the brewery. There's also the added benefit of occasionally getting free Surly.

Surly tours — 6 to 8 p.m. most Fridays and now 2 to 4 p.m. most Saturdays — are notoriously hard to get into. All 120 spots fill up as soon as Doten posts new ones on the Surly website (www.surlybrewing.com).

That's largely because the tours (free with donation of a non-perishable food item) include five free samples, about two pints of Surly.

The craft brewer enjoys a rapid following and growing mainstream buzz with its $20 million plan to create a "destination brewery" at its Brooklyn Center headquarters. The plan hinges on legislative approval of Ansari's proposal to sell his own beer on the premises.

The human tongue can only sense up to 100 (international bitterness units) and Furious is 99. If someone is new to Surly, we recommend sampling by progression. Start with the lighter beers and work your way up. It won't be so shocking.

A friend and I were drinking Surly and he said, "I think I'm going to declare myself the Surly King!" We were into our cups a bit. I said, "Then who am I? You've got to have a sidekick. I'll be Surly Boy Wonder!" I use that as my Twitter account and Omar used to call me that before he figured out my name. It's stuck.

I really like Surlyfest. I look forward to that (fall seasonal) every year. I also like Abrasive too. It's a double (IPA) so it's a little more expensive but it's worth it.

I like Fantôme (from Belgium). It's fairly expensive. I like this brewery in Oregon called Ninkasi. I have to get it from friends out there. Another local beer that I like quite a bit is Fulton.