Alicornucopia
Short's Brewing Company

AlicornucopiaAlicornucopia
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From:
Short's Brewing Company
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
Brett Beer
ABV:
6.9%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.91 | pDev: 8.7%
Reviews:
4
Ratings:
22
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 10, 2019
Added:
Feb 03, 2015
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  6
Brett Saison

Modeled after a Belgian Saison, but fermented with a blend of multiple strains of Brettanomyces and Saccharomyces, Alicornicopia is light bodied with a pale yellow color. Delicate fruity yeast esters lead into some earthy and light lemony flavors, notably brought on by the contribution of the Brett. The finish is clean with little hop bitterness and a crisp effervescence.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by kjkinsey:
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Rated by kjkinsey from Texas

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Mar 25, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.25 by Eziel from Ohio

Jul 10, 2019
 
Rated: 3.84 by 6thstreetbrewpub from District of Columbia

Jun 20, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by dannycohen62 from Illinois

Jul 01, 2016
 
Rated: 4.78 by MarkGleason from Michigan

May 24, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by beergorrilla from Michigan

May 22, 2016
 
Rated: 3.77 by Tracker83 from Michigan

May 19, 2016
 
Rated: 3.92 by Buck_Jones from Michigan

Apr 23, 2016
 
Rated: 4.31 by Jackalope1977 from Michigan

Mar 11, 2016
Photo of SportsandJorts
Reviewed by SportsandJorts from Virginia

4.03/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: pours a dull copper orange color. a huge three fingers plus of an off white head. strong retention and a frothy lacing. some haze and cloudiness making it opaque

Smell: green apple skin, earthy and rustic, pineapple.

Taste: opens up with an earthy and rustic saison yeast flavor. fruit and juiciness comes in with mostly pineapple but a light citrus and some green apple skin. more yeast flavors give an earthy to spicy ending.

Mouthfeel: light and refreshing. moderate funk and lingering spicy yeast,

Overall: I didn't have the highest hopes for this one but Shorts put together a nice brett saison here. finds a nice zone of flavor on the border of standard Belgian yeast and wild yeast.
Jan 05, 2016
Photo of superspak
Reviewed by superspak from North Carolina

4.32/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled in March 2015. Moderate gusher upon opening, but easily controlled. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy deep golden yellow color with a 2-3 finger fairly dense and fluffy off white head with good retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big lemon, pineapple, peach, papaya, mango, orange peel, pear, apple, pepper, light honey, bread, herbal, floral, hay, straw, grass, and yeast earthiness. Fantastic aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/tropical/spicy brett and moderate bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big lemon, pineapple, peach, papaya, mango, orange peel, pear, apple, pepper, light honey, bread, herbal, floral, hay, straw, grass, and yeast earthiness. Moderate amount of earthy/peppery yeast spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of lemon, pineapple, peach, papaya, mango, pear, apple, pepper, hay, straw, grass, and herbal/yeast earthiness on the finish for a short bit. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/tropical/spicy brett and moderate bready malt flavors; with a great sweet/spiciness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Good amount of dryness from carbonation after the finish. Medium-high carbonation and medium bodied; with a very smooth, moderately crisp, and slightly bready mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a fantastic Brett saison! All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/tropical/spicy bready and moderate bready malt flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink for the ABV. A highly enjoyable offering.
Oct 24, 2015
Photo of StoutHunter
Reviewed by StoutHunter from Michigan

3.89/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
I got a bottle of Short's Alicornucopia that my brother picked up at the release party. I wanted to give this beer some time so the brett could do it's thing, so lets see how it goes. 2015 March release. Poured from a brown 750ml bottle into a teku.

A- The label is great and it's now one of my favorite Shorts labels. It poured a nice golden orange color that took on more of an orange color when held to the light with almost three fingers worth of fluffy and creamy white head that died down to a thin ring that stayed tile the end and it left some nice patchy rings of lacing behind. This is a very nice looking beer, I have no complaints.

S- The aroma starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the yeast being the first to show up and it imparts a nice mixture of funky brett and saison yeast with the funky brett sticking out just a little more. Up next comes f loral aroma with the some nice stone fruit aromas also coming through. On the finish there's a slight spicy aromas with some fruity aromas towards the end. This beer has a good aroma, it's what I expect from the style.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts off with a medium amount of sweetness with the yeast still being the first to show up and it impart the same mixture of brett and saison yeast with no single one seeming to stick out the most. Up next comes a light floral fruity flavor and it's followed by a little bit of the same spices that I got in the aroma. Towards the end comes a little more of that funky yeast with pretty light amount of bitterness with some saison yeast and light fruity flavors showing up in the aftertaste. This is a pretty nice tasting beer, but I wish the brett showed up more.

M- Smooth, very crisp, a little prickly, medium bodied with a higher amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel is very nice and it's just what I expect from the style.

Overall I thought this was a pretty nice beer and it's a nice example of the style, it had all the aspects that I look for when it comes to this style and it had good balance, but I just wish the brett showed up a little more. This beer had nice drinkability, I wouldn't have a problem drinking the full bottle, especially on a warm day. What I like the most about this beer is the appearance and mouthfeel, they were really nice and they were the highlights of this beer. What I like the least about this beer is that the brett didn't show up more, it was nice, but it would be better if the brett showed up more. I would buy this beer again if they decided to release it again and I don't think ti's a must try of the style, but if you really like the style it's worth a try. All in all I liked this beer, but I didn't love it, they just need to hit this beer with more brett. This isn't my favorite Shorts beer and it's above average for the style. Nice job guys, this was a tasty and really drinkable beer.
Oct 24, 2015
 
Rated: 3.46 by Cotton_27 from Michigan

Jul 26, 2015
 
Rated: 3.87 by loganburgh from Michigan

Jul 26, 2015
 
Rated: 3.3 by helios7 from Oregon

Apr 26, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by duceswild from Heard & McDonald Islands

Apr 05, 2015
 
Rated: 3.92 by JohnnieNepal from Michigan

Apr 01, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by Texasfan549 from Texas

Mar 26, 2015
Photo of vs283204
Reviewed by vs283204 from Michigan

4.22/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
Pours a solid gold with fine-textured, white head that lingers, but leaves no lacing. Aroma is sweet, mellow golden malt, with hints of toasty/bready Munich malt richness. Medium-high floral/minty? hop aroma, something hard to place but pleasant; like a field of daffodils or baby's breath. Medium esters that blend nicely with the overall aroma and do not overpower. Very balanced, approachable aroma. Essentially no "typical" Brett. aromatics, not that that's a bad thing.

Flavor mirrors the aroma, but the sweet malt comes to the fore more - this is a fairly sweet saison, along the lines of Hennepin. It is not a Dupont-style saison (bone dry, brutally bitter). It stays fairly clean throughout, with a low level bicarbonate water character, as is typical for Short's. The malt is noticeable, but also background and hard to place - it doesn't overpower with biscuit, toast, or really any one malt flavor, but melds together into a very balanced flavor profile. The malt lingers long enough for the yeast and hop aromatics to influence the finish, which is slightly chewy, but again, clean. Bitterness is more noticeable in the finish, with the return of Short's bicarbonate water profile to enhance the hop bitterness in a very pleasant way.

No alcohol heat, no astringency, no diacetyl, no acetaldehyde.

Overall, this is a very approachable, food-friendly saison that should serve well to indoctrinate less experienced drinkers into the world of yeast character. Bravo to Short's for developing such unique Brett. characteristics. I look forward to trying my second bottle in about 6 months, when it may be an entirely different beer.
Mar 24, 2015
 
Rated: 3.77 by djrn2 from New Jersey

Mar 23, 2015
Alicornucopia from Short's Brewing Company
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 22 ratings