-
Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate
Freedom Of '78
Short's Brewing Company
- From:
- Short's Brewing Company
- Michigan, United States
- Style:
- American IPA
Ranked #534 - ABV:
- 7%
- Score:
- 91
Ranked #7,473 - Avg:
- 4.07 | pDev: 10.07%
- Reviews:
- 156
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Oct 02, 2023
- Added:
- Dec 16, 2010
- Wants:
- 71
- Gots:
- 90
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by CrellMoset:
Reviewed by CrellMoset from Virginia
3.85/5 rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
3.85/5 rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
12 oz. bottle courtesy of Alexander. The last in a trio of great IPAs/DIPAs this generous midwestern trader sent along to me, all consumed as quickly as possible for maximum freshness. Poured in to a cervoise.
Appearance: An attractive penny tangerine, sandy and well toned, moderately hazed but not enough to hide a great deal of quick moving effervescence. Head retention and lacing are above average - the full finger of ecru head fades in to a half finger and then a quarter, though never fades completely, replenished continually by the mercurial carbonation. The lacing is blotchy, sticky but also runny in spots, leaving wispy patterns strewn along the sides of the cervoise.
Aroma: Incredibly fruity, though not sappy or sticky or saccharine-like. The guava definitely dominates, mingling with a hop profile that seems more minty and leafy than fruity, though I suppose that works in a complimentary way - why double down when you can diversify. The malt foundation is simple, crackery, or perhaps gingersnap-like, providing balance but not detracting from the (completely nonastringent) hops and the (surprisingly dry) fruit notes.
Taste: An interesting flavor profile. Don't ever let it be said that Short's didn't know when to kick you in the teeth with some additive (no one would ever say that, I don't think). Famous for throwing weird stuff in their beer and making sure you know they've thrown weird stuff in their beer as soon as you sip it, this one is no different, except in perhaps how well it works. This one is relatively dry, slightly roasted, with hints of floral honey and caramel in the base. The hop bitterness is assertive if not intense - I'd give it a 4/10, amplified slightly by the dryness and mineral quality of the malt foundation. Hop notes are mostly light and floral, with a nice amount of grassy mintyness and a fair amount of lighter citrus, lemon and orange zest. It's these latter few notes that dovetail nicely with the guava juice. You know, I don't drink guava juice, and I don't even think I'd know what a guava was if someone chucked one at me. Nonetheless, the flavor here is familiar - maybe I met you once in a V8, guava - and its deep sweetness, a little reminiscent of mango, pineapple, even passionfruit, mingles nicely with the leafy and floral notes as well as (unsurprisingly) the citrus.
Mouthfeel: One of this beer's best attributes. An incredibly soft and creamy mouth almost makes for a smoothie-like feeling at some points, blending very nicely with the fruit juice notes present in the flavor profile. It's sorbet-like, really, with small, minuscule bubbles in a thicker body making for a velvety smooth and slick mouth, thickened by fruit sugars and slick-ened by the hop oils. Very nice, though almost a little too smooth at the end (that is, too flat).
Drinkability: This beer is good, and it works ... well, well. But it doesn't quite blow me away, and I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm just not a guava fan. This beer did drink in many ways like a fruit beer, because the fruity notes really do dominate the taste, particularly as this one warms - the hops here compliment it nicely but can barely hold their own. It's not a bad beer, by any stretch - and at 7.0%, if it's your thing, feel free to drink up - but this one hints at the possibilities possible with combining fruit juices with hops without actually quite bringing the idea to ... fruition. Gnyuck gnyuck gnyuck.
Jan 25, 2011Appearance: An attractive penny tangerine, sandy and well toned, moderately hazed but not enough to hide a great deal of quick moving effervescence. Head retention and lacing are above average - the full finger of ecru head fades in to a half finger and then a quarter, though never fades completely, replenished continually by the mercurial carbonation. The lacing is blotchy, sticky but also runny in spots, leaving wispy patterns strewn along the sides of the cervoise.
Aroma: Incredibly fruity, though not sappy or sticky or saccharine-like. The guava definitely dominates, mingling with a hop profile that seems more minty and leafy than fruity, though I suppose that works in a complimentary way - why double down when you can diversify. The malt foundation is simple, crackery, or perhaps gingersnap-like, providing balance but not detracting from the (completely nonastringent) hops and the (surprisingly dry) fruit notes.
Taste: An interesting flavor profile. Don't ever let it be said that Short's didn't know when to kick you in the teeth with some additive (no one would ever say that, I don't think). Famous for throwing weird stuff in their beer and making sure you know they've thrown weird stuff in their beer as soon as you sip it, this one is no different, except in perhaps how well it works. This one is relatively dry, slightly roasted, with hints of floral honey and caramel in the base. The hop bitterness is assertive if not intense - I'd give it a 4/10, amplified slightly by the dryness and mineral quality of the malt foundation. Hop notes are mostly light and floral, with a nice amount of grassy mintyness and a fair amount of lighter citrus, lemon and orange zest. It's these latter few notes that dovetail nicely with the guava juice. You know, I don't drink guava juice, and I don't even think I'd know what a guava was if someone chucked one at me. Nonetheless, the flavor here is familiar - maybe I met you once in a V8, guava - and its deep sweetness, a little reminiscent of mango, pineapple, even passionfruit, mingles nicely with the leafy and floral notes as well as (unsurprisingly) the citrus.
Mouthfeel: One of this beer's best attributes. An incredibly soft and creamy mouth almost makes for a smoothie-like feeling at some points, blending very nicely with the fruit juice notes present in the flavor profile. It's sorbet-like, really, with small, minuscule bubbles in a thicker body making for a velvety smooth and slick mouth, thickened by fruit sugars and slick-ened by the hop oils. Very nice, though almost a little too smooth at the end (that is, too flat).
Drinkability: This beer is good, and it works ... well, well. But it doesn't quite blow me away, and I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm just not a guava fan. This beer did drink in many ways like a fruit beer, because the fruity notes really do dominate the taste, particularly as this one warms - the hops here compliment it nicely but can barely hold their own. It's not a bad beer, by any stretch - and at 7.0%, if it's your thing, feel free to drink up - but this one hints at the possibilities possible with combining fruit juices with hops without actually quite bringing the idea to ... fruition. Gnyuck gnyuck gnyuck.
More User Ratings:
Rated by Captain69 from Illinois
3.85/5 rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.85/5 rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
hoppy ale with fruity after taste
Oct 02, 2023Reviewed by Valdez_Mescalito from Michigan
4.06/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.06/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Update 5/15/23:
May 2023 Specialty Release - 6 pack
12 oz. can dated 042623 (4/26/23) - 7.5% ABV / 54 IBU
Brewed and canned in Elk Rapids, MI
Poured into a Bell's branded tulip snifter glass
Look - Pours a semi-dense, off-white head that leaves lacing. Clear, light copper appearance with tons of streaming bubbles. 5/5
Smell - The scent is very dank with pine standing out the most. There's also some peppery biscuit malt. 4/5
Taste - The taste follows the nose with minimal bitterness. The high alcohol is hard to detect. 4/5
Feel - Medium bodied with a crisp and slick mouthfeel and finishes with some dryness. 4/5
Overall - The piney hop dankness is a bit overpowering, but the flavors overall are good. 4/5
Jun 13, 2020May 2023 Specialty Release - 6 pack
12 oz. can dated 042623 (4/26/23) - 7.5% ABV / 54 IBU
Brewed and canned in Elk Rapids, MI
Poured into a Bell's branded tulip snifter glass
Look - Pours a semi-dense, off-white head that leaves lacing. Clear, light copper appearance with tons of streaming bubbles. 5/5
Smell - The scent is very dank with pine standing out the most. There's also some peppery biscuit malt. 4/5
Taste - The taste follows the nose with minimal bitterness. The high alcohol is hard to detect. 4/5
Feel - Medium bodied with a crisp and slick mouthfeel and finishes with some dryness. 4/5
Overall - The piney hop dankness is a bit overpowering, but the flavors overall are good. 4/5
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois
3.75/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottled 5/24/16; drank 6/12/16 @ the Yarchives.
Cloudy orange/yellow appearance; champagne bubbles throughout.
A rough pour yielded a nice white head; a curtain of frothy lace.
Dry passionfruit, fresh cut grass & mint notes in the nose.
Medium mouthfeel.
Mint & passionfruit flavors up front; dry wheat notes on the finish.
Unique but a bit too dry for me. Certainly worth a quaff.
Mar 25, 2019Cloudy orange/yellow appearance; champagne bubbles throughout.
A rough pour yielded a nice white head; a curtain of frothy lace.
Dry passionfruit, fresh cut grass & mint notes in the nose.
Medium mouthfeel.
Mint & passionfruit flavors up front; dry wheat notes on the finish.
Unique but a bit too dry for me. Certainly worth a quaff.
Reviewed by beersampler6 from Michigan
4.06/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.06/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Very refreshing, surprisingly light IPA with some great tropical fruit flavors. Nice dark golden color with some fluffy head and spotty lingering lacing. Smells of tropical fruit citrus hops and a little herbal hops. Tastes of nice fruit - guava, orange, grapefruit, lemon - along with herbal and floral hops, malt, caramel and biscuit. Great slightly dank smell and flavor that’s perfectly situated in the background and blends well with the hoppy bitterness of this beer. Perfect balance of sweet and bitter. Nice smooth mild mouthfeel with great amount of carbonation. Well done!
Aug 29, 2018Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado
4.05/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.05/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
a great ipa here, with guava, light and summery, interesting and different, a hoppy beer that stands out from the crowd is increasingly hard to come by, but this one does it well. the fruit is subtle, behind the hops even, but there isnt too much grain interference with either of these and the freshness of both of them rise to the forefront above anything else. the guava is a touch sweet, more tropical, seemingly as much a catalyst for the best part of this hop profile than to make this a fruity beer in the conventional sense. i get a slightly earthy, slightly brassy malt profile. crackery and short of baked, simple, not overly hearty or anything, but not boring either. meanwhile, the hops have a nice mix of northwestern oily pine and newer school juicy dry hoppy properties, the guava seems to bring out orange and pineapple notes in here, maybe a little ruby red grapefruit juice too, and some nice bitterness rises up later on. its on the dry side for having fruit in it, is brilliantly carbonated, and drinks like the summer. a really solid beer from these guys overall, nice with some grilled lake perch, sessionable for what it is, and the right amount of guava. fun stuff, original and delicious!
Aug 03, 2018Reviewed by wingman14 from Ohio
4.15/5 rDev +2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.15/5 rDev +2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a dark yellow with an off white head. The smell is nice with a mix of hops and the fruity tones of the guava. The taste follow suit, and has a nice blend of the citrus, hop, guava combo that dances around the palette. A medium light mouthfeel with a nice body, smooth butter texture at the end of the sip. Overall a very tasty beer, the guava is a nice twist that adds another layer of flavor to the citrus in this beer.
Apr 11, 2018
Freedom Of '78 from Short's Brewing Company
Beer rating:
91 out of
100 with
617 ratings
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!