Mr. Fusion
Short's Brewing Company

Bottled about two months ago. $2 single bottle. Hm... a Short's beer I haven't had before? Auto-buy.

This pours an unusual color -- a very hazy pale yellow. Not much of a head, but it is a bit on the creamy side. Lacing is pretty nice.

The smell is strange. Minty green tea, yes, but something about the malt smells a little corny to me, and it's throwing me off a little bit. Regardless of that, I don't hate it.

First sip, I see why this is panned by so many people. Wow. Intense bitterness with a super strong mint flavor. Truthfully, it tastes like some sort of cleaner, in a way. Bitter mint all the way through with just a faint amount of green tea near the end and in the aftertaste.

I am not a very picky beer drinker, but this is a bit much for me. The thing about experiments (such as this beer) is that sometimes things work, and sometimes things don't -- I don't think this works. Frankly, I'm surprised Short's decided to bottle this one. I'm a fan of strong flavors, but the hop bitterness with the overwhelming mint and lack of many actual hop flavors is not very pleasing.

The bottle has text reading, "It's working... it's working!"

I can assure you, it's not... at least not for me. A good beer to try once, but it's definitely not something I'd want a six-pack of.

 

1-29

 

 

 

 

 

I picked up a bottle of Short's Mr. Fusion at The Lager Mill. This one sounds pretty weird, but I'm always down to try a new beer for Short's so lets see how it goes. 2016 Vintage. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a teku.

A- The label is good and it goes well with this beer, it's eye catching. It poured a slightly hazy golden color that took on more of an orange color when held to the light with two fingers worth of creamy white head that died down to a thick ring that stayed till the end and it left lots of nice patchy 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 mint being the first to show up and it imparts a noticeable mint aroma that goes right into some spicy and floral hop aromas. Up next comes the green tea which imparts a noticeable green tea aroma with a little more spicy hops showing up toawrds the end. This beer has a decent aroma, it lives up to it;s description, but I don't feel like that different aspects worth very well together.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma, but a it's a little lighter this time and it starts off with a medium amount of sweetness with the mint still being the first to show up and it's just a little lighter than it was in the aroma and it goes into the hops which impart those spicy and floral hop aspects that it did in the aroma. Up next comes a slightly higher amount of medium bitterness with the green tea showing up towards the end and it's very noticeable and it goes into the aftertaste. This is a decent tasting beer, but i don't think the flavors blend that well together, they clash.

M- Not too smooth, slightly creamy, on the slightly thicker side of being medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel is decent, but I wish it was smoother.

Overall I thought this was a decent beer and it's just an ok example of an experimental beer, Short's has a lot of crazy idea when it comes to beers, most of them turn out pretty good, but some don't and this one is a prime example of that, they nailed all the key flavors that were going for, but it comes together to make a beer that's going in so many different direction it becomes confusing and a little hard to drink. This beer didn't have the best drinkability, one is more than enough for me. What I like the most about this beer was the appearance, it's a very nice looking beer. What I like the least about this beer is the taste and drinkability, they need some work. I don't think I would buy this beer again and I can't say I would recommend it. All in all I wasn't too impressed with this one, I give them credit for going out on a limb and making this crazy beer, but when it comes down to it's just not that enjoyable of a beer. it's one of my least favorite Short's beer and it's average at best for an experimental beer, Better luck next time guys, this one just isn't for me.

Draft at Churchkey in D.C.

Light golden body with a thin, white cap. Aromas of mint, hops, tea. Herbal flavor. Lots of tea and mint notes. A fun and interesting beer. What else would you expect from Short's?

 

 

 

 

 

Pours pale gold and hazy and produces a finger or two of white honeycomb foam. Foam settles to a decently thick half a centimeter cap with spotty lacing. Beer becomes clearer as time passes. Aroma is floral, grapefruit zest, fresh crushed mint leaves, and green tea. Taste is predominantly mint and green tea, with a small bitter citrus kick on the finish.

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, bottled on 2/17/2016. Pours very hazy golden yellow color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky white head with good retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings down the glass; with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of grapefruit, lemon zest, lime, orange peel, green tea, mint, light pepper, pine, cracker, bread, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Nice aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/pine hops, tea/mint, and moderate pale malt notes; with good strength. Taste of big grapefruit, lemon zest, lime, orange peel, green tea, mint, light pepper, pine, cracker, bread, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Moderate pine/citrus rind and herbal/spicy bitterness with light cooling mint on the finish; with lingering notes of grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange rind, green tea, mint, light pepper, pine, cracker, bread, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/pine hops, tea/mint, and moderate pale malt flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance; light bitter astringency builds up through the glass, but never becoming overbearing. Moderate dryness from hop/spice bitterness that increases through the glass. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately sticky/resinous, and lightly creamy/grainy balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with zero warming present after the finish. Overall this is a nice spiced IPA. All around good complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/pine hops, tea/mint, and moderate pale malt flavors; and very smooth and easy to drink. A nicely enjoyable offering.