Fun Tina
Short's Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solid, down-the-middle ale. Poured from bottle to pilsner glass. Mellow gold color with a finger of white foam. Aromas are as expected: wheat, lemon, coriander, orange rind, fleshy fruit. Flavors follow through on the promise of the aromas with lemon/orange citrus flavors riding a wave of wheat with a coriander finish and slightly prickly feel. Delivers what it promises and stacks up well against other wheat/citrus/coriander ales.

I picked up a bottle of Short's Fun Tina for $1.69 at The Lager Mill. I'm always down to try a new beer from Shorts and I'm interested to see how the added ingredients work with this beer, so lets see how it goes. 2017 Vintage Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a Weizen glass.

A- The label looks nice and it goes well with the name, it's eye catching. It poured a nice golden color that didn't change when held to the light and it had almost a fingers worth of off white head that died down to a thin ring that eventually faded away and it didn't leave much lacing behind. This is nice looking beer, but I wish the head retention and lacing were better.

S- The aroma starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with citrus rinds being the first to show up, the lemon seems to stick out the most, but the orange rinds aren't too far behind them and it goes into a noticeable coriander like aroma. Up next comes some bubblegum yeast like aromas with a little apple cider like aroma and they go into the malts which are on the light side and they impart some pale malt, wheat, grainy, bready and sweet malt like aromas. This beer has a pretty nice aroma, the coriander isn't too dominating and the yeas t works well with the fruity aromas.

T- The taste seems to be pretty similar to the aroma and it starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the citrus rinds still being the first to show up and they impart all the same aspects that they did in the aroma with the lemon still sticking out the most and it's followed by the coriander which shows up more than it did in the aroma and that goes into the yeast which imparts all the same aspects. but they are a little lighter. Towards the ends comes the malts which shows up just a little more than they did in the aroma and they impart all the same aspects with the wheat sticking out a little more. On the finish there's a hardly any bitterness with a citrus rind and bubblegum like aftertaste. This is a pretty nice tasting beer, it's just as advertised.

M- Smooth, refreshing, a little crisp, slightly creamy, medium bodied with a slightly lower amount of medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is pretty nice and it works well with this beer.

Overall I thought this was a pretty nice beer and it's a nice example of the style, I thought it was pretty much just as advertised and all the aspects showed up enough to be noticeable. This beer had nice drinkability, I could drink a couple of these especially when it's warmer outside. What I like the most about this beer is that it lives up to it's description, every aspect shows up just enough. What I like the least about this beer is the appearance, it's not bad, but i wish the head retention and lacing were better. I would buy this beer again and I think it would do better as a mid summer release, I would recommend it to anyone looking for this style. All in all I liked this beer and it didn't really disappoint in any aspect. It's not my favorite Shorts beer, but it one of the better example of the style that I've had. Nice job guys, this is a tasty and easy drinking beer, keep it up.

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, bottled on 9/28/2017. Pours slightly hazy medium golden yellow color with a small dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big lemon zest, orange peel, coriander, peppercorn, pear, apple, light banana/clove, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast, citrus/coriander, and moderate pale malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big lemon zest, orange peel, coriander, peppercorn, pear, apple, light banana/clove, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness. Light herbal/grassy bitterness and yeast spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of lemon zest, orange peel, coriander, peppercorn, pear, apple, light banana/clove, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, citrus/coriander, and moderate pale malt flavors; with a great malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and zero astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from bitter/spiciness. Fairy crisp/clean finishing. Medium carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy, and lightly sticky mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5%. Overall this is a delicious witbier. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, citrus/coriander, and moderate pale malt flavors; very smooth, crisp, clean, and refreshing to drink. Very flavorful for the low abv, with spot on balance between all flavors. A very enjoyable offering, and great style example.