Exterior Illumination
Short's Brewing Company

Yuck.....

 

 

Got this on tap at 7 Monks pub in Grand Rapids.

Look - Pours a clear cranberry reddish color with a thin pinkish head that dissipates quickly leaving little bits of pink/cream lace.
Smell - Cranberry, pepper, salt, black current, to me it has a gose like quality to it.
Taste -Very tart and savory. Tastes of cranberries, blackberries, black currents, a little bitter, salty and peppery
Feel - Medium bodied with a crisp mouthfeel, dry.
Overall - I liked it, it's a good fruity tart beer, it's one of the better ones that a sourpucker like me has had. Recommend it.

 

 

November 2021 Specialty Release - 6 pack
12 oz. bottle dated 11/10/21 - 5.3% ABV / 15 IBU / 7 TA
Brewed and bottled in Elk Rapids, MI
Poured into a Bell's branded tulip snifter glass

Look - Pours a thin and quickly dissipating pink-tinged white head. Clear, dark pinkish red appearance with lots of streaming bubbles.
Smell - Mostly cranberry on the nose with some black currant and pine qualities from the spruce tips.
Taste - The initial taste is tart cranberry and black current followed by a blue spruce aftertaste that lingers for a while. There's virtually no bitterness or alcohol taste. The beer becomes more mellow and balanced as it warms.
Feel - Somewhat thin bodied with a sharp and wet mouthfeel.
Overall - Very tart and sharp taste from the fruit with the blue spruce tips subtly lingering in the background. The initial sourness makes this somewhat difficult to drink, but it subsides as the beer warms.

Picked this up a bit ago from vintage estate marked 2.50 single. Very little head atop a nice dark amber thankfully no sediment. Smell is more jammy than sour good cranberry edge not too piney. A bit of a biting sour cranberry then woody pine almost like hops. Tannic sour lemons grainy but easy on the palate smooth to sip.

Not sure I would get it again but we'll worth trying since I haven't seen a shorts beer quite some time!

 

 

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 11/6/2018. Pours slightly hazy/cloudy deep orange/copper/amber color with 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light pink head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big sour/tart/tangy cranberries, black currant, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, peach, plum, pear, apricot, red/green apple, red grape/wine, spruce tips, wood, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, toasted biscuit, and bread dough; with lighter notes of caramel, brown sugar, peppercorn, musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruit, spruce tips, fruity/funky/acidic yeast and bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big sour/tart/tangy cranberries, black currant, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, peach, plum, pear, apricot, red/green apple, red grape/wine, spruce tips, wood, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, toasted biscuit, and bread dough; with lighter notes of caramel, brown sugar, peppercorn, musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang, and light spruce/yeast spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy cranberries, black currant, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, peach, plum, pear, apricot, red/green apple, red grape/wine, spruce tips, wood, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, toasted biscuit, bread dough, caramel, brown sugar, peppercorn, musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruit, spruce tips, fruity/funky/acidic yeast and bready malt flavors; with an awesome malt/tartness and tangy fruit balance; with zero puckering flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering tartness and tangy fruit. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/grainy/acidic/tangy, and lightly sticky mouthfeel that is fantastic. Zero warming alcohol for 5.1%. Overall this is an excellent fruited/spiced sour/wild ale. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruit, spruce tips, fruity/funky/acidic yeast and bready malt flavors; very smooth and refreshing to drink with the mellowly acidic/tangy/drying finish; nicely soft and not overly lactic. Perfectly balanced between juicy/jammy fruits, spruce tips, Brett/Lacto complexity, and pale/wheat malts against acidity. Not overwhelming on any aspect. A very enjoyable offering, and impressive spot on style example as expected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Color is bright red. "It's okay. Not as much sour as I was hoping for. Little flat, but not offensive."