626. Short’s Brewing Company (Elk Rapids, MI) - Pure Michigan® Fall IPA

“When fall arrives the air changes. You can smell it before you see the leaves start to change. And by the time the rolling glacial hills of our backyard finally explode with color so splendiferous you can see it from space, the harvest of the hops and malts we use in our Products of Passion is well underway. It’s tough to pick a favorite season, but fall is pure magic in Pure Michigan®.”

Um. That’s from the can; what they have on the website is only marginally better. Strong flavor of pine, especially as it warms. There’s also something soft and fruity that I can’t quite pin down. I’m going to go with stone fruit and maybe a tiny sliver of lemon zest. Another excellent Short’s joint.

Short's Brewing Company - Holiday Battle Plan

Amy and I went to Bloomington for a three-day weekend recently, and on our way back to the hotel after we went shopping on the west side, we stopped at the big Big Red (if you went to IU, you know what I mean) for drinks for the room, and I came across a 12-pack from Short’s with this Home Alone theme. The four beers inside are named after scenes or lines from the film, and they are all in the good-but-not-great range; but getting the descriptions from the website was a lot of fun, and I genuinely can’t remember if I have ever enjoyed the non-beer aspects of a 12-pack of beer quite this much. I love the film, and I’m sure that’s part of it; but whoever came up with this idea was all in, and I think that’s pretty fucking cool.

608. Short’s Brewing Company (Elk Rapids, MI) - Oh Kay
“Just your average, hazy, piney, ctirusy, fruity, IPA here. Nothing to see. Just driving around in our blue, beat up, panel van, ready to tackle your plumbing and heating needs. Definitely not cat burglars about to rob your house or anything. Don’t worry, you’re in good hands.”

This is just a few ABV points shy of being spectacular. There’s a respectable balance between West Coast pine and citrus and East Coast stone fruit, but it leans just a bit toward the smoother, sweeter East Coast style and feels like it should clock in somewhere between 6% and 7% rather than the 5.8% where it actually lands.

609. Short’s Brewing Company (Elk Rapids, MI) - Thirsty for More
“You’ve finally got yourself into the house. You’ve kicked your shoes off (or lost them thanks to some tar on the basement steps), set your hat down (or had it burned off by a blow torch), and you’re ready for a tall, cold glass of dry hopped lager, a noseful of citrus and melon with a slightly bready malt aftertaste. Its [sic] almost like someone thwacked you in the head with a paint can of delight. Definitely not giving up. Definitely Thirsty for More.”

Also well balanced, though I was unfamiliar with the New Zealand style of lager until I looked it up. Turns out it’s basically the same as India Pale Lager, like Black Acre’s Natural Liberty; and that means—lagers with flavor. In this case, that would be light fruit flavors and a surprisingly dry finish. At only 5.1%, it’s practically sessionable. Not as nearly great as Oh Kay, but pretty good.

611. Short’s Brewing Company (Elk Rapids, MI) - Junk and Rubbish
“You’ve made your family disappear, time to pop in Angels with Filthy Souls, throw on a napkin bib, and pour yourself a ginormous mug of Junk and Rubbish, our cool, cool cocoa and marshmallow stout. Cocoa, vanilla and marshmallow are paired with sweet, toasted maltiness for a rich, creamy, full mouthfeel—reminiscent of hot cocoas and overflowing sundaes. Topping it with excessive amounts of marshmallows, candy, chocolate syrup is also, um, a choice you could make? (Crunch Gators are the preferred side, BTW.)”

Robust chocolate flavor up front, which works well with the 7.5% ABV. (The can refers to it as a double chocolate stout.) I don’t taste marshmallow or vanilla, but I suspect they are there, because there is a smoothness to the chocolate flavor that almost has to come from the addition of something sweeter. It’s oddly playful, and I think the best of the four beers in this package.

612. Short’s Brewing Company (Elk Rapids, MI) - Silver Tuna
“Of all the beers in the pack, this one is is [sic] THE ONE, Marv. It’s very ‘G.’ It’s got lots of top flight goods. Orange, tart cranberry, subtle hints of mulling spices. A little sour? You bet. Who knows. Its [sic] a gem. Hand me a crowbar. Crowbars up!”

Moderately sour up front, with the orange and cranberry flavors coming together in the middle and then fading into a lingering hint of spice on the back end. Very well done.

203. Short’s Brewing Company (Elk Rapids, MI) - Psychedelic Cat Grass

“Psychedelic Cat Grass is a triple dry-hopped American India Pale Ale originally brewed for HopCat. Aromas of pineapple, mango, and grapefruit accompany the brews (sic) slightly hazy, pale orange color and lasting white head. A dry finish is preceded by balanced flavors of tropical fruit and bitter hops.”

That bitter’s not just in the finish; it’s pretty much holding your hand the whole way, but that’s not bad. It lets those tropical fruit flavors bounce around a little bit without actually running the asylum. It also masks the moderate alcohol (7.6%) somewhat, I think. (But then again, it took me almost two hours to drink two of them—so maybe it just wore off.)

63. Short's Brewing Company (Elk Rapids, MI) - Slurm Lord Double New England Style India Pale Ale

“Slurm Lord is a double New England style India Pale Ale brewed with oats and a blend of Citra, Azacca, Amarillo, El Dorado, and Mosaic hops.”

And lots more in the description on their website, but let’s just go with this for simplicity. Nice tropical notes up front and nice, but not overwhelming alcohol (at least for a double). The fruit seems to be hidden a little bit, and I probably should have talked it up before the fourth of four. Ah, well. Perhaps we’ll meet again, some day, on the avenue…