Monday, April 27, 2020
A Short Piece about the new Michigan Brewery in Town
Those who have swung by the Short's Brewing Co. booth at Great American Beer Festival likely walked away thinking that the northern Michigan brewery was all about fun and experimental games. Offering flavors from carrot cake to strawberry to peaches and cream, it grew a reputation starting about a half-decade ago for turning your head as you walked by and daring you not to stop and try.
About three months ago, the 16-year-old brewery began distribution in Colorado. Yes, the event seemed overshadowed when the whole world blew up about a month after it arrived here (which, by the way, was pure coincidence). But what seemed almost as strange was the brewery entering the state with a portfolio of offerings that could be considered - gasp - somewhat normal.
Its flagship beers that it began selling at liquor stores throughout the area included an IPA, a heavily fruited ale and a light beer, of all things. It also brought along three ciders from the Starcut Ciders facility it operates, as well as a hard seltzer, Beaches, that seems a mandate for all growing craft breweries (but that, like all seltzers, merits no further words).
Since coronavirus shifted so much of our liquor-store buying to curbside pickup and delivery, old favorites are in and newcomers like Short's feel like a luxury that many drinkers may not have time or resources to discover. But there are a couple of Short's offerings that the Colorado craft-enjoying world shouldn't overlook, even as it's putting so much energy rightly into buying locally.
Huma Lupa Licious IPA is an old-school, West-Coast-reminiscent beer that is very balanced, with a medium pine nose but also a little breadiness around the edges when it comes to its aroma. Though 7.7% ABV, it sits like a beer you could drink several of without it weighing you down.
Soft Parade - brewed with puree of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries - looks like fruit juice and smells like berries but does not lack for real beer flavor. Plus, its 7.5% ABV base gives it just enough of a boozy, serious body to make you think about all the flavors you're imbibing.
Maybe the best offering of its entry class, however, was Pulsar, its dry cider made with Michigan apples and Pinot Noir yeast that has a tart enough tinge that it resembles an introductory sour ale. It's truly one of the more complex and advanced ciders you will try, and when considered alongside its Octorock hard cider, it demonstrates that Starcut, like the experimental Short's that beer geeks know, can draw a lot of flavor into its offerings.
That said, the Local's Light is an abundantly strange choice to bring into a mature beer market; there is little other than its smoothness that separates it from the megabreweries' light offerings, and it holds no appeal for those seeking new flavors. And Mosa, a blend of hard cider and orange juice, feels too much like the bad mixed drink you put together in college using orange juice stolen from the cafeteria, pounding you with sweetness and funk (though not the good Brett kind of funk) and just screaming "experiment gone wrong."
It frankly feels like an odd time to recommend any beer that was brewed more than 10 miles from your home. But when the world calms, Short's is a seasoned beer maker worth a try. And, just maybe, this guru of eclectic flavors can bring out to Colorado some more experiments the state will embrace.
Those who have swung by the Short's Brewing Co. booth at Great American Beer Festival likely walked away thinking that the northern Michigan brewery was all about fun and experimental games. Offering flavors from carrot cake to strawberry to peaches and cream, it grew a reputation starting about a half-decade ago for turning your head as you walked by and daring you not to stop and try.
About three months ago, the 16-year-old brewery began distribution in Colorado. Yes, the event seemed overshadowed when the whole world blew up about a month after it arrived here (which, by the way, was pure coincidence). But what seemed almost as strange was the brewery entering the state with a portfolio of offerings that could be considered - gasp - somewhat normal.
Its flagship beers that it began selling at liquor stores throughout the area included an IPA, a heavily fruited ale and a light beer, of all things. It also brought along three ciders from the Starcut Ciders facility it operates, as well as a hard seltzer, Beaches, that seems a mandate for all growing craft breweries (but that, like all seltzers, merits no further words).
Since coronavirus shifted so much of our liquor-store buying to curbside pickup and delivery, old favorites are in and newcomers like Short's feel like a luxury that many drinkers may not have time or resources to discover. But there are a couple of Short's offerings that the Colorado craft-enjoying world shouldn't overlook, even as it's putting so much energy rightly into buying locally.
Huma Lupa Licious IPA is an old-school, West-Coast-reminiscent beer that is very balanced, with a medium pine nose but also a little breadiness around the edges when it comes to its aroma. Though 7.7% ABV, it sits like a beer you could drink several of without it weighing you down.
Soft Parade - brewed with puree of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries - looks like fruit juice and smells like berries but does not lack for real beer flavor. Plus, its 7.5% ABV base gives it just enough of a boozy, serious body to make you think about all the flavors you're imbibing.
Maybe the best offering of its entry class, however, was Pulsar, its dry cider made with Michigan apples and Pinot Noir yeast that has a tart enough tinge that it resembles an introductory sour ale. It's truly one of the more complex and advanced ciders you will try, and when considered alongside its Octorock hard cider, it demonstrates that Starcut, like the experimental Short's that beer geeks know, can draw a lot of flavor into its offerings.
That said, the Local's Light is an abundantly strange choice to bring into a mature beer market; there is little other than its smoothness that separates it from the megabreweries' light offerings, and it holds no appeal for those seeking new flavors. And Mosa, a blend of hard cider and orange juice, feels too much like the bad mixed drink you put together in college using orange juice stolen from the cafeteria, pounding you with sweetness and funk (though not the good Brett kind of funk) and just screaming "experiment gone wrong."
It frankly feels like an odd time to recommend any beer that was brewed more than 10 miles from your home. But when the world calms, Short's is a seasoned beer maker worth a try. And, just maybe, this guru of eclectic flavors can bring out to Colorado some more experiments the state will embrace.
Labels: American light lager, cider, Fruit beers, Great American Beer Festival, IPA, Michigan beers, Short's Brewing
