3 Short's tales

Took advantage of our time in Michigan to try out some new offerings from Short's Brewing Company.

I love Short's beer. Sadly, it is really only available in Michigan (as far as I know). In fact, when we were living in MI, their beer was pretty much only available on draught in bars. Things have evolved, it seems, and you can now find bottles of Short's beer in a handful of spots in MI. Apparently, though, it is still produced in relatively small batches (hurray for craftmanship!) and the bottles fetch quite a price for traders online.

The brewery is based in Bellaire, MI and run by a former Western Michigan University student who discovered he was far more interested in crafting beer than studying (right on!). There are plenty of interesting details about the company on their website, but I'll give you the brief rundown here. They've been around since 2004 and started selling beer out of their Pub/Brewery in Bellaire. That location lacked space to bottle, so other than the beer they served, they sold kegs of beer to local restaurants/bars. Early business was a bit bumpy, but they stayed afloat and that led to my first encounter with their beer at the Red Mesa Grill in Boyne City, MI in 2007. In 2008, they bought a manufacturing building and after a year of work, they are now bottling six packs of both their annual and seasonal brews. With their jump to bottling, I ended up stumbling across some of their beer at the Main Party Store in Ann Arbor over the holidays.

One of the great things about Short's beer is that they aren't afraid to experiment and try bold new things. They have an annual line of beers that is quite good and represents many popular brewing styles. They also have a line of seasonals that range from your typical seasonals (winter stouts and the like) to some really weird stuff. For example, I spotted, but didn't try, their PB&J ale at the party store. Yep, that's right, peanut butter and jelly. Not sure about that one. Anyway, I did end up selecting 3 interesting brews (all seasonal) that I found unique and tasty. Some thoughts below.

• Good Humans dry hopped double brown ale - Pleasant dose of hops sets this brown ale apart. (Cascade?) Hoppy initial taste makes way for a more typical caramel brown ale flavor. Still manages to finish with another kick of hops. Quite different and yummy. (8/10)
• The Liberator double IPA - Wholy hoppiness! I like me some hops, but the first taste of this made me think I was in over my head. Fortunately, the hoppiness isn't overwhelming and by the third sip I was enjoying a pleasant mix of hops with a touch of citrus finish. Not my favorite IPA ever, but it is Short's... (7/10)
• The Mystery imperial oatmeal stout - Enough flavor to knock you over, this imperial stout is serious. Loads of chocolate flavor (and smell) with a touch of coffee at the finish. Quite good, but even one bottle was hard to finish. Perhaps a bit too much for my taste. (6/10)

The Liberator and The Mystery soon after their arrival in Halifax. The Good Humans brown was gone before we left MI (and before I was able to grab a picture).

Past due #4: Jolly Pumpkin Café and Brewery (Dec 29, 2009)

Made a quick stop at the Jolly Pumpkin Café and Brewery in Ann Arbor with Alyce.

Somehow in our super busy holiday visit in MI, we found time to wander into a new spot on Main St. in Ann Arbor: The Jolly Pumpkin Café and Brewery. Ron Jeffries and the Jolly Pumpkin folks have been brewing some unique beer for a while now out of their shop in neighboring Dexter, MI, and the new Main St. location represents a clear step forward for them. And it apparently isn't the only step they've taken, as they now also have a restaurant/brewery/distillery in Traverse City, MI and plan to replace their Dexter shop with a pub. Excellent!

After finding our way upstairs to the bar area, I mulled over the menu for a bit before deciding to ask about their cask special. Glad I did. As far as I can tell, I had a Jolly Pumpkin Bog Beast Porter, described as a blend of porters with a hint of cranberry (although I don't recall the name ever being mentioned by the server). It sounded delicious, and didn't disappoint (as detailed below). I love porter in cold weather, and this ended up being a precursor to the nice evening that lay ahead. While I was enjoying my porter, Alyce opted for a (n/a) berry mojito and we split their grilled flatbread with a trio of dips. I managed to grab a few sips of the mojito and can say it was pretty damn tasty. Tangy and flavorful; rich in lime juice, blackberries and a touch of basil. The flatbread and dips were also impressive. A large serving of walnut-red pepper, edamame and hummus dips accompanied a decent serving of warm flatbread. The edamame was true to the flavor, but nothing special; the hummus was nice and lemony, without much garlic; and the walnut-red pepper tasted quite peppery at first, but was cinnamon-y by the end. Combined with a fairly relaxed pub atmosphere, we came away impressed and very pleased with both our food and drinks. Certainly will be stopping in again next time we're in the area.

Our flatbread with dip trio, the (n/a) berry mojito, and my tasty porter. Note that I overexposed the picture in iPhoto to make the drinks visible.

As far as the beer is concerned, I would say that I generally enjoy and appreciate Jolly Pumpkin beers, but they're not usually my style. Most of what I've tried shows clear Belgian influence, with nice blends of fruit and spice. Sometimes just a bit too much fruit and spice for my taste. Their beers actually remind me a bit of my favorite French beer from the Brasserie Sainte-Colombe, just south of Rennes. If you can put two and two together, you've probably deduced that I had a hard time finding good beer in France. Yup, wine country. Anyway, I'll leave you with a brief description of the porter I tried, in case it's still around.

• Bog Beast Porter (cask) - Smooth and creamy, but not too heavy. Nice coffee and chocolate finish. Didn't really get much cranberry flavor, but it was quite good otherwise. (8/10)