Short's Key Lime Pie | Short's Week Day 8 of 7

While I was sick Short's released two more limited-release beers that fit the criteria I set for this project. So I decided to just go ahead and film two more reviews and add them to the end in this haphazard fashion.

This is a fruit beer that actually really hits the spot. It's clean enough to be accessible to just about anyone, while being fairly complex and not at all overly sweet. A very nice beer that I'd love to be able to have more often.



Zymurgical Explorations Rating: 8.0/10

Short's Hangin' Frank IPA | Short's Week Day 7 of 7

The last of the regular week of Short's Week. I review a very nice IPA with a controversial label and an interesting story.

The controversy here: http://beernews.org/2010/06/shorts-hangin-frank-label-raising-some-eyebrows/

The story from Short's here: http://www.shortsbrewing.com/beer/our-portfolio/exclusive-beers/hangin-frank/

Regardless of the label, this ended up being a very nice beer, very hoppy with a nice fruity backbone, and a great way to end the week. If Joe Short is watching, I hope he decides to make this year-round.



Zymurgical Explorations rating: 9.0/10

Short's Nicie Spicie | Short's Week Day 6 of 7

This was the last beer review I shot before I got sick and couldn't do videos for a week. Thankfully modern medicine intervened and I'm better now and managed to complete the vids and upload them.

This is an American Pale Wheat Ale that is slightly spicy, but overall really just tastes like a completely average American Pale Wheat. Probably be a good lawnmower beer, though.



Zymurgical Explorations rating: 6.0/10

Short's Spruce Pilsner | Short's Week Day 5 of 7

Short's Spruce Pilsner (bottle)
Elk Rapids, MI
7.15% ABV ???

Certainly not a traditional Czech Pilsner, this hoppy beast is aptly-named, as it smells and tastes basically just like a tree. I was in the mood for a hoppy beer the day I shot this, so it gets a little bit higher rating than I necessarily would have otherwise. Also has a nice malt backbone and is a bit heavier than a standard pale ale, which is to be expected for a pilsner with the kinds of hop oils that you get in something like this.



Zymurgical Explorations Rating: 7.5/10

Short's Noble Chaos Oktoberfest | Short's Week Day 4 of 7

Short's Week, Day 4! For information on this project, see the Short's Week Day 1 video in my archives.

Noble Chaos is Short's seasonal Oktoberfest, one I haven't had before. It turned out to be quite a nice one, with nice roasted characteristics and a great sweet/bitter balance. My description on this one gets a little... odd at times, but that's the way it goes.

The beer this reminds me of the most is actually Spaten Optimator.



Zymurgical Explorations rating: 8.0/10

Short's Rich's Rye Ale | Short's Week Day 3 of 7

Short's Rich's Rye Ale (bottle)
Elk Rapids, MI
4.9% ABV

I'm not always a fan of rye beers, but this one was pretty good. I had a bit of a beer emergency in the pour when filming this vid, which is entertaining even if you don't want to watch the whole review.



Zymurgical Explorations rating: 7.0/10

Short's Blood Orange Wheatwine Anniversary Ale | Short's Week Day 2 of 7

You can see the explanation of this project in my Day 1 of 7 video.

Another Short's beer, a bit disappointing I admit, much less complex than I would expect from what should be a celebratory and somewhat "special" beer. Lots of citrus, but very cloying and "artificial-tasting," and the alcohol is very prominent.



Zymurgical Explorations rating: 5.0/10

Short's Sustenance Black Beer (bottle) | Short's Week Day 1 of 7

Short's Sustenance Black Beer (bottle)
Elk Rapids, MI
Unknown ABV


This is part one of a series on limited-release beers from Short's Brewing in Elk Rapids, MI. I've reviewed one Short's beer before, their Black Licorice Lager, which would also have fit into this series, but the issue was that I ended up having seven new beers to taste and review from the brewery after I got back from the Czech Republic, and decided to just do a theme week.



These would have been uploaded last week, but I hadn't finished shooting all of them when I got sick and wouldn't have been able to review the last of them before it came time to upload them. This video was recorded on 8/22/2010.

If response to this series is good, I'll do other, similar series in the future.

My review of Short's Black Licorice Lager: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TByB2mtK2qU

Bell's 25th Anniversary Ale

I recorded this before I got sick, but just got around to uploading it. It's my review of Bell's 25th Anniversary Ale. The short review: it's unbalanced and could probably use some aging.



Zymurgical Explorations rating: 7.0/10

(I plan on re-reviewing in a year or so to see how these bottles age.)

Vlog 2010-09-03 (Or: Why I Haven't Posted in a Week)

So, I went and got sick. Serious nausea and dizziness caused by fluid in my right ear, which led to an infection that required antibiotics. Not fun at all.



I've got one review already recorded and ready to upload from before I got sick, and I was most of the way through filming a series that will be posted in the next couple of weeks. Expect new content from me starting as soon as I get to feeling well enough to drink beer again, which should be sometime next week.