Whoa, whoa, whoa.. is that a Short's? In MA?! well... a few months ago, Beer Advocate had their Extreme Beer Fest here in Boston. One of the breweries visiting was Short's from MI. And being awesome dude's they brought cases of a few of their beers for Boston beer-lovers to enjoy outside of the fest!
Short's Brewing - The Soft Parade
an 9.0% ABV 14 IBU "fruit-infused Rye Ale" They use fresh raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries (pureed) in this. The result? A rich ruby pour, almost no head.. and TONS of tart fruit pouring from the glass. Some funk comes off the pour..not much. Besides that, there isn't much else to the nose. It's extremely light for a 9% beer. There's a touch of sour at the beginning, sorta sharp, almost acidic. It borders on unpleasant, yet isn't. Each fruit surprisingly finds a way to shine through at different moments. There's touches of the booze as it warms with a little rye spice and sweeter, light malts. It has moments that remind me of a homebrew.. then it has moments of greatness. Not quite a sour, not quite a fruit beer.. this is just tasty!
- - 7 Hops!
a 6.9% ABV "140" IBU IPA hmmm 140? really? let's see! Named after the scientific name for the hop flower, Humulus lupulus, it has a deep orange pour.. quickly fading head. Holy hell this is stickier than Boston after the great molasses spill of 1919! My nose hairs are basically getting stuck together just smelling this beer! There's an absurd amount of piney and rich citrus hops in the nose. Not much malt here at all. The taste has a huge bitter bite that kicks your teeth in.. earthy, fresh, piney, super sticky.. these hops linger, kids. If you don't like that, stay the eff away! There's caramel and bready malts, but those are only here to give a little sweetness so you don't die from hop overload. Not much in the way of the booze either. The star is clearly the hops.. grapefruit and mango come out near the end, but still tons of pine, spice and grass. It's sharp and sticky on the finish, a bit sweet. Thank God I drank this second.. I may not be able to taste anything for days!
- - 9 Hops!
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