Bottled Microbrew: Short's Smoked Apple Ale

Weekend update:  peppering the spaces between full blown recipes and rundowns of breweries, there will appear quick descriptions of Michigan bottled beers.  These aren't really reviews, since beer tasting is so subjective, but most of you are smart enough to figure out what sounds delicious, and motivated enough to go try something I've talked about.

Short's Smoked Apple Ale

I consider Short's to be one of my favorite breweries in Michigan. . . and even our favorites can dish up some real clunkers.

Short's Smoked Apple Ale pours a golden apple cider color (see what I did there?) with a thick, offwhite head. This beer is carbonated, so much so that the head stubbornly refused to diminish to let me taste it.

The aroma was pleasant. . .if you're the type who enjoys sour apple mixed with ash and dust. There's no "sweet" to balance out the smoky flavor, so all I get is a strong scent of burnt apples.

The first swallow brings flavors of sour apple and Band-Aid. I'm not sure why, but for this smoked beer and Bell's Smoked lager, my palate apparently translates “smoked” to “band-aid.” Needless to say, a sub par flavor. This will be the last “smoked” beer I try. Some flavors just don't belong in a beer, and “smoked” and “cat feces” are two of them.  This beer avoids the cat feces. . .but it's not enough.  Sorry, Short's, but when you experiment as much as you do, it's inevitable you'll make a beer as cringeworthy as some of your other creations are heavenly.

So. . . I have ten ounces of Rotten Apple Band Aid I'd be willing to share with you all.   Drink up.