Anyone who knows Short’s knows that Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head inspired Joe in a big way. Back in the early days of Short’s, when Joe was struggling to get by, he drove all the way to Milton, Delaware so that he could get Sam’s opinion about his beer and his business plan. Sam told Joe to keep going with Short’s, and the rest is history. Since then, Sam and Joe have remained good friends.
Both Dogfish Head and Short’s have open minds about brewing, yet both breweries strive to do everything that they do, no matter how unusual or new, in a delicious and dignified way. Therefore, it was a natural decision for the two breweries to work together. The concept for the collaboration brew this: each brewery would contribute ingredients from its home state, the key ingredients would be new or unusual in craft brewing, and the brewing would take place at Short’s.
The yet unnamed collaboration brew is a Baltic Porter featuring beach plums from Delaware, horehound from Michigan, and red popcorn (sent by Nick Floyd of Three Floyds brewery in Indiana). The resulting brew will resonate strongly with those who love Short’s Black Cherry Porter. It is delicious.
Short’s is releasing the test batch of this beer at its Pub on July 4th. Then, on Wednesday July 6th, Joe and Sam will host a public reception at the lobby of the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa from 5-6:30 p.m. That evening, Sam will dine with the Short’s crew at the Aerie Restaurant on the 16th floor of the tower. Special kegs of Short’s and Dogfish Head will be featured at Aerie that night (a tap takeover to remember!). Short’s Brew will also be featured at Jack’s Sports Bar, which is located near the hotel lobby.
Meanwhile, during the first week of July, the brewers of Short’s and Dogfish Head will be brewing a batch of the collaboration beer in Elk Rapids. Due to the unique nature and complexities of this beer, it is likely to be available in our Pub only.
Join Short’s on July 15th at the 1st Annual “Sip of Michigan” sponsored by Drink Michigan! All event profits go to Homefront Hugs, a Michigan-based organization dedicated to taking care of troops stationed overseas, wounded heroes, and military families.
The Rattlesnake Club will host this event, which will take place from 8 p.m. until midnight. Features will include an all-Michigan lineup of beer, wine and spirits, plus specialty food pairings and live entertainment. The event is $35 and includes 35 tasting tickets and all appetizers and entertainment. Tickets will not be sold at the door, so advanced purchase is required. You must be at least 21 years of age to attend.
For a limited time, you can win a pair of tickets to this event! Here are the rules:
1. “Like” Short’s Facebook page before Friday, July 8th.
2. Before Friday, July 8th, email a picture of yourself to drinkmich@shortsbrewing.com. In the picture, you should be “representing Short’s” by wearing our apparel, enjoying a Short’s Brew (responsibly, of course), or showing your Short’s love in some other way! By sending us your picture, you agree to let us post it online as being a dedicated Short’s Fan!
The person who “likes Short’s” and sends the best picture, as determined by SBC staff, will be given a free pair of tickets to the event. This is intended to be fun, so please no headaches!
On July 16, 2011, Short’s Brewing Company and the Michigan Mountain Biking Association Northern Chapter will present the Logsplitter Challenge, a point-to-point mountain bike race from North Higgins Lake State Park to Hanson Hills Recreation Area in Grayling! Team Huma riders, such as Alex Pina (pictured), will be racing!
The race features a course like no other in Michigan: 23 miles of mixed terrain for beginners, 28 miles for everyone else. The course starts out in “warm up” fashion with ski trails and two track before concluding on some awesome northern Michigan singletrack. This will be a great event for new and advanced riders alike! The Bicycle Shop in Grayling and Bikelab TC will provide support along the way, and the MMBA will ensure that there is ice-cold Short’s Brew at the finish line.
We promised to keep you posted on the status of one of our most anticipated specialty beer releases: India Spruce Pilsner. As the people who have been anticipating this beer know, the “popping” of the spruce tips needed for this beer happened late this year, pushing the brewing date back about a week and a half. But today is the day, and the beer has been bottled. We took some to the pub today, so it is currently available for sale at that location. It should hit stores next week.
If you love this beer, be sure to stock up because it won’t last long. However, due to demand, we brewed almost 3 times as much this year as we did last. To read our earlier post about Spruce Pils, click here. To view all of our 2011 Spruce Pils production photos, go here.
If you missed the Short’s dinner last week at the Boathouse, we almost hate to tell you how good it was! Each course outdid the previous, making it almost impossible to choose a favorite. Chef Eric Nittolo was literally creating on the fly, adjusting dishes to go perfectly with each beer. Then, as if the last course wasn’t already the icing on the cake, a final touch was added as the sun broke through the clouds, creating a perfect sunset over Bowers Harbor. If you haven’t been to the Boathouse yet, we highly recommend it. We also hope to schedule another beer dinner there before the end of the year! All of our photos from this event are located here.
Don’t Miss FUNKTION Live @ Short’s Brewing Company!! Sunday, July 3rd
Our good friends Funktion are back to rock the up north holiday weekend scene and will be making a stop at our Bellarie brew pub on Sunday, July 3rd. We teamed up w/ this Kalamazoo based funk-rock-R&B-soul sound machine over two years ago when they played at one of our Brewski Bash celebrations. They brought a sound so tight and rocked all of those in attendance that we had to have them back to see if they could do it again. Another successful Brewski Bash later we decided that a summer time celebration was in order. Show will start between 8:30-9:00pm, but we recommed getting there early, because the house will be packed. An “honor cover” charge of $5 will be greatly appreciated and can be donated in a designated area located at the front of the stage. The band will also have CD’s and merchandise for sale.
On Thursday, June 16th, Short’s held a beer and food pairing event at Andiamo’s Bloomfield Hills location. Approximately 30 attendees enjoyed unique pairings such as crab stuffed salmon, lightly breaded, with a zesty lemon hollandaise and crispy pan fried lemongrass, paired with Nicie Spicie! Short’s looks forward to more potential beer dinners with Andiamo in the future. Short’s also has several upcoming beer dinners throughout the state. If you’ve never experienced a beer and food pairing, it is an experience worth having! Beer and food are meant to be enjoyed together, and the experience will help you experience beers you love in a new way, and possibly come to appreciate styles or flavors that you haven’t previously. For all event photos, click here.
The inaugural Short’s tall ship cruise took place this past Sunday evening, June 19th. Over sixty people joined Jon Wojtowicz, Short’s Beer Liberator, aboard the Tall Ship Manitou for a sunset sail featuring Short’s Brew and local pizza from Crusted Creations. As Captain Dave McGinnis sailed the ship across Traverse Bay, Jon discussed the four unique Short’s Brews sampled, as well as all things Short’s.
The next Short’s Brew cruise will take place on July 3rd. Thereafter, the cruises will take place every Sunday night all summer long until Labor Day Weekend. This is a truly awesome way to experience the beauty of our area! To make reservations, contact the Traverse City Tall Ship Company at 800 678-0383 or 231 941-2000. To view all of our photos from the first sail, click here.
A couple weeks ago, Short’s had the opportunity to attend SAVOR, the nation’s premier beer and food pairing event. While in D.C., Short’s took its message of beer liberation to Congress, partnered with Churchkey to bring 30 taps of Short’s Brew to the people of D.C., and networked with many of our friends in the craft brewing industry. Since we know many Short’s fans would have loved to attend these events, we made a short video to document our experiences. We hope you enjoy it!
There is a softball field on Torch Lake, just south of Alden, where stars are born. Many of these stars brew or serve beer by day, but also possess superior athletic talents that can only be witnessed on the softball diamond. These are the men and women of Short’s.
It all begins at 6:30 on Tuesday nights. As the sun tips lower in the sky, Short’s employees, patrons, and friends begin to arrive. Coach James surveys the group and, with a keen eye for talent, divides the group into two teams. No one even dares utter a “pick me, pick me” because Coach James would be unswayed in his decisions. He knows. He just knows.
There is no score in Short’s softball, nor is there a strike count. The only rule is that three outs ends an inning, and if a team overthrows a base (which happens just about every time we make a throw to a base), the base runner only gets to take one free base. Sometimes we look pretty good, other times we look like little kids at their first day of little league practice. But at the end of the day, what other team in America has growlers of experimental new Short’s Brew in its dugouts, or a Torch Lake Beach as it’s outfield fence?
If you happen to be in the Antrim County area on a Tuesday night, and are interested in playing softball with us, just let us know. We are a welcoming group, we have extra equipment, and no particular talent level is required! To see pictures from one of our recent practices, click here.
Anyone who knows Short’s knows that Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head inspired Joe in a big way. Back in the early days of Short’s, when Joe was struggling to get by, he drove all the way to Milton, Delaware so that he could get Sam’s opinion about his beer and his business plan. Sam told Joe to keep going with Short’s, and the rest is history. Since then, Sam and Joe have remained good friends. 
