With hundreds of beers in our portfolio, one of our most difficult tasks is figuring out which ones to put on the production schedule. Throughout the year, we use our original, 7 barrel Bellaire Pub Brewery to brew almost all of the beer that flows from our 20 taps. As such, we have a unique opportunity to provide our patrons with tried and true favorites alongside new experimental brews. Meanwhile, we use our 30 barrel Production Brewery in Elk Rapids to brew the beer that we release in bottles and kegs.
In developing our Elk Rapids production schedule, we take into consideration a lot of factors, including whether the brew was a hit with our patrons, whether it will provide something unique for Michigan craft beer drinkers, whether the beer created buzz at festivals and tap takeovers around the state, whether we personally enjoyed drinking the beer and would like to drink it after work, and whether the product would survive the trip from our brewery to your taste buds and still taste great.
There is much to be excited about in 2013, including first time releases of many IPAs and Hoppy lagers, like Hopstache, Beard of Zeus, Dan’s Pink Skirt, MMMKay, Pan Galactic, and Juicy Tree. For the first time, we’re also releasing Rye Not?, Goodnight Bodacious, Cerveza de Julie, Village Reserve, and Evil Urges.
If you don’t see your favorite Short’s Brew on the 2013 schedule, it simply means that we wanted to mix things up. In the future, we will continue to place certain specialty releases on hiatus and then bring them back. We undertake our ambitious specialty release program because we are interested in using our extra capacity not to take our flagships into other states, but to bring more interesting and unique brews to our loyal customers here in the Great Beer State.
Cheers!
– SBC Brew Staff
