We are pleased to announce that we have decided to introduce Pontius Road Pilsner as a year-round bottled product. Pontius Road Pilsner was the first Short’s Brew created at our Pub, brewed by Joe Short on March 5, 2004. The pronunciation of Pontius is Pont – ee – us (not Pawn-chus). The real Pontius Road is located in Kalkaska, Michigan. It is where Bill Sohn, the person who encouraged Joe to “go for it” and open his own brewery, lives. When Joe opened Short’s in Bellaire, he knew that if Short’s was going to survive, people would have to be willing to seek out quality beer. Thus, the slogan for Pontius Road Pilsner is “Quality Lies Just off the Beaten Path.” We are happy that, starting soon, you won’t have to go so far off the beaten path to get this original Short’s Brew.
Part of what attracted Joe to brewing an American Pilsner was the historical nature of this style. The colonial settlers and first immigrants to America longed for their familiar, European lager beer, but did not have ready access to the same ingredients. In order to stretch their supplies, Americans added flaked maize to their pilsner beers. True to this tradition, we brew Pontius Pontius Road Pilsner with pilsen malt and a substantial, though not overwhelming amount of flake maize. Pontius Road Pilsner is a light, sessionable beer that still possesses a hoppiness suited to Joe’s tastes (he’s the guy that created Huma Lupa Licious, after all). Yet, while the hop bitterness of Pontius Road is somewhat prominent, the wonderful flavor and aroma of the flaked maize and pilsen malt do not get overshadowed. Our official description of Pontius Road Pilsner is “A true American style Pilsner where the malted barley, when blended with flaked maize (corn), produce a deliciously distinct flavor. It is light in body and color, with a surprisingly full flavor that gives way to crisp refreshment. Handfuls of hops provide pleasant aromatics and a wonderful dry finish. 4.5% ABV, 18 IBUs.”
After much consideration, we have decided to move the Magician to a seasonal specialty release, so that we can remain at a total of five year round flagships. While we love the Magician, we felt that the diversity of our flagship portfolio would be enhanced by this change. Magician fans should not despair, however. We will continue to brew the Magician and do our best to ensure its availability in kegs. We also intend to bottle the Magician as a seasonal specialty release, most likely as a limited fall selection. Meanwhile, the Magician is still available in stores while supplies last. Stock up now!
– Jon Wojtowicz, Short’s Beer Liberator
