Now that winter has arrived, we are ready for lots of snow up here in Northern Michigan! We’re brewing lots of Good Humans and we’ve also released specialty batches of Cup A Joe and Liberator. To top things off, we also bottled the Woodmaster today and it should be hitting stores soon. Currently, all four of these beers are available for sale in 6-packs at our pub.
Good Humans (Winter Seasonal)
Good Humans is a dry hopped double brown ale. The dry hopping process gives this beer a bright, floral aroma uncommon to most big, sweet, malty beers. As you take your first sip, the sweet initial flavors harmonize with toasted caramel and toffee flavors. The caramel sweetness is mingled with the slightly fruit-like flavors and aromas of hops. The finish is dry and satisfying, making this a beer that pairs well with food. Why do we call it Good Humans? Having achieved enough success to open a production brewery in 2009, Joe wanted to dedicate a beer to all of the “good” influential people who helped him along the way. Joe was inspired to select the name Good Humans when he heard musician Seth Bernard sing the lyrics: “We’re humans – and we’re the best thing ever.” Seth later hand-drew the label art on a napkin at our Pub. Joe later scanned the image into the computer and worked with Seth and Brad Kik to finalize the finished piece. Good Humans has quickly become one of our most popular beers. When it was initially released as Winter Seasonal in 2010, it outsold of all our other flagships except for Huma Lupa Licious. We hope that you will enjoy drinking Good Humans this winter! ABV: 8%
Cup A Joe (Specialty Release)
Cup A Joe was the first official stout ever brewed at Short’s Brewing Company. It is a true Coffee Cream Stout, in that we add powdered milk sugar during the brewing process to give it a slight creaminess throughout. We use approximately 1.5oz of Higher Grounds espresso roast and 3.2oz of milk sugar per gallon! This limited specialty release will not be available for long! ABV 7%
The Liberator (Specialty Release)
A monster of a Double IPA that no longer needs an introduction! The Liberator was originally created to pay homage to the hop headed hero of Short’s Brewing Company – Joe Short – on his 30th birthday. This beast employs a sizable malt bill, but it’s the ridiculous amounts of hops added to the boil every 4 minutes, for 120 minutes, that steal the show. A fruity, floral, piney intensity of hops penetrates through the caramelized malt profile. This well balanced, full bodied brew finishes bitter with a punch of fresh citrus from the addition of lemon and orange zest post fermentation. ABV 7.5%.
The Woodmaster (Specialty Release)
The Woodmaster is a high gravity American brown ale fermented with Northern Michigan maple syrup and toasted pecans. This dark brown, full bodied ale is rich with sweet malt and syrup flavors complimented by the presence of hop aromas and a faint nuttiness. The palate delights with toasted qualities of caramelized malt and an earthy pecan laced finish. We use approximately 3.5oz of maple syrup and 2oz of pecans for every gallon of beer!
The Woodmaster was first hand bottled at Short’s in May of 2007. As with other brews that were part of the Imperial Beer Series, each 750ml bottle came with a hand numbered and signed hang tag with a narrative about the beer and brewing process. The hang tag for Woodmaster described why Joe dedicated this beer to his friend Bill Sohn. It read:
This is a beer I dedicate to one of the most respectable, integral humans I will ever know. Bill Sohn, known as the Woodmaster around Short’s Brewing Company, is responsible for making it possible for me to craft this fine ale. Without the support of Bill and Pat Sohn, this beer and Short’s Brewing Company would not exist. It was the fall of 2002. Inside the wood shop located on Pontius road, Bill and I shared a bottle of an Imperial Stout I had made. While enjoying that beer, I exclaimed my frustrations with my current brewing job and how I wanted to leave and build my own brewery. It was there in that wood shop that Bill offered to support my idea and help develop it into a business. To this day, Bill provides support and guidance to me and Short’s Brewing Company. When I first met Bill, he drank mass-produced American light lager beer. After exposing him to several of my home brews, Bill soon began to fancy the glorious malt complexity of the beer we know now as the Bellaire Brown. Over the course of my home brewing and soon into my professional brewing career, Bill and I grew together as we both enjoyed beer, wood working, and the excitement of building a brewery. Every step of the way, Bill nurtured and guided my spirit with his love, dedication and wisdom to see my dream come to fruition. Bill still actively participates in our events and continues to fill our everlasting wood shop orders. Along with our tap handles, nearly every piece of wood in our facility has been processed by the Woodmaster himself. The label on this bottle is a painting produced from an actual picture of Bill tapping a maple tree in his yard on Pontius road when he was about the same age as I am now (28). There are several elements connecting this beer, to the man, the label and the company. I used maple syrup and pecans as extra ingredients to the formula of the double brown ale. It was appropriate because they both come from trees, and brown was the “conversion” beer for Bill. The label is important because it connects the craftsman approach to the product, the maple syrup, and the integrity of the man. It also articulates the use of working with wood and raw materials, much like the raw material we used to build the pub with. It is with sincere gratitude and love I dedicate this fine ale as the crown jewel of the entire Imperial Beer Series of 2007 to Bill Sohn.
ABV: 9%
– SBC Brewing Staff
