As we prepared for the ultimate block party of local love, awesomeness, and beer, we traveled back in time to where it all began 15 years ago.
After renovation of the 120-year-old hardware store, Short’s officially opened its doors on April 26, 2004, in Bellaire, Michigan. “Words cannot describe the heartache, stress, losses, physical and mental fatigue, and great rewards experienced throughout the struggle to bring the Short’s Brewing Company project to fruition. It is real, and remains real because we believe in what we do and always have.” ~ Joe Short
14 years ago Leah joined the team to manage the deli and took responsibility for the creation of our first delicious Ween-inspired food menu.
13 years ago, Scott Newman-Bale became CFO of Short’s. Scott’s background in business and real estate has been a tremendous asset to Short’s, earning him the nickname “The Magician.”
Flashback 12 years ago to the launch of the 2007 Imperial Beer Series. Joe firmly believes the success of these brews were the turning point for our company and was the catalyst for propelling us to the next level of brewing greatness. When the original series was launched, all of the beers were individually bottled by hand and a tag hung around the neck of the bottle that told a brief story about the beer’s creation.
11 years ago, we purchased an old manufacturing building in Elk Rapids, Michigan. After intense research, fundraising, and sweat equity, we were able to design, construct, and assemble our Production Facility!
Just 10 Short’s years ago, we brewed and bottled our first batch of beer at our Production Facility in Elk Rapids! Every bottle on the truck was labeled by hand. We now package over 50,000 barrels of beer and cider into bottles, cans, and kegs annually.
Throwback to 9 years ago when our pub was renovated and reborn! We closed for two weeks and during that time, Chris and his crew worked about 240 hours to get the projected completed.
Flashback to 8 years ago when we added new DCI Tanks and a new Glycol Chiller to our Production Facility in Elk Rapids. With the addition of this equipment, we were able to brew almost twice as much beer as before and we quadrupled our chilling capacity at the time.
7 years ago we installed 16 ninety barrel tanks during the busiest time of the year. This installation put us a bit behind in production but we brewed around the clock to catch up. We took a lot of big risks that paid off.
6 years ago we renovated our stage room bar with a really cool map of the area. Be sure to check it out next time you’re at the pub!
5 years ago when Dean Ween played our first M88 street bash, we launched Starcut Ciders, and we opened our “brewtique” now known as Short’s Mart. Very few tickets remain for Saturday’s party, buy yours if you haven’t already!
4 years ago we installed our wastewater pre-treatment facility, solar arrays, and we started distributing Starcut Ciders.
Today we look back 3 years ago when we expanded our pub again and added the Antrim Room. We also expanded our distribution footprint to include Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Colorado (Starcut Ciders only).
2 years ago when we partnered with our friends at Lagunitas Brewing Co and we opened our new Short’s Mart right next to the pub.
As we wrap up our countdown to #AnniParty15, we look back at last year when we installed our new canning line. With the new canner, we were able to increase quality and production of our canned beers and Starcut Ciders. It’s been a wild ride and we can’t wait to celebrate 15 years of loving what we do and loving where we live with all of you tomorrow!
