FAQ

Short’s Brewing Company products are currently available in 8 states across the mid-west and as far reaching as Colorado. Check out our beer finder to track down our Products of Passion near you.

Unfortunately it is against the law for us to mail or ship beer directly to customers. Short’s beers are currently available in 8 states, mainly in the mid-west but as far reaching as Tennessee and Colorado. You can reference our Beer Locator to find some near you!

If you have your own cornie keg you would like to fill, please have it cleaned, sanitized and pressurized to 10-15 PSI. Emailing kegs@shortsbrewing.com is essential, as brewers may not have time to fill your keg without a scheduled appointment and so we can also supply a list of beers that are available to be filled. Please be ready to sit down and have a pint or two while you wait for your keg to be filled, or feel free to drop your cornie off for 24 hours and come back for pickup. Please note that all personal keg pick ups and drop offs are done at the Bellaire location only.

Conceptual ideas for the beer can come from anywhere. Basically, if we can dream it, we’ll try to brew it! The names usually pick themselves and tend to appear after a good night of getting “acquainted” with the new style. We try to use a collection of independent artists and designers for our signature labels.

Imperial Beverage is our distributor throughout of the state of Michigan. Outside of Michigan we work with a handful of trusted partners across 11 states. If you’re interested in distributing our beer elsewhere, please e-mail sales@shortsbrewing.com.

Imperial Beverage is our distributor throughout of the state of Michigan, and we work with a handful of distributors in our other states. To learn who your local rep is or to discuss particular Short’s products, please email cs@shortsbrewing.com.

Thanks for your interest in hosting a Short’s event! There’s nothing better than the right beer with a great dish, email cs@shortsbrewing.com and we can connect you with your local Liberator to explore hosting a Short’s event.

Beer is a perishable product and without proper refrigerated storage, it will deteriorate more quickly over time. While our beer ideally would be kept cool in stores, we understand that refrigerated storage space is limited at many retailers. Therefore, we have taken many steps to ensure that our product can withstand the conditions it may encounter in the field. Under proper storage conditions our products can remain tasty and quaffable for up to six months, and beyond! (That date on your can, that’s a BORN ON date. Add six months and you’ll know how long to keep your beer around.)

Yes, a little yeast is good sign! We do not filter our beer, but we do separate the yeast and hops from beer using a centrifuge. Filtering often strips flavor from beer. That’d be a bummer. Our centrifuge uses a different process and removes the majority, but not all of the yeast and hop in the beer and because of that, the flavor is great and there is still a small bit of yeast in the package. Yeast is yummy in small amounts. They want to be eaten, trust us!

We use local ingredients whenever they’re available, cost effective and consistently available. We’re super proud of our Pure Michigan seasonal line made entirely with ingredients grown on Michigan farms. This series was inspired by our four distinct seasons and features artwork by the supremely talented Tanya Whitley.

Each of our beers is made of unique ingredients for unique flavor experiences. For folks who may be counting carbs and cals, or avoiding alcohol all together, we’ve got a couple suggestions for ya. Local’s Light* American Light Lager 115 cals / 12 oz 3 carbs / 12 oz *made with real grain—no rice or corn Pulsar Dry Cider (yeah, we make cider too!) 145 cals / 12 oz 10 carbs / 12 oz <1g sugar, all natural, gluten free Thirst Mutilator Non-Alcoholic Hop Water 0 cals 0 carbs 0% ABV 100% Epic

In 2013, we undertook our first attempt at a true Short’s Brew quality beer that contains less gluten. Focusing on what many of us would want to drink if we were cut off from beer for any length of time, the beer created was a low-gluten India Pale Lager (Alien Einstein).  It is incredibly delicious! In order to ensure that our new gluten-reducing process was successful, and to make certain we would not be misleading people by falsely promoting a gluten-reduced beer option, we sent samples to a lab where gluten content could be determined. Though this beer cannot be promoted as “gluten free” (since it started off deriving from gluten based cereal grains), we hoped that the test result numbers would provide us with the security and information to encourage gluten-intolerant folks to try it with confidence. When the test results returned, the gluten levels were too low to even read. This beer produced gluten readings that were below ten parts per million, the allowable numbers for gluten-free products.  As Operations Guru Tyler Glaze put it, “This beer has lower gluten levels than gluten-free.”” Subsequently in 2015, we set out to create a dang delish, gluten-reduced pale ale for our Always Available line and Space Rock was created. But don’t be fooled, if we didn’t tell ya, you’d have no idea the gluten was missing.

Bellaire is still a fully functioning brewery, 7 days a week, with three full time brewers on staff. In fact, all of the beer we serve at our pub is brewed at the Bellaire Brewery. We have a full food menu available at the pub as well.  We feature an array of sandwiches, wraps, salads, soups, appetizers and pizza. We also try to offer a unique selection of exclusive draft beers, which can only be found at our Bellaire pub, to help make the journey even more rewarding.

There are a number of fine lodging establishments in Bellaire and many ways to find out more information about them. For the full Short’s Beer-sperience, you can book our AirBNB, located directly above the Pub!

Absolutely, it’s not what’s on the outside of the growler that is important; it’s what you’re filling it with that really matters. But you’ve gotta bring it in clean and ready to rip.

Yeah! The Elk Rapids Pull Barn is open seven days a week. In addition to beer, we also serve cider, hard seltzer, and canned wine. You can drink here or take it wherever your heart desires. For more info, check out the Pull Barn’s page.

Heck yes! Our Pull Barn opened for year-round service in February, 2021. We’ve got 20 drafts with packaged beer, cider, wine, and Thirst Mutilator, our NA Hop Water to go. Check out the Pull Barn page for hours of operation, draft list, and our current line up of food trucks.

You sure can! But only if you picked it up in Elk Rapids in the first place. Same goes for the Pub, if you pick it up there, you must return it there. Easy peasy!

Check out our Tours page for more information!

Probably one of our most frequently asked questions.  There are no immediate plans to expand Short’s into any new areas. The Bellaire & Elk Rapids locations were strategically picked by Joe Short, and we pride ourselves on our destination locations—seriously, how many breweries do you know with a beach across the street? We realize that it can be quite a journey for many people; but, when you make it up to our neck of the woods, you’ll quickly understand how it plays perfectly into our company’s mission and values. Any location can be a Short’s Pub when you’re drinking a beer from us—ask your favorite local watering hole to bring on whatever Short’s beers your tastebuds desire!

If you go to our webstore, you will find beer labels, canvas prints, and all the Short’s gear you can imagine! Pro tip: You can easily peel the labels off your beers and re-stick ’em to the back of your trapper keeper or whatever.

We do not currently offer volunteer work or unpaid internships in our brewery. When we have job openings, we list them on our Careers page.

We sell our kegs in 1/2 barrels (15.5 gals), 1/4 barrels (7.75 gals) and 1/6 barrels (5 gals). To break it down into 12oz. pours, you will get roughly: 165 glasses from a 1/2bbl, 82 glasses from a 1/4bbl and 53 glasses from a 1/6bbl. Here are some questions to help determine how many kegs you will need. 1. Are there going to be other alcoholic beverages? 2. Of your guests, how many are of legal drinking age? 3. Are your guests familiar with microbrew beer (are you going to have domestic keg as well)? 4. How many different beers were you thinking about getting? 5. Are you OK running out of beer or would you prefer to have some left over? 6. How long will the bar be open? PS: You can order a keg directly from us! Head to our “Order a Keg” page.

Our distributor for the entire state of Michigan is Imperial Beverage, based out of Kalamazoo. You can contact Imperial by calling 269-382-4200 or by visiting them at www.imperialbeverage.com. Outside of Michigan our distributors are as follows: Florida – Cavalier Distributing Illinois – Chicago Beverage Systems & Marketplace Selections Indiana & Ohio – Cavalier Distributing Wisconsin – General Beverage & Kay Distributing Colorado – Elite Beverage New Jersey – Cape May Distributing Tennessee – Tennessee Craft Distributing (Knoxville & Nashville only) To find our beers near you, visit our Beer Finder.

SHORT’S BREWING COMPANY SPONSORSHIP & DONATION POLICY

Since opening in 2004, Short’s has supported many worthwhile causes and events. We are lucky to be a part of a wonderful community and it gives us great pleasure to be able to give back. These are the guidelines Short’s Brewing Company refers to when considering sponsorship/donation requests from non-account entities.

HOW TO MAKE A REQUEST

All requests must be submitted thru our contact form for review. Due to the volume we receive we are unable to accept them at the Pub/Pull Barn or over the phone. We ask that before submitting a request you read through the following information and guidelines.

GENERAL RULES FOR SPONSORSHIPS & DONATIONS – There are so many worthwhile causes and events across the country, but we choose to focus our efforts in the state of Michigan. Requests outside of Michigan will not be reviewed. – Sponsorship and donations will be allocated with priority to organizations and events based locally in Northern Michigan and those that share Short’s Brewing’s core values. Other important considerations include amount requested, targeted audience, and remaining monthly funds. – We decline involvement in anything related to schools and other educational institutions that work directly with young children. It’s not that we don’t believe in supporting our area schools, but we find it inappropriate to do so as an alcoholic beverage producer. – State law prohibits us from donating beer to any events. Our hands are tied on this one. – Due to the time and effort required to consider and process each request with care, we need at least 10 days’ notice. Any request that does not give us 10 days will be automatically declined. – Any requests from Short’s accounts will be deferred by the Customer Service Department to the Beer Liberation Department. SPONSORSHIP

Sponsorships are defined here as direct monetary gifts from Short’s Brewing Company to an external organization or event. As much as we would love to be a part of each and every sponsorship opportunity, we wouldn’t be able to make any beer if we gave everything away. Consequently, it is impossible for us to support each and every cause, no matter how worthy. New sponsorship requests are being reviewed at this time. Organizations and events may request Short’s sponsorship and shall be either approved or rejected based on the criteria laid out within this policy.

DONATIONS

Donations are defined here as non-monetary gifts from Short’s Brewing Company to an external organization or event. Again, beer cannot be donated to any event, it would be illegal for us to do so. New donation requests are being reviewed at this time. Organizations and events may request Short’s donations and shall be either approved or rejected based on the criteria laid out within this policy.

Simply visit our Contact Page, or slide into our DMs on Facebook or Insta.

Please check the Pub Page for hours of operation.  

We don’t take reservations. We are a first-come, first-served establishment. We put your name into our system, and will shoot you a text when your table is ready. Keep your eyes on your phone. During our busy season, you’ll probably have to wait for a table. But fear not! We have multiple areas you can grab a beer while you wait, including our brand new beer garden across the street. Reminder: good things take time, and if you’ve had our food, you know the wait is worth it. Don’t want to eat here? Order takeout. You can either call or pop in, when it’s ready you’ll pick it up at the Short’s Mart bar. Thinking of planning a big party? Check out our private events space The South End.

We have a private event space—The South End—located at the south end of the Bellaire Pub where our company store used to be. The South End comfortably seats 40 people, and can hold 50 for standing events. From pizza parties and taco bars to full-on fancy fiestas on white linen, we’ll help your party plans come true. For booking and more information, visit our Contact Page.

Short’s is a family-friendly pub, and we encourage Short’s patrons of all ages to come and enjoy the warm and inviting atmosphere. We do ask that minors be accompanied at all times and that no person under the age of 18 be in the pub after midnight.

Short’s books musicians from across the state and country who travel to the pub to provide live music during our evening hours. We do not charge a cover for our patrons to experience this, but we do ask guests who are enjoying the entertainment to participant in Short’s “Honor Cover”. Honor Cover is a way for our patrons to show their gratitude to the musicians who are providing the live music they are enjoying.

Please fill out this form. If you fit our style, we’ll be in touch.

Check out our Pull Barn page for hours of operation.

Yes, but only when it’s nice out! Well-behaved, leashed dogs are allowed outside at the Pull Barn—please leave the yippers and nippers at home. We ask that pet parents please clean up after and maintain positive control over their pups at all times. We’ve got treats and fresh water.

We host a variety of food trucks throughout the year and welcome takeout or home-brought food. Seriously, we’ve had families plug in a crock pot and have a taco party. Just don’t be upset if we need a lil taste.

Check out our Tours page for more information!

Short’s brewers are some of the hardest working people out there. They start in the wee morning hours and finish after the sun goes down. Though brewers and scientists who work at Short’s may taste the beer to make sure that it meets quality standards, they wait till the end of the day before they enjoy a thirst quenching pint.

When we have job openings, we list them on our Careers page.  If there is no brewing position posted, then we are not hiring brewers.  We generally promote all brewers from within our organization.