Shorts Black Licorice Lager

Let me preface this rating with two statements. First, I really like Shorts. Second, I absolutely love black licorice and anise flavors. The body was black colored, looked almost like a schwarzbier with a khaki head. The aroma was obvious with tosn of licorice and some cola. There was also some woody charater. The taste was more black licorice with some roast notes and coffee. Excellent, but you need ot like black licorice, otherwise you will hate this one.

GABF 2007. It was tough for me to decide whether this or the Spruce was better, as I stood at the Shorts booth for what seemed like a solid 20 minutes getting refills with cquiroga and awaisanen. Nice head, even in the small tasting glass. Smells like ouzo with toffee. Smooth lactic sweetness in the mouth, craisins without the tang, and of course anise (although this is much more pronounced in the smell than in the taste, where it is more of an echo counterpoint in the finish). Great and unique beer; kudos to the guys at Shorts.

Appearance: Pours a near black body with a small, fizzy, khaki-colored head. Smell: Aroma jam-packed with distinct-smelling black licorice and lesser notes of chocolate, roast, spearmint, and a vague fruitiness. Taste: Sweetish black licorice flavor is quite heavy, with a lesser taste of semi-sweet chocolate. Slight hint of roasted malt. Tiny taste of chopped mint leaves. Thin measure of fruitiness. Lightly roasty finish with a lingering taste of root beer. All of the flavors and tastes combine beautifully to present a taste truly reminiscent of root beer. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Recommended. The best root beer I’ve had in a coon’s age. Yet another wonderful creation by Short’s Brewing.

On Tap at the GABF, thanks to JasonA from BA for tipping me off to this one. Black, complex, malty, sweet and not too much anise. It would go just as well at a summer picnic as a post snow shoveling warm up session. Go find some!

From a 750mL Bottle, #67/744. Mostly transparent dark brown, borderline black colored pour with edges of milk chocolate and a thick head of fluffy tan. Smooth, supple, rich nose of chocolate, vanilla, and a fabulous dose of licorice. I love how the licorice is so prominent, but maintains this silky soft character without getting to edgy or harsh, allowing it to work with the rest of the beer remarkably well. Hints of toasted caraway seed add some subtly spicy complexity. Medium bodied, shimmering carbonation that melts softly across the tongue. Chocolate licorice stick. Some roast coffee comes through, but smooth and chocolatey soft. More licorice, along with clean, fudgy dark malts. Amazing interplay between the licorice, chocolate, roast, vanilla and spice. This needs to be brewed again.