Shorts Bourbon Barrel Sustenance Black Beer

Brewed by Shorts Brewing Co.
Style: Schwarzbier
Bellaire, Michigan USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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12-oz. Thanks, BVC! Crystal clear rubied dark amber. Thin, loose tan head. Bourbon, vanilla, oak, and caramel on the nose. Creamy, medium body. Figs, vanilla, caramel, bourbon and oak on the mid-palate. Nice mild finish. This one jumped up and grabbed attention; nice stuff for sure.

Bomber from masonjer. Thanks. Shared with my girlfriend Cyn and friends over dinner. Pours black with a tan head. Nose is sweet, smoky, malty with a touch of bourbon. Taste is sweet and malty with a big malty back bone, well balanced and tasty.

22oz Bomber Recieved this in an ongoing trade with hoppymeal, thanks again Derek! Sustenance pours black with deep chestnut highlights when backlit. A creamy two fingers worth of mocha head rose on the pour and as it slowly fell left thick sheet lacing down the glass. Each drink leaves great, thick drink lines behind. The head eventually settles to a half finger cap atop the black body. The first thing that hits my nose is the effects of the barrel "soaking" as the bottle implies. Damp oak, bourbon, and vanilla come forward in that order of intensity and although the barrel aging is most prominent it’s soft and allows the schwarz to come through nicely. Each swirl of the glass brings along a solid roastiness and espresso. A mouthwatering beer the second I bury my nose in the glass. Flavor keeps in stride with the aroma. Roastiness and coffee grounds upfront lay the foundation for the barrel aging. The maltiness is present throughout the drink allowing the bourbon to be a complimenting, as opposed to dominating, characteristic. The damp oak falls back compared to the aroma. The bourbon is brought to the front, followed closely by vanilla, and last but certainly not least is the damp oakiness. The bourbon finishes things off with a nice heat and hit of booziness. This is a super high quality schwarz from Short’s. One of the reasons I love schwarz biers is the body. This follows stride with some of the best but adds a bit of creaminess from the barrel aging. Medium body that leaves a slickness on the tongue. For a barrel aged beer this is highly drinkable. The lighter body and a manageable abv keep this flowing without a problem. As a matter of fact I’m drinking this glass way too fast. I can’t slow down. I thought this would be a good beer, just as all Short’s beers are, but I didn’t expect to be drinking something so good. This is a phenomenal beer. So many barrel aged beers are over the top in whatever liquid the barrel previously held but Short’s hit it on the head here. Another great beer from a brewery that’s becoming one of my favorites with every passing beer I drink. 6/7/08

Shared bomber bottle w thirstyneck. Nice roasty aroma, some bourbon in there too. Mild sweetness, i didnt find the bourbon aspect to overpowering, as in others. Raisen/plum in there, followed by a little vanilla kiss. Nice brew!

22oz from GrandCruDrew - thanks! Nice reddish black body with a modest tan head, fairly minimal lacing. Initial notes in the aroma are brown sugar, slight yeast, and dark fruits. Not nearly as many roasted flavors as I’d expected, which was a mild disappointment, and the result was that the yeast flavors (which lasted throughout) clashed just a bit with the very well done barrel-aging, with wood, slight vanilla, and bourbon flavors emerging. Pleasant finish but not quite up to snuff.

Thanks to thickfreakness for sharing this biyatch!
WOOOOOOOO!!! DRINK DRUNK BEER BOOZEW!!!!!!!&# />
Pours dark brown with light tan head. Smell is roasty and lightly smoky. Taste is slightly chocolatey and roasty with some strange light tartness. Fuck. I guess it was a bit above average. I LIKE FIRE PONIES!

22oz beer. Great beer. Almost a meal. Pours black with a medium head. Slight aroma of bourbon mixed in with sugar and other fruits.

Chocolate-cola pour with mocha foam. Green apple, minty herbs, dark chocolate, graham cracker crusts in the aroma; hugely tangy and almost tart with the swift buttery sweetness of bourbon; too much presence really. A touch of cuban mocha sits sweetly with a fitting, darkening character that distantly balances the almost unbearable tang of the bourbon; additionally, some dark spicing of anise and sweet tobacco forms a semblance of malt build, but the the confronting tart sweetness of the bourbon is simply too ostentatious.

The flavor is much the same; lots of dusty sweetness and almost-sour apple-like tang; full of white fruit and sparkling effervescence that seems quite out of place in this style built on munich and caramel malts and their characters, none of which are even difficultly visible, although there is a steadfast and somewhat cloying sheen of vanilla throughout. The fruit character of its sweetness has some vinousness to it, but it’s sharp-edged and brittle; not raisins, plums, and dates but pears, apples, and pineapple, consistently. Notes of a delicate bourbon, really. And it’s so immersed in that fruity, tart texture that it almost seemed like an acetaldahyde-crushed beer at first, and I still can’t definitely tell that it isn’t.

Light-medium palate pushes the tartness through. Lightly effervescent. The finish really expands the borders of the flavor quite nicely, and tends to accentuate the bitter chocolate and pistachio bits of the malts; still tart, but it’s interesting enough at the end to seem inviting and redeemable as a whole experience. Still I’d really love less bourbon mucking up my perception of this thing. Thanks Derek!

22oz bomber. Pours deep, deep mahogany with a bubbly two-finger tan head that lingers for a little while and leaves a trace of lacing. Smell is complex and interesting with bourbon definitely showing up and burning the nose a little. There is also tons of dark fruit with raisins and even grapes on top a very sweet malt base with brown sugar as well. Taste is just as interesting as the nose with an initial sweetness of sugar and caramel. Dark fruits show throughout on top of a roasted malt base before giving way to a tingling alcohol finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with good carbonation and leaves a sticky sweet aftertaste tinged with booze. This is one of the best schwarzbiers I’ve ever had and I think the bourbon barrel use is very well done. This is my first Shorts brew and I’m looking forward to more. Highly recommended!

Courtesy of northernbrews Bottle: The aroma contains bourbon, vanilla, minty notes, chocolate, and faint roastiness. It pours a dark brown with some faint orange highlights with a small beige head. The flavor starts with chocolate and mild bourbon. The finish has light notes of roastiness and woodiness. It’s medium bodied with soft carbonation.