Shorts The Wizard

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

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 11/18/2011. Pours very hazy dark reddish brown color with a 1 finger dense khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of big toffee, caramel, molasses, chocolate, raisin, prune, biscuit, toast, floral, light pine, and floral earthiness. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of malt and fruity notes; with good strength. Taste of lightly tart raisin, prune, caramel, toffee, molasses, toast, biscuit, light chocolate, light roast, floral, pine, and floral earthiness. Light earthy floral bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark fruits, caramel, toffee, toast, molasses, biscuit, light chocolate, floral, light pine, and toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity and balance of malt and fruit flavors; with a fair amount of hop presence and no cloying sweetness after the finish. The raisins are a touch astringent but not bad at all. Medium carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a very creamy and slick mouthfeel that is good. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a very nice barleywine style. Very nice balance and complexity of flavors; and very smooth to sip on slowly. A very enjoyable offering.

Bottle (from notes). This one let me down. One of my favorite styles but it just didn’t come together for me. Lots of dried fruit and odd spices.

Aroma of a box of raisins, some metallic iron, and apple core. Pours deep brown with a small but thick foamy head. Taste is harsh with a tangy metal twinge which thankfully gives way to dark fruit and a nice roasty finish. Very unique but needs to be smoothed.

12oz bottle pours dark amber almost brown with off white head. minimal lacing on the glass. the aroma is of a barley wine style with kicks of bourbon, dark fruit (raisins) and alcohol. the flavor is of warm alcohol burn with the bourbon and fruit in the for front. wondering and thinking if you let this one age a year or so what changes will take place i have another bottle that will go in the vault for future use. the body is almost thin but yet the fruitiness of this is a bit on the strong side.

Bottle @ home. Not sure where i got this brew- its been sitting around at my parents house for ages. Pours a deep brown appearance with a creamy brown head. Big dark fruity, thick fig, plum, rich leathery, caramel, nutty aroma. Dark chocolate, thick and very sweet, caramel, raisin, plum, leathery flavor. Some booze but kind of a cool brew.

28th July 2011
Hazy dark red - brown beer. Residual pale tan head. Light fruity nose. Light semi crisp palate. Aniseed malt with a tangy fruit undertone. A little raisin and marmalade. Trace of alcohol heat in the semi dry finish.

Deep rich cola coloured body with a purple, violet and deep brown tint and a two centimetre thick nice rich brown head. Aroma of pungent caramel, toffee, raisins, nuts, earth and more figs than I can imagine. Medium to Full-bodied; Rich sweet flavour at first then fading to a super strong toasted malt quality with some earth, nuts, figs, metal and a little hint of spices, more on the savoury side. Aftertaste is complex, but showing more earth and pitted fruits than anything else. Overall, a good beer, not as complex and deep as most barley wines, but a nice offering and a welcome departure from most beers in this style. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle at the end of the first week with my first born child, purchased at Merchant’s in Dearborn, Michigan on 11-January-2011 for US$2.79 sampled at home in Washington on 19-October-2012, about a year and a half old just from me.

On draft at Churchkey in D.C. The beer is dark brown, with a thick head that leaves plenty of lacing behind. The aroma is malt forward, with caramels soaked in alcohol, and dark fruits. The flavor is nice, with the 11% abv hidden very well. Malt driven with raisin and caramel flavors, this is a solid example of an American barleywine. The beer is sweet, making a snifter sized portion just right for me. The feel is full bodied and pretty smooth for a double digit abv brew. Good stuff. I would have this again. Serving type: on-tap Reviewed on: 06-17-2011

Bottle 12fl.oz.

Clear medium to dark brown amber colour with a small to average, frothy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white to beige head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, caramel, fruit, dried fruit, berry, light alcohol. Flavour is moderate to heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a long duration, dry, tart - sour berries. Body is medium to light, texture is watery to oily, carbonation is soft, finish feel is light alcoholic. [20120523]

12 ounce from 72 ounce trade. This one kind of pisses me off because it’s the only one in the box I got that I had never had and that is not available where I live. Every other beer I could have bought down the street. That said, it has a bit of sherry, big alcohol nose, some wine, some cherry. Maybe an aged bottle? Or is this the taste?