Shorts Aorta Ale

Brewed by Shorts Brewing Co.
Style: American Strong Ale
Bellaire, Michigan USA

How do you get the idea to a beer like this?? Dripping blood. Pours a deep brown with a white head. The nose is slightly hoppy - is light but fresh, spruce and sourish. The taste is strange and i sense vinigar, rusty iron and a light sourness with a bitter finish. The palate is waterish but smooth anyhow..

Thanks for sharing Yaniv! Pours a dark reddish brown to black with a largish creamy white hazed head. Lightly sweet, lightly spicy with a slight vinegar-like tinge. Soapy old hops. Creamy light body, lots of carbonation. Sweetmalt, but dominated by sharp vinegar. Big ass grapefruit hops, citrusy. Some toasty finish. Lingering pine. Not the best, but I think it might be a bit infected...

750mL Bottle. Salty horse barn aroma, with some light grass. Some animals. A little cool. Pours a hazed red-brown, with an orange fringe and rim of off-white. Flavor has the stamp of old IPA. Grass and celery seed. A little gummy. Lightly bitter. A nip of alcohol and malt. Past its hop prime. Unfortunately, too much dead hops. The malt can’t fight with it. This is practically one of the Anniversary Ales. Drinkable and tasty, but over the hill. Thanks Sean!

750ml bottle big thanks to Masonjer for sharing this rare treat at DLD. Pours an amber color with an off white head. Nose is citrus and berries with a touch of florals. Sweet fruity flavors. Citrus, grapefruit, and strawberry balanced with dough, toasted malts, and caramel. They are an interesting brewery, I’d always like to try more of their goodies. Thanks a lot masonjer!!

750ml bottle, shared by masonjer at DLD 08. Nice hazy amber pour with medium off white head. Beautiful fruity hop aromas, kinda fruit punchy like drewbeerme noted. Flavor is nice and fruity with some maltyness. Really good stuff. Thanks masonjer.

Thanks to my wife for surprising me with this bottle. You are the best! Poured a cloudy light brown color with an off white head. Smelled inviting, citrus and biscuit notes. Taste was citrus again, balanced by a big malty base, biscuit and bready. I really enjoyed the balance here. Kept it’s hop profile for over a year now. reminded me a bit of decadence 2006, which I love. Well done shorts.

750ml bottle, shared by masonjer at DLD 08, thanks! pours hazy amber with off white head. aroma is malty and fruit punchy. flavors are piney, fruit punch, bubblegum, and caramel. tasty.

750ml Bottle #184 of 780 Brewed 7/5/06 Was lucky enough to land this in a great trade with Hoppymeal, thanks Derek! Aorta Double Red pours a glowing slightly hazed ruby red. A few fine carbonation bubbles make their way to the surface but there’s not much action. Two fingers worth of ivory head formed on the pour and eventually fell to a thick cap leaving sheet lacing on the fall. A really great looking beer! My nose is immediately greeted with a good amount of mandarin orange and a tea-leaf like hoppiness. The mandarin is something I don’t come across very often and I’m really diggin’ it! Light caramel and toasty malts lay down the foundation and add a touch of sweetness. A hoppy red ale? Just my style! The flavor follows the aroma step-by-step. The toasted graininess sets the stage for the more dominant hoppiness. There’s hardly any bitterness involved but more of flavor, aroma, and a big dry hopping. The hoppiness comes along more tea leaf like in the flavor than the mandarin the aroma suggested but that may be because it’s been a year and a half since the brewing. A very well put together red ale. I’ve sampled a few Short’s beers and the mouthfeel has been very good on each one, this is no exception. They manage to keep the body lighter than expected for such big beers. Velvety medium body with a mild carbonation but there’s just enough there to tickle the tongue. Aorta Ale is an easy one to put away. The alcohol, at 7.6%, never gets in the way. And it’s all at once refreshing and delicious! Another really good brew from Short’s. I would have loved to get a bottle of this fresh and give it a try. I’m sure the Columbus used would have been a real treat fresh because they’re still damn good after a year and a half. 4/6/08