Shorts Bananas n Blow Crème Ale

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

Sampled from growler, courtesy GodofThunder. Cloudy orange-brown color, thin sparse white head. Very odd aroma - chalk, bruised banana flesh, slight alkaline hint of cocoa, the banana comes out stronger after it warms a bit. Mild taste, it starts with the banana and finishes on the cocoa. Odd finish marked by some cocoa bitterness. interesting.

(Draught) Pours a murky yellow body with a small off-white head. Aroma of banana, vanilla pudding, wheat, dough, and chocolate. Flavor of banana, wheat, clove, and chocolate.

Growler, courtesy GodOfThunder. My first beer of the night and a serious kick in the head. Hazy golden amber pour with a thin white head. Very complex and delicious banana, dark chocolate and cocoa powder aroma. I wasnt sure how good the taste could be having been let down by some great aroma beers recently, but found this to be quite delicious. The cocoa really stands out in the taste and is quite and the banana is not so sweet and dominant. A very interesting beer and the best banana beer I have had.

Growler from GodOfThunder, thanks so much Jay! Bananas, floral aroma. Pours a cloudy golden amber. The flavor starts with bananas with hints of a mild cocoa a little hoppy in the background. This was a pleasure to drink! Very interesting, fresh bananas and bitter chocolate. Awesome!

Growler, courtesy GodOfThunder. A cloudy, dark orange-amber colored pour yields a spongy, off-white layer of foam. Runny sheeting shows on the glass, with minimal, random spots left behind to dry. As the beer warms, notes of a freshly made batch of banana pudding dusted in cocoa powder emerge. Estery in its fruit profile, there is some marshmallow sweetness, along with hints of tapioca and oatmeal creaminess. I fully expect a letdown on flavor, but it never comes. That same feel of fresh bananas pureed into tapioca pudding come to mind. The dry cocoa powder is both distinct and perfectly matched. Less sweet than the nose, the flavor profile shows a hint of bitterness from the cocoa on the finish. A creamy, smooth mouthfeel is more substantial than one would expect from such a low ABV beer, yet still entirely sessionable. This is a delicious, criminally underrated beer that I would guzzle by the truckload if it were readily available. Awesome brew.

Growler, courtesy of TasteTester on BA. Not a pretty looking beer. Pours a cloudy brown, like a banana that has been sitting out for a couple weeks, with a foamy white head. The smell changes, one second you get a whiff of the bananas, the next is cocoa. The bananas are the first thing you taste, followed by the bitter cocoa in the finish. The cocoa taste reminds me of bittersweet cocoa powder, and seems very dry. The flavors really come alive as this warms up. Surprisingly light on mouthfeel. I was expecting a thick, creamy, milkshake of a beer filled with artificial banana and chocolate flavors, instead I got a light, refreshing and fresh tasting beer with just the right amount of banana and cocoa, and not tasting artificial at all. Very good job by Shorts. Neat beer.

On tap at HopCat, Grand Rapids. Murky apricot-brown body, thin off-white head. Strong banana aroma. Surprisingly dry body, with heavy emphasis on bananas. Sharp, crisp bite, and notes of alcohol and cocoa. Too dry and bitter, but interesting.

tap at hopcat. i hate to give a shorts beer such a low rating, but man, this is a nasty beer. pours watery yellow color with foamy white head. supposed cocoa flavor does not show through at all...the laffy-taffy artificial banana flavor kills the whole thing.