Shorts Bananas n Blow Crème Ale

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

Growler courtesy of Rogueone. Pours orange/amber with a 1/2 inch white head quickly dissipating. Aroma is bananas and yeast, with the faintest amount of chocolate. Flavor is heavy with banana and a surprising peppery flavor. A fair amount of yeast, but not as much as a traditional Belgian (good thing, in my book). Much drier finish than expected (also a good thing). Some slight chocolate presence when cold, but nowhere to be found when it warms a bit. Decent beer. Way better than I expected.

What a treat. This beer pours a golden cloudy yellow-orange. Aroma is banana puree and carob on the back of the nose. Flavor is a really nice banana without the syrupy sweetness of a banana. White pepper in the middle of the tongue, and then finishes incredibly dry for a beer with fruit in it. Those hoping for chocolate might be disappointed, but this is a solid, unique offering from Shorts.

GABF 2008. Pours hazy light yellow with a small, fizzy white head, somewhat lasting with good lacing. Aroma is average malt (cookie, chocolate), light hops (herbs), average yeast (dough) with notes of bananas. Light bodied, mineral texture, average carbonation, and a metallic finish. Average duration, light sweetness, acidity, and bitterness.

<i>Draft at brewpub:</i> Murky yellow pour with a creamy, thick white head. The nose is hard to decipher at first, but a little time and temperature increase reveals a nice, mellow layer of banana and vanilla. The body is watery at first, but beefing up on the back of the tongue. Notes of mushy banana, vanilla tannins and fresh bready makeup the body. The bananas are fresher and riper than the esthery variety I find in yeast induced beers. I thought the body became a bit slick on the tongue, although that could have been the thoughts of 220 lbs. of mushy bananas in the back of my mind. Like most of Short’s beers, this is a new concept for me and probably the first time I have tasted actual bananas in beer. While it does work to a certain extent, I wouldn’t want to drink too much of this or drink it too often. Oddly enough, neither myself or my friend could detect any cocoa from start to finish.

Draft @ Shorts. Pours a murky, pink-grapefruit color; off-white head with fine-bubbled lacing. Notes of chocolate, caramelized bananas, and brown sugar in the aroma; some wheatiness; slightly rough. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: lively carbonation; banana creme, cloves, and brown sugar dominate the mouthfeel; a touch of creaminess, but mostly roughness from the brown sugar / clove / spiciness; on the rough side. Kind of a messy hefeweizen. Lengthy finish: toasty wheatiness, brown sugar, and light banana notes.