Shorts Bananas n Blow Crème Ale

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

(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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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.