Shorts Black Licorice Lager

Brewed by Shorts Brewing Co.
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Bellaire, Michigan USA

Let me preface this rating with two statements. First, I really like Shorts. Second, I absolutely love black licorice and anise flavors. The body was black colored, looked almost like a schwarzbier with a khaki head. The aroma was obvious with tosn of licorice and some cola. There was also some woody charater. The taste was more black licorice with some roast notes and coffee. Excellent, but you need ot like black licorice, otherwise you will hate this one.

GABF 2007. It was tough for me to decide whether this or the Spruce was better, as I stood at the Shorts booth for what seemed like a solid 20 minutes getting refills with cquiroga and awaisanen. Nice head, even in the small tasting glass. Smells like ouzo with toffee. Smooth lactic sweetness in the mouth, craisins without the tang, and of course anise (although this is much more pronounced in the smell than in the taste, where it is more of an echo counterpoint in the finish). Great and unique beer; kudos to the guys at Shorts.

Appearance: Pours a near black body with a small, fizzy, khaki-colored head. Smell: Aroma jam-packed with distinct-smelling black licorice and lesser notes of chocolate, roast, spearmint, and a vague fruitiness. Taste: Sweetish black licorice flavor is quite heavy, with a lesser taste of semi-sweet chocolate. Slight hint of roasted malt. Tiny taste of chopped mint leaves. Thin measure of fruitiness. Lightly roasty finish with a lingering taste of root beer. All of the flavors and tastes combine beautifully to present a taste truly reminiscent of root beer. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Recommended. The best root beer I’ve had in a coon’s age. Yet another wonderful creation by Short’s Brewing.

courtesy of the Shorts tasting night group. early ’07 bottle. pours blackish, oily black goodness with beige head. Aroma is loaded with licorice and mostly a strong chocolate scent followed by small hints of vanilla and mint / anise freshness. Flavor, overall the chocolate was very upfront and thick followed by light bourbon touch of vanilla and faint hints of mint / anise giving the overall palate a refreshing mouthfeel. Very original, extremely drinkable after 2+ years finished on a strong black licorice note. Never thought I would enjoy a fully loaded licorice beer that much.

On Tap at the GABF, thanks to JasonA from BA for tipping me off to this one. Black, complex, malty, sweet and not too much anise. It would go just as well at a summer picnic as a post snow shoveling warm up session. Go find some!

Pours a dark, reddish brown cola color. Topped with ~ 3 inches of frothy light tan colored foam. Recedes to leave a patchwork of sticky lacing. With the aroma, the first impression is the anise, with a spicy black licorice aroma although a little more earthier and not as sweet. Maybe a bit of celery seed? Secondary aroma of chocolate and herbal mint linger in the background. Taste starts off with sweet chocolate and vanilla but is countered nicely by the spiciness of the anise and a touch of bourbon. Bittersweet chocolate returns on the finish, which is dry with earthy hops. Kind of reminds me of a dopplebock combined with cola, in a good way. The body has a medium feel with some slipperyness throughout and a bit a carbonation sting on the back of the throat. I mentioned this has a cola like presence to it, which makes it very quaffable even at 8%abv. I also enjoyed how the anise didnt steel the show, but married well with the chocolate and vanilla. I really love what Short’s is doing with their Imperial beer series.

From a 750mL Bottle, #67/744. Mostly transparent dark brown, borderline black colored pour with edges of milk chocolate and a thick head of fluffy tan. Smooth, supple, rich nose of chocolate, vanilla, and a fabulous dose of licorice. I love how the licorice is so prominent, but maintains this silky soft character without getting to edgy or harsh, allowing it to work with the rest of the beer remarkably well. Hints of toasted caraway seed add some subtly spicy complexity. Medium bodied, shimmering carbonation that melts softly across the tongue. Chocolate licorice stick. Some roast coffee comes through, but smooth and chocolatey soft. More licorice, along with clean, fudgy dark malts. Amazing interplay between the licorice, chocolate, roast, vanilla and spice. This needs to be brewed again.

An unusual beer for #2700. Lots of black licorice in the aroma. Black color. More licorice candy flavor, with malt and some sugar. Just a hint of raisin and some sweet malt with light spice. Surprisingly thick on the palate.