Shorts Imperial Spruce India Pilsner

Brewed by Shorts Brewing Co.
Style: European Strong Lager
Bellaire, Michigan USA

Thanks to Rogueone for sharing a bottle. The beer is a hazy golden amber color with a thin and compact off-white head that dissipates slowly. Thin rings of lacing. Aroma of pine and spruce with some spiced hops in the background. Medium-bodied and moderately bitter with flavors of Saaz hops and evergreens. Luckily the spruce flavor does not get to car air freshener levels. Very little malt is present, which leads to some astringency. The finish is bitter with a lingering piney hops aftertaste. An above average and Interesting beer overall.

JCB popped this one at Pre-Sex, thanks man. Shorts is always doing something different, and this is no exception. Aroma is Winterfresh gum and nothing else. Flavor is not too different than the aroma, Winterfresh with some eucalyptus, pinecones, and just a trace of hops. I didn’t mind this at all in the small sample, not sure I could kill an entire bottle, but big thanks to Jason, I’ll take any Shorts I can get.

Some body had a bottle at the Sexual Chocolate pre party. This think smells like Vicks Vapo Rub, and Tasted like Halls. Not Something that I really want to taste in my beers. Let me just say it was interesting, for I’m sure that this is exactly what the brewer was going for. I mean sometimes you have to consider the source, and Its my understanding that Shorts has a rep for doing things like this.

Bottle 75cl. @ [ Shorts Tasting ].
Clear medium orange color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white to white head. Aroma is heavy hoppy, spruce, caramel, earth, spicy, fusty. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and heavy bitter with a long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. It is TO MUCH !! [20081108]

<i>Tasting at Papsoe</i>
Hazy golden color; creamy head. The rosemary aroma reminds me a roasted chicken more than a beer. It seems a very solid Ale, with good malt, some sweetness, good hopping, unfortunately the rosemary (spruce) is so out of place. 10 years ago, following an ancient recipe, I brewed a beer with rosemary from my garden, it was undrinkable. Controversial, and I decide for thumbs down, as I did 10 years ago.

Huge amounts of spruce on the nose. Some lemon too. Orange golden pour with a thin head. The flavor is very sprucy with lots of fresh bitterness. Almost bushy. Some lemon makes its presence felt too, but the spruce coats the mouth and does not leave. Like chewing on a tree. Super dry. Very interesting.

75 cL bottle. Pours hazy orange with a white head. Pinewood and spiced aroma. Light citrusy. Light vegetable note too. Spiced and malty with a solid citric and dry dry dry bitter flavour. Solid citric and spiced finish.

Bottled. A hazy amber beer with a lazing off-white head. The aroma is sweet with hoppy notes of grass. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of alcohol and spruce needles, leading to a dry grassy finish.