Shorts Imperial Spruce India Pilsner

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

I knew long before i ever cracked this 750 that i would love this beer. I love the smell of pine, i love hops, why would i not like this? I was correct, the spruce smell is amazing. Each sip coats your throat with pine resin, almost sap like, in a good way. The hops seemed to get overpowered for the most part, but the pine worked well so it didnt really matter. Slightly sweet, but its all about spruce, spruce and a little more spruce. If only a guy could find more spruce beers around, you would think more would do it with the hop situation like it is. Me likey!

GABF 2007. OK. I don’t know what’s going on here. This shiz is dope. Maybe it’s not as good in bottles as it was on tap. Maybe there’s a new batch that’s not as good as the first. Maybe it falls off A LOT when not sampled fresh. Maybe there’s something in the air in North Carolina that spoils it. Anyway, y’all betta recognize the Shorts Spruce. Toasted malts, spruce, and an underlay of grapefruit on the nose. If an aroma can have a texture, this would be "buttery." Honestly, this smells and (especially) tastes like pure spruce needle essence, surrounded by soft cracker malts (like an awesome lovechild of saltines and graham crackers). Hops and spruce in the finish 4-ev-R. Carbonation is perfect, biting at first and then gentle sussurations of sea foam. Bam. Yeah: bam.

courtesy of the Shorts tasting night group. early ’07 bottle. Simply wow, I could smell this beer all day and dream of back home. pours golden/orange with white head. Aroma reminded me a lot of the backwoods back home. As if they had thrown a whole forest in a bottle, spruce seeds are just present and of pure goodness. Just could not stop marveling at the aroma. Lots of grassy and earthly hops, pine forest scent. Flavor, very herbal, vegetal, spicy hops, light citrus hops with hints of grapefruit. Not overly bitter but just some nice pine and earthly goodness with spruce seeds. Finish with light pepper spices. Insanely good, a looking glass that projects you in the middle of a spruce/pine forest.

Bottle shared by iowaherkeye. Thanks Joey! Bottled 5/29/07 (#140 of 886). Poured a clear light orange color. Head was white and left some lace behind. Aroma was citrus dominated with lots of semi sweet orange accented by subdued spruce. Medium bodied and sweet on the tongue. The sugars were attenuated by assertive hop bitterness that peaked at about 8 out of 10. Wow. There was a remarkably distinct spruce flavor. Crushed pine needles came to mind immediately. There were also pineapple, bitter orange, and light honey flavors. Great beer.

shorts smagning med klubben. Det er nok den bedste i aften. Uklar gul/orange med et hvidt skum. Masser af "natur", gran nåle, skov, harpiks, rosmarin, sødt med masser af humle. Guf guf!

Taste from a bomber tried at Lost Abbey Brunch with awaisanen, cquiroga, Tomme, Sage and others. I think awaisanen brought it: Thanks Andy! I can’t believe I’m the first to rate this phenominal brew. Wow, what an aroma. It’s like sticking your finger in pine sap, then picking your nose. It’s a wonderful powerful Spruce aroma. Creamy full head that dies slowly. Pale, slightly cloudy yellow color. Nice pleasant bitterness and leans toward the sweeter side. A bottle of pure fun!

GABF 2007: Poured a hazy yellow color with a white head. The aroma had huge spruce notes. It smelled like I was humping a tree in the forest. Big spruce flavor as well. The spruce is very dominant but it feels so right. Moderate bitterness on the finish that grows.. Sweet malty middle. Warming sensation is nice. Semi-dry finish.

(Bottled, 0.75l) Very hazy golden-amber with a smallish, lasting head. Very strong pine-sprucey aroma with some grassy-floral hops. Extremely pine-spruce-resiny flavor with alpha acids from the hops adding to the mixture. Medium body, crisp and fresh, lowish carbonation. Alcohol fully hidden. This really is a hophead’s dream! Not for everyday consumption, but as an occasional treat, this is quite exceptional. At first, I was hesitant to give this a high score, but really, this is something never seen before...