Shorts Nicie Spicie

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

I’m still trying to recover for this over spiced beer. It may be better on a fall day by the fire but in June it was too much. The coriander was the only flavor that I could distinguished in this muddled beer.

Draft at MSBF. Pours a cloudy yellow color with a fluffy white head. Nose is that of lemon/pepper seasoning with some fresh floral notes. Taste is light with the heavy lemon/pepper spice shining through.

Sampled on draught @ Short’s Brewing Company in Bellaire, Michigan. Lightly cloudy yellow color. Heavily spiced aroma, overly so, with the lemon peel and curacao standing out most, along with a light citrusy hop fragrance. Flavor is again, overly spice, with the curacao and lemon peel standing out the most in the flavor. No malt complexity with little hop and nothing but spice.

Tap: world beer expo/Frankenmuth. Golden yellow with no head. Aroma and flavor very weak. Aroma I can’t pinpoint and flavor has some euro-skunk to it. Very thin. Couldn’t pick up any spice whatsoever.

On tap: Very weak aroma. Slightly sweet with a touch of spice. Looks like apple juice. No head to speak of. Very light and watery. Only flavor I get is a touch of watery hops in the finish. Virtually nothing going on with this beer at all.

Nicie Spicie, released from it’s growler, pours a lovely ginger hue, active carbonation rushing up, to greet a thinnish white head. Aroma is warm spice, ginger, cinnamon, and coriander, a whisper of pepper, but dominated by orange zest. Very pleasing to this nose, a gentle mix of fruit and spice. Zing, goes the tongue, on meeting this brew, a burst of tidy spices entangle the buds, sweet citric fruitiness blends in next, and all is settled well. Flavor never wanes, and in fact, gets juicier and plumper further in, tastes of apricot and peach shining through, with the pepper laying out new levels of spiciness, without getting hot and spoiling the feeling. Nearing the end of my first glass, I feel the peppery heat more and it dominate the palate in ways I’d never imagined when first sipping this serving. This carries over in the finish, where previous I felt it was mildly possessed by pepper, it now almost carries a sting, and has claimed a long stake on the senses. (We must pour a new pint to be sure..) On this pour, the head is larger and takes longer to shift in size...I’ll bring it up 1/2 a point for that... This time, the nose takes pepper in largest, mixed well with lemon & orange...yeah, that’s a hot tamale! Soaking the brew on my tongue again, it only feels hotter, and commands control of the mouth. Tempered well by the fruit, matched with the malt, this hot, spicy quality sits at attention and barks, but doesn’t bite. It slings a powerful heat, yet holds it back in abeyance, making a very palatable, tasty brew. Long, hot finish, medium body, unique and memorable. I’ve yet to encounter a beer quite like this, and congrats to Short’s for coming up with something so bold, yet easily drinkable! (I’ve had a few that go the other way, making even one pint a chore.)

Tap at Detroit Brewfest. Definitely esoteric. Smell was chemical. Body was thin. Pepper was noticable with other spice notes.

Rated at Shorts Brewing Co. Medium sized white head that was fizzy with fine-small sized bubbles that were mostly lasting. Uncarbonated, cloudy and a dark yellow hue. Aroma was hoppy, sweet and spicy. Spicy and hoppy flavor from start to finish. Palate was tingly. Medium bodied beer with good lacing.