Short's Bellaire Brown Ale - Short's Brewing Company

grumpygerman

Alabama

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

09-11-2012 12:19:31 | More by grumpygerman

Roman5150

Michigan

4.04/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

bottle into tulip

appearance: beautiful dark amber brown with slightly off white 1 finger head with aggressive pour

smell: hay, oak, earthiness, heavy malt presence

taste: sweet oak flavors with a hint of rye, tastes like maris otter malts, very english and has that sweet funkiness to it. Earthy resinous tones throughout.

mouthfeel: not very carbonated, medium bodied

overall: A highly drinkable brown ale, probably in my top 3 for the style. I could drink this all day.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 03:54:09 | More by Roman5150

Marti403

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +12.7%

05-17-2013 20:42:34 | More by Marti403

allisonastra

Michigan

4/5  rDev +6.1%

05-16-2013 17:05:12 | More by allisonastra

jduprey007

Michigan

4/5  rDev +6.1%

05-12-2013 23:14:47 | More by jduprey007

TheBrewo

Michigan

3.6/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

We pour a brew of dark mahogany, giving up a one and a half finger head of creamy, sandpaper colored bubbles. This shows nice retention, with mountainous sheets of lacing left around the glass. No haze or sediment was noted, and carbonation appears to be active. The aroma gives sweeter brown and nicely roasted coffee malts. Sweetness comes from raw honey, melted chocolate nibs, white sugar, fruity red cherry, and juicy ale yeastiness. Balance comes in the form of mineral earthiness, metallics, peanut dust, and soured lactics. With warmth comes light booziness and rotting fruit, but in a good way. Our first impression is that the malts give nicely contributory sweetness, but otherwise show a cheaper, overly light, adjuncty, and metallic side that doesn’t quite do the beer justice. As we sip, the flavoring opens with freshly soaped plastics, amber and brown malt sweetness, soy sauce saltiness, tinny metallics, English yeastiness, and light cinnamon spiciness. The peak comes with granular white sugar sweetness, bittered roastiness of the darker malts of the bill, light coffees, almond skin, mores soaps, and a sweeter Belgian caramel maltiness. The end finishes with a wash of fusel booziness out of nowhere, light Tootsie Roll sugars, light floral hoppiness, herbed honey sweetness, bittered chocolates, hazelnut, metallics, and garbage bag plastics. The aftertaste breathes of musk and dust, earthy mineral, standard browns and toasty ambers, sweeter pink bubblegum airs, fusel booze flavoring without any of the offensive punch, plum sweetness, walnut, citric hop gas, and mildly soured dried cranberry. The body is medium and chewy, while the carbonation is medium. Each sip gives nice slurp and smack, with slightly lesser cream and froth. The mouth is initially coated with an oily bite, to be left chalked and bone dry by the end. The abv is appropriate, and the beer glugs rather easily.

Overall, the most enjoyable thing about this brew was its flavoring. The look started things off nicely, giving good color and a nice head. The aroma is where we lost points, as it lacked general robustness and let the malts fall too far to the back in their inherent aromatic contributions. To contrast, the taste showed every side of the grain, with bitterness, bready sweetness, caramels, roast, and earthiness, giving a little something different at each turn, and with each sip. The drying roast on the feel was the icing on the cake, helping to keep that nice flavoring flowing.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 01:07:17 | More by TheBrewo

Slay40

Michigan

4/5  rDev +6.1%

05-10-2013 18:55:49 | More by Slay40

AnnArborJoe

Michigan

2.5/5  rDev -33.7%

05-10-2013 16:48:37 | More by AnnArborJoe

tazzman

Florida

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

04-21-2013 20:37:18 | More by tazzman

GeePee

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +6.1%

04-11-2013 23:16:20 | More by GeePee

fredmugs

Indiana

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

04-04-2013 22:23:14 | More by fredmugs

Sparky44

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

03-24-2013 23:31:00 | More by Sparky44

SimcoeJoe

Michigan

4/5  rDev +6.1%

03-16-2013 13:07:25 | More by SimcoeJoe

czfreeman

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a nice ruddy brown tone. Head is creamy, slightly tan . Almost like a Flemish bruin color.
Smells bready. Black tea, a touch of sour cherry-like flavor. Bit of a nutty character.Brown ales have a distinct nutty aroma about them I really enjoy and this one is a dead ringer. The slight sourness adds another great dimension to the bready malt and sweet tones.
Flavor is delicately balanced with grains, touch of fruit, good addition of bittering hops.
Really nice caramel in the finish.
Let this beer warm, the flavors develop exponentially into one of the better browns I've had.
Mouthfeel is a great balance of medium body meets near perfect Carbonation.
Excellent Brown!

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2013 19:20:33 | More by czfreeman

spycow

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

03-09-2013 22:51:34 | More by spycow

breakingbland

Michigan

3.68/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: Poured a deep reddish brown with some cloudiness. The head was slight and settled down to a ring of foam rather quickly.

Smell: The aroma was basically sweet with some hops but also with a sour component that combined with the sweetness in a way that was a little disconcerting. However, after the first sip, the sourness seemed to recede.

Taste: A fairly rich, deep flavor profile. A slight amount of the sourness came through on the taste, but the main impression was a nice malty sweetness, well balanced by slight hoppiness.

Mouthfeel: Medium body and light, fine carbonation.

Overall: A very enjoyable beer that I'll definitely have again. (Curious to see if the sourness in the aroma is characteristic of this beer.)

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2013 12:09:36 | More by breakingbland

SaisonRichBiere

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

03-02-2013 02:01:50 | More by SaisonRichBiere

Dactrius

Wisconsin

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

02-27-2013 03:07:24 | More by Dactrius

JohnnieNepal

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +12.7%

02-22-2013 21:46:26 | More by JohnnieNepal

PattyMelt

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

02-21-2013 07:46:45 | More by PattyMelt

Rostie

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%

02-20-2013 23:36:54 | More by Rostie

Rons35

Michigan

3.25/5  rDev -13.8%

02-19-2013 22:46:59 | More by Rons35

Danielr26

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%

02-18-2013 19:05:10 | More by Danielr26

fgilbert2

Michigan

4/5  rDev +6.1%

02-09-2013 05:10:21 | More by fgilbert2

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

3/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 2.75

A 12oz bottle with no visible BB date. Purchased from a webshop quite a while back and stored in my garage.

Poured into a straight pint glass. Bottle conditioned. A dark reddish-brown hue with floating sediment and low carbonation. Yields a large head of creamy white foam with decent retention; this slowly subsides to a surface layer. Aroma of sweet, grainy malt with notes of caramel, chocolate, mild roasted malt, dried fruit, faint brown sugar, tea and earthy yeast. There is also a strange sour overtone that seems out of place.

Tastes of caramel malt with a sour character and a dry finish. Notes of lactic acid/mild vinegar, caramel, dried fruit, brown sugar, faint biscuity grain, mild roasted malt and earthy yeast esters. Surprisingly acidic - I assume this is infected or has deteriorated. A mild, dry quality upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly with good body, but flat and undercarbonated. Lacks texture, though slightly astringent. Aftertaste of sourness and caramel malt.

Meh - not brilliant, although the aroma gives the impression that it could have been. There are some nice malty hints that suggest a decent brown ale lurks underneath the acidic off-notes. Not sure what happened here; the sourness is quite clean, almost like yoghurt. Bacteria perhaps? Or maybe it's just age - without a BB/bottled-on date it's impossible to tell. Oh well, I review it as I find it (though I'll re-review if I get a fresh one someday). Disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 02:40:59 | More by jazzyjeff13