Short's The Wizard - Short's Brewing Company

madeofsteel

Michigan

3.83/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a snifter, picked it up for New Year's and am eager to see how it's aged (slightly).

A - Pours a thick mahogany, almost purplish-brown, very minimal carbonation, spotty lacing.

S - Raisins, maybe dates? And fruity booze. Lots of spicy booze.

T - Syrupy sweet raisins, slight sour pucker, and the alcohol packs a little bit of heat. A little bit of bitterness that isn't entirely pleasant.

M - Certainly warming, thick and syrupy. Quite dry.

O - An overall pleasant brew, but it will whoop you if you're not careful. I can probably drink two reasonably in a sitting.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2012 01:41:39 | More by madeofsteel

stakem

Pennsylvania

3.45/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

12oz bottle into a snifter. The brew appears an amber mahogany color with ruby clarity when held to the light. A yellowish head composed of big bubbles sits atop about a finger strong leaving spotty lace.

The aroma is liked candied raisins. Sweet toffee, molasses and hints of fruity alcohol. This brew is all about the burnt sugary character ans alcohol. Despite letting it warm up, there isnt much other character emitting from the glass.

The taste is toffee and molasses with raisins and chocolate. A bit of earthen aspect with the alcohol being quite aparent. It boasts almost a tangy whiskey inclusion into the aftertaste. The flavors meld well together but overall it seems a little one-dimensional. Sugar + alcohol and nothing else sadly.

This is a medium bodied brew with a low amount of carbonation. It is boozy and a decent sipper. I am glad I got to try this but I remain unimpressed with most everything ive had from Shorts. Some of my friends seem really nutty over this brewery, maybe one day ill understand why.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2013 19:05:36 | More by stakem

spycow

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -0.8%

04-26-2013 23:55:44 | More by spycow

Sparky44

Illinois

4/5  rDev +5.8%

03-24-2013 23:36:34 | More by Sparky44

soze47

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -0.8%

03-22-2013 01:33:01 | More by soze47

SaisonRichBiere

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%

03-02-2013 02:17:00 | More by SaisonRichBiere

BlissJunkie

Michigan

4/5  rDev +5.8%

01-11-2013 19:50:27 | More by BlissJunkie

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev +5.8%

01-05-2013 04:16:08 | More by t0rin0

beergorrilla

Michigan

3.25/5  rDev -14%

12-21-2012 15:34:59 | More by beergorrilla

Scotthuller

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev -0.8%

12-19-2012 02:46:59 | More by Scotthuller

chippo33

Vermont

3/5  rDev -20.6%

12-04-2012 03:30:53 | More by chippo33

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

3.98/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thank you, Namarsha82!

Appearance. pours an opaque orangey-brown with a skim of off-white head.

Smell. Sweet caramel, some dank and piney hops, brown sugar and raisins.

Taste. Caramel malts, molasses, raisins and some piney hops. Quite dry, which I wasn't expecting. High alcohol is dangerously well hidden.

Mouthfeel. Medium-full body with medium carbonation.

Overall. A fine barleywine. The raisins add a really nice flavour and the lack of big sweetness makes it quite drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2012 02:22:18 | More by Rutager

rolandboy

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%

10-20-2012 03:35:00 | More by rolandboy

Pahn

New York

3.3/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12oz bottle into Duvel tulip. Thanks to BA mob2332 for including this as an extra in a sort-of trade.

Appearance: Free pour yields a 1/3 inch light tan head that dissipates slowly and leaves some lacing. Pours a very dark maroon and leaves spots of lacing.

Smell: Caramel malt, raisins, brown sugar. Mildly boozy, but no indication of 11% ABV. Pastry sweetness. Very inviting.

Taste: Raisins and lots of hop bitterness up front. Brown sugar and raisin skin finish. Second sip brings a kind of pruny tartness that's unpleasant. In subsequent sips, it's sort of grape and raisin and a bit of cola up front, with pastry malt sweetness wayyyy in the background that gets obliterated by alcohol heat and a powerful medicinal astringency. Astringent aftertaste.

Started out 3.5~4.0 for taste, quickly went down to 2.5~3.0 for that huge off flavor. With time and warmth, it gets a bit sweeter, but never lives up to the aroma nor overcomes unpleasantness of the astringent finish. This isn't a "3.0-for-average," it's a "3.0 for lots good with one glaring bit of bad."

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied. Bit watery. Low to moderate carbonation.

Overall: I'm ambivalent about this beer. Great aroma, and I like the grape/raisin flavors mixing with the sweet malt. However, it's hard to get past that awful medicinal bitterness.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2012 00:33:30 | More by Pahn

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Eh. This is an okay barleywine. Too boozy and the raisins seem to chip in oddly with that too, somehow. It certainly is smooth, but it seems to lack any distinct interesting character. At least that which would make it interesting and unique. Nice to drink, but could have been more inspiring.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2012 02:47:42 | More by RblWthACoz

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -14%

08-26-2012 17:41:04 | More by mothman

GeezLynn

Minnesota

3.85/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Dark brown with a deep red hue and a sparse white head.

S: Brown sugar,butterscotch, roasted barley and a bit of alcohol. Smells like a sweeter, low-hopped barleywine.

T: Basically a dry, moderately hopped American style barleywine, with a very pronounced raisin flavor. While not particularly sweet, hopping in this beer is also somewhat restrained, which gives the raisins greater prominence. There’s also a slight roastiness that distinguishes it from typical. Alcohol shows up on the finished, but is pretty well disguised in this bottle (for 11%).

M: Medium-bodied with light carbonation. A bit dull.

This one pretty much falls in line with most Short's beers. Unique. For me half of their beers fall in the “that was interesting, but I won’t have it again”, and half fall into “that was pretty good. I’d have another”. This one is in the latter. Pretty nice beer, though I'm guessing it might be a bit gnarly fresh.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2012 04:36:47 | More by GeezLynn

Dactrius

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%

08-13-2012 23:09:06 | More by Dactrius

Alieniloquium

Florida

3.3/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

12 oz. bottle poured into a Kate the Great snifter. No bottle date.

Appearance - Deep dark body. Not black, but a very dark burgundy. Small off-white head.

Smell - Brown sugar. I guess that's raisins I smell, but it's more of a generic dark fruit. Hops, but barely aromatic.

Taste - Sweet raisin flavor throughout. The malt isn't as dominant as a 6 hour 66 minute boil might suggest. Intensely bitter hop finish. Dry finish.

Mouthfeel - Alcoholic bite. Medium body, which seems light for the ABV. Crazy bitter. Slow to drink.

Overall - Definitely a sipper. Tastes ok, but really tough to drink.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2012 02:06:43 | More by Alieniloquium

KCM

4/5  rDev +5.8%

08-11-2012 15:16:03 | More by KCM

jmich24

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev -0.8%

08-08-2012 04:34:45 | More by jmich24

MSEGUIN

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +19%

08-03-2012 02:58:54 | More by MSEGUIN

chugalug06

Colorado

3.28/5  rDev -13.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Small, straw colored, foamy head. Brew pours purple with lots of browns.

Lots of brown sugar and raisin sweetness.

Big, bold bitterness. Lots of dry raisin and fig flavors. Not much sweetness. Medium-high carbonation. Slightly distracting thickness. Lacks a strong hop profile.

A good brew, but I won't seek it again. Recommended, but I wouldn't go crazy for it... Thanks Adam!

Serving type: bottle

07-10-2012 00:13:17 | More by chugalug06

duceswild

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -0.8%

06-18-2012 00:43:33 | More by duceswild

Pencible

Virginia

4/5  rDev +5.8%

06-17-2012 01:17:35 | More by Pencible