Short's Brewing Company

thbeer

Indiana

4.13/5  rDev -7.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Good selection of house beers. Always a wide range of styles, seasonals and year round selections. Great place to sit back and have a pint. Old building in a small town which has been remodeled without losing it's freat character. Food is not just burger and hot wings. Good variety of daily food specials without being too ecclectic. Food is an excellent compliment to the beers. Live music on weekends and special events. A mix of locals and tourists . Prices are reasonable. A definite must visit if in the area.

01-16-2007 13:00:14 | More by thbeer

Stigs

Pennsylvania

4.18/5  rDev -6.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

First stop on our MI brewery/pub/beer tour.

Quite the interesting environment inside - as expected from Short's unique beers. A bit on the rustic side, like the town. Quirky seating and decoration.

Quite a selection of drafts to choose from, from a light lager to BA'ed Cherry Porter and Barleywine (had both, by far the best Shorts beers I have had). We each split a flight, which was convenient and well displayed, I had those two "big" beers and got a couple six packs to go...only letdown was the lack of "special" release bottles.

Service was overall good, a bit "cold" at first but really warmed up once they found out we had traveled so far for a visit. Many nice people at the bar as well.

The food, was for the most part enjoyable. The pretzels and beer mustard was a bit disappointing, but the sandwich we shared as well as other apps were much better.

Overall, an enjoyable experience - one we will most likely make again at some point. Thank you to everyone at Shorts!

11-16-2010 20:50:59 | More by Stigs

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

4.2/5  rDev -5.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

An exceptional place to visit, this is a full day drive from Toronto. A touristy area, relaxed, and that filters into the brewpub. Exceptionally friendly service, everyone seems to acknowledge you are there, and with a smile. Many, many bottles and varieties available, easing the travel burden. Many beers, mostly one-offs, on tap and there were some very good ones that invent their own style or take you someone you have never been in that style.A variation of styles on tap, a guest tap would have been interesting, and of course some casks.

08-06-2009 23:46:25 | More by northyorksammy

LilBeerDoctor

New York

4.22/5  rDev -5.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Reviewed on 6/30/2010.

Shorts is a nice, cozy brewpub located in the small town of Bellaire (which I wouldn't call a touristy town based on my brief impressions of it). Most of the patrons were not locals but they seemed to be relative locals (ie somewhere else in Michigan). There were 20 beers on tap, including specialty and gourmet beers. Obviously, there is a wide variety of beers to choose from, although a lot of the styles offered were very similar. While most of what I had was pretty good, I didn't find anything great which was a little disappointing. The food was good (I split the spinach & artichoke dip plus had a bowl of soup). I liked the atmosphere - it had a very cozy feel with the long bar and the seats by the windows. There also is a small stage, but it obviously wasn't in use on a Thursday afternoon. Anyway, if you come to Shorts plan to stay awhile to try a bunch of their taps. Also they sell a limited amount of their special bottled items (1/2 of which were sold out when we were there). Definitely a great place to check out in Michigan!

12-23-2010 22:04:10 | More by LilBeerDoctor

nanobrew

California

4.25/5  rDev -4.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $

Overall:
I like this place, I like the relax feel of it. When ever I am visiting my family in the area I always make sure to go to Short's about 2-3 times. They always have a great variety of their own beer on tap. The prices seem really fair to me (of course I am use to San Diego prices).

There is no table service, but the bartenders bring you your food. The staff is always very friendly.

There are two main rooms, the bar, and the stage area. I like that bar area more, though it is always crowded. The stage area is nice, but it is very loud, and not even when a band is playing. All of the conversations carry and it get really noisy.

Beer:
As a brew pub they have a great amount of taps and great variety. The mug club is a great deal if you are a local. I got to use it because the place I was staying had some mugs.

Food:
Overall it is good. Nothing ground breaking but nice. It is typical bar food (pizza, sandwiches, mac-n-cheese) done a little special.

06-23-2011 18:29:33 | More by nanobrew

webmanspidey

Michigan

4.28/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Short's pub is comprised of a room with the bar and a few small tables next to a larger room with larger tables and a stage for live music. There was a pretty wide age distribution, and pretty crowded on a Saturday night.

They have a wide variety of rotating beers on tap and their Imperial series available in 750 mL bottles to go. I was there just in time to try the 2009 Anniversary Ale.

The menu was comprised of sandwiches and pizza. Food and beer was all very reasonably priced and everything was ordered at the bar.

Definitely worth visiting if you happen to be in northern Michigan.

09-02-2009 03:42:18 | More by webmanspidey

JordanEllwanger

Michigan

4.29/5  rDev -3.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | $$

Living only two hours away it should not have taken me two years to visit this place but it did. Went there on a family vacation to the Traverse City area. I got there close to 5:00 P.M. on a Thursday with my in laws, wife, and our two children, ages 6 & 2 at the time. I was a little worried about bringing in the kids but the atmosphere is very family friendly. In fact after we sat down at least three other families with young kids came in. There were even a couple young teenage boys there enjoying a deli sandwich and a bottle of hand crafted root beer.

You seat yourself and have to go up to the counter to place an order, which is okay unless there is seven or more people in line to order something. There just isn't enough room at the counter to handle a rush of people. So no waitress to take your order from the table all orders are taken ant the counter. That is my only gripe. Everything else is perfect. Two beers and a growler for $22 is a very good deal for me.

If you ever visit be sure to GET THE FLIGHT! Five decent sized samplers for one low price. Still kicking myself over not seeing that till it was too late!

Cheers!

07-17-2011 05:14:19 | More by JordanEllwanger

irishkyle21

Ontario (Canada)

4.3/5  rDev -3.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

I really had a blast in Michigan this past weekend. We were only staying in Bellaire for one night so I made the best of it. I tried every single beer they had on tap (got to love flights!). I enjoyed pretty much all of them.

The atmosphere is great, very relaxed lots of seating room. The staff were great, it got pretty busy at times but they managed just fine.

I ended up buying a couple growlers and six packs to take home as well as some t shirts.

If you happen to be anywhere near Shorts I would highly recommend dropping in.

07-22-2010 06:32:57 | More by irishkyle21

DannyDan

Michigan

4.3/5  rDev -3.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I went to Short's not too long ago for the first time. I walk in and it is nice and comfy. I walk around to take a look at the place. A really neat place with tables and chairs in most of the place, but they also and couches and living room style chair with a coffee table in the bar lounge. They also had living room style chairs in the lobby where the entertainment stage is. I have not seen any bands play there, but heard they have good music there. It was also cool that they had a large chalkboard telling about the 20 beers they had on tap. The service was good and the employees are very friendly. They have a very good selection of beers and you can try a sampler plate of five beers in 5oz. glasses. The prices for what you get is rather reasonable for the size they give. Most beers are $3 for a 14oz. draft and $4.50 for the larger size. After trying the sampler, I ordered my two favorites from the sampler. The Chocolate Wheat and Cornholio were really good and satisfied me very much. I did not try the food, but when I do try it I will update this review. I had a very good time there and if I could have stayed longer I would have but I got a ride to Short's and had to go when the driver wanted to go. I do highly recommend going to Short's. You will enjoy your experience there and will not be disappointed. Also it was my first time at Shorts.

07-19-2011 01:33:08 | More by DannyDan

ffejherb

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev -2.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Visited with with fellow BA's brewslut, Deuane and SierraGS on 11/29/08 for the annual Brew-Ski event.

Short's is situated in the quaint little town of Bellaire, MI. It was particularly cold and snowy during our visit, which was probably par for the course during this time of year in Michigan. We were able to park right outside the brewpub, which was nice. Upon our entrance, we were greeted by a decent-sized room with high ceilings and a short bar, as well as a variety of seating options, including some old car seats! On the far, "colder" side of the establishment (and down a few steps), there are plenty of tables, a side rail for standing, and also a nice-sized stage for musical entertainment. The band on this particular night was unfortunately not that great. At any rate, it is still awesome for Short's to host live music. Overall, this place has a really unique vibe.

The selection on this particular evening certainly wasn't lacking, especially for stout fans, because they had FIVE great stouts on tap, including a S'more Stout (complete with marshmallow garnish!), Coffee Stout, Irish Stout, Peanut Stout and a Mystery Stout. In addition to the special stouts, they also had a variety of excellent ales, fruit beers and more. All in all, I'd say around 20 beers on tap!

The service and food were both fine. Prices are reasonable as well, although their 750ml bottles are a little pricey. Still, we took home a bottle of Soft Parade, which brewslut absolutely loved. This definitely has a hometown feel, and I wish I lived closer! It kind of reminded me of Selin's Grove a little bit, although much bigger. But it still has the same type of atmosphere.

If you ever find yourself in the vicinity of Bellaire, MI, do yourself a favor and stop in to Short's. This place has the entire package, from a cool, unique vibe to some of the best beer around!

01-20-2009 17:37:31 | More by ffejherb