Short's Brewing Company

jale

Michigan

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

I always look forward to stopping here when I'm in the area. You never know what crazy beers will be on tap. Located in an old hardware store, the pub looks laid back outside as well as inside. The menu is not too extensive, but what they offer is done well. The wait staff seem friendly and knowledgable about the beer offerings. Just a nice casual place to have a nice lunch with some great beer. They usally have a wide variety of beer styles so finding one just perfect for you is not hard. This is a place where if they only served bread, I would still come here. It is all about the beer for me.

08-04-2011 22:00:14 | More by jale

arizcards

Arizona

4.63/5  rDev +4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5

We found this place while vacationing via an article in a weekly newspaper circulated in the NW Michigan area.

The atmosphere is very cool. The owner and friends worked on this place for a year and a half, comverting it from a hardware store to a full service brewery and restaurant. It is set up for live entertainment and we were fortunate enough to catch a little of a jazz band that was playing. The bartender Chad was very friendly and made it a point to introduce himself and ask the name of every customer coming in. It was divided into two parts, one part for dining and conversation and the other side primarily catering to live music.

It is a very good quality brewery. A lot of work went into it and the staff was very friendly.

The service was outstanding. Chad hustled his butt off the two hours we were there.

There were about 9 beers to choose from but being the IPA junkie I am I only sampled that.

The food was near perfect. I had the apple smoked pork sandwich that was melt in your mouth.

The only disappointment was that Joe the owner did not acknowledge our presence at the bar.

06-14-2004 22:02:14 | More by arizcards

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

nortmand

Virginia

4.85/5  rDev +9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $

Wow! Quite a gem nestled in Michigan's great wet North.
Very cool place in the heart of downtown Bellaire. Nice new, clean feel, with some interesting artwork on the walls and old carseats for non-bar seating.
Oh my, are their beer ever good. I tried the Chocolate Wheat, Pale Ale, Nicie Spicie and took a growler of the huma-lupa licious. All were solid and many were different. The locals are friendly and the staff are friendlier. I was quite impressed.
Selection? The best brewpub selection I have seen. (In my limited experience. But I have yet to go to Kunnhenn's or Kraftbrau in MI.)
Great deli sandwich, fit nicely with the overall atmosphere.
Michiganders, get here immediately. Everyone else, be jealous of us.

10-05-2004 01:51:11 | More by nortmand

mattcrill

Ohio

4/5  rDev -10.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

In the middle of nowhere Michigan but what a great pub.

You can pick 5 beers to be on your sampler and they easily have 10-15 beers on tap. I did two rounds of samplers and still had more to choose from.

You can buy growlers or six packs right at the counter.

Very informal eating as you step up to the counter and place your order.

My service has always been quick and the waiter/waitresses have always been attentive.

It's one of my "must stops" whenever I visit Michigan. Great place. Even better beers.

Strongly recommended.

08-13-2011 01:16:52 | More by mattcrill

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

morimech

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +1.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

The forums told me a stop at Short's is a necessatiy. Glad I made the trip. The location and building is what I picture a brewpub should look like. A recent renovation maintained the atmosphere while introducing modern anminities. Orders are placed at the bar and the service is brisk. It appeared to back up a little when more than a few people want something. Got the slip to order my sampler and sat at the bar and made my choices of the 20 possible options. I never particularly cared for the bottled Short's beer, but everything I had at the brewpub was good to outstanding. Even Whiskey Sour was good. I ordered a club sandwich which was also very good. Pretty much sandwiches is the only thing on the menu but there are many options.

This is the model for brewpubs in my opinion. Great building, good food and beer that that will draw people from far away. Also picked up a 6-pack to-go. A nice drive out of the way. Some nice roads and natural beauty.

10-07-2011 21:23:07 | More by morimech

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

nflmvp

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +1.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Visited Short's on our whirlwind beer tour, April 23rd, 2009 so I'm more than a little bit behind on posting this review.

The atmosphere of the pub is awesome. They've done a great job with this old building and it's very inviting. The first thing you notice is the 16 foot high ceilings and all of the excellent woodwork (done by Joe, himself). The floor, bar and tabletops are all hand made and the quality shows through. The decor is fairly eclectic and it's a perfect fit for the pub.

Quality is top notch....in the beer, in the food, in the service and in the building itself. I was not disappointed in anything and we hung out there for about 4 hours. This year, I'd love to spend and entire day at Short's but we'll have to see how the trip planning goes.

Service was great, too. We had a couple of different bartenders and they were both very attentive. Of course, the place wasn't even 1/4 full so we had that going in our favor.

Selection was top notch. There were numerous taps available and most of the entire Imperial Series as well as a couple of Anniversary series beers...and I took a little of everything!

Food was very good, too and the menu selection was varied.

Pricing was about what you would expect from this type of establishment.

All in all, this was a most excellent place to start our beer tour and we fully intend to get back here again, even if it is a 7 hour drive.

02-03-2010 14:02:06 | More by nflmvp

Mitchster

Michigan

4.45/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4

Not having ever been to Bellaire, I had no idea where this place was, but I found it within about 20 seconds because it's right off the main strip.

The atmosphere is quite cool. I went there at about 6:00 on a friday night and there were 10 other people there, with about 20 there when I left at 7:30. The building is divided into the smoking section, which has an elevated stage and room for a dance floor and tables, and then the other side (the bar side) is non-smoking. That's forward thinking in my book. On the bar side, they have perhaps room for 15-20 at the bar, and comfy couches which would seat about 50-75 more. Everything except the furniture is wood and provides a nice natural decor.

Chad, the barkeep was exceptionally nice, calling us by our first name and chatting with us for a while. Met Joe, the owner and brewer and he was intrigued by my methodological dissection of his beer:) Nice guy...shot the shit about beer and life for a while. Told him about BA.

We tried 2 sandwiches, one was greek style, and the other was italian style. The breads are awesome and quite memorable.

I had 4 beers...The Huma-Lupa-Licious IPA, which was a great representation of the style...the Nicie Spicie, which is a wit hybrid fermented with ale yeast and brewed with tons of lemon and orange rind, pepper and coriander...The chocolate wheat was wonderful, which is kinda like a porter brewed with wheat and fermented with standard ale yeast...I also had the seasonal Double Chocolate Wheat, which is the chocolate wheat brewed with a shitload of cocoa...Quite rich and wonderful, reminding me of something between a Sam Adams Chocolate Bock and a Rogue Chocolate Stout.

I believe they had 9 brews on tap at this visit. All of the beers were excellent, including the sample of "The Soft Parade" which is brewed with 200 lbs of mixed berries. They were all cleanly fermented and unfiltered.

An excellent brewery with a very cool laid-back and friendly atmosphere make this a place that I will frequent again and would highly recommend to my friends.

06-05-2004 14:29:26 | More by Mitchster