Review: Shorts Bellaire Brown
Review: Shorts Bellaire Brown
I’ve been a big fan of Brown Ales for a while. The first time I ever really remember tasting a Brown and really enjoying it was at Leopold Brothers’. For a while, that was the high water mark for that style. Then, I tried the Bellaire Brown from Shorts.
A brown ale so rich, it’s hardly classifiable as brown. It’s born of copious amounts of hearty pale ale malt, and several specialty selections which make it a dark, rich and delicious masterpiece. Very light hop additions allow the malty sweetness and flavor complexity to be most protuberant. A beer so user friendly, we dub this the “gateway” beer.
It pours very dark with a small, creamy head that faded quickly. The color, as you can see, is very dark. It had a strong coffee smell in the aroma along with sweetness and maltiness. The taste starts with a rich maltiness that is incredibly smooth. It finished with a light note of cherry. The beer is incredibly well balanced with a very satisfying body.
I’ve had a few offerings from Shorts and have enjoyed them all. Ashley’s has moved the Bellaire Brown and the Huma Lupa Liscious IPA onto its permanent menu, so I expect to make this a regular drink. I really need to plan a trip up North and hit up their tap house.