beauty and the brew

So the greatest thing in the world is happening starting tomorrow, and its name is TIME OFF FROM WORK.

 Yes, you heard right, I am actually going on two back to back voyages into Michigan for five total days of workless freedom.

I figured I had to at least write one more review before I disappear into the wilderness, so here are my last words in case I get eaten by a bear or drown in the river attempting to remember how to canoe, something I've done since childhood but because it's not a desk in front of a computer I might just flop around like a limp noodle and then fall out of the boat.

 So I guess, if either of those happen, I can say I at least reviewed a beer I really loved!

 Today I tried the Spruce Pilsner from Short's Brewing Company (7% abv).



 Smells a bit like rosemary. Mixed with the yeasty, biscuity notes, I'm getting rosemary bread, fresh out of the oven. Definitely a little floral and just so herbal, almost like a holiday spice rub for all your savory dishes. There is also a touch of resin.

The beer looks like the most golden olive oil with a slight head that reduces to a very, very light mist of foam after about thirty seconds. No lacing. I'm surprised it didn't pour more murky, because there was still a thin layer of sediment in the bottom of the bottle.

 This is an incredibly unique beer with a taste I've never experienced before. They chose a possibly challenging ingredient, but nothing says Northern Michigan quite like a blue spruce tree.

 The spruce comes through less sappy and more like a nice juniper. It starts a bit sweet, like a saltine cracker without the salt crystals on top, and then gets incredibly piney and herbal in the middle, and then finishes just hoppy enough to remind you that it's a beer, not a liquified herb-crusted pork roast. The hops linger and mingle with a mild earthiness.

 Mouthfeel is a little oily, a tad sticky.

 Overall, this beer is a huge success for me. I just, flat out, do not like pilsners. I know that is a horribly broad statement, but I've reached far and wide, across countries even. But they do provide a good starting block for more experimental flavors, like blue spruce.



Short's should be very proud of this one, it really does scream "I AM A MICHIGAN BEER" at the top of its fermented lungs. It's got our state tree (well... almost... our state tree is the white pine, but they're all evergreens goddammit), it's made in Michigan, it's unique, and it's really, really good.

 I'm taking this beer camping tomorrow and I plan to drink it exactly where it belongs: out in the middle of Nowhere, Northern Michigan with good company.