Short's 5th Anniversary Party

So this past weekend we made the trip to beautiful Bellaire, MI to participate in Short's 5th Anniversary Party. For those of you that know little to none about Short's Brewery it is a small brewery north of Traverse City that has grown each of its five years in existence to the point that 3 of there bottles are now distributed all over the state of Michigan. It is also one of the fastest up in coming breweries in the country. Known not only for putting out fantastically unique and delicious beers, but also for being one of the friendliest place we've ever had a beer. It really is amazing when you can walk into a place that you only visit once every six months or so and not only a bartender or waitstaff remember you, but also the owners and management team. This is what Short's is. I've always thought that having a beer in this tiny establishment is like sitting down and having a beer with friends.

Every brewer needs to have people that inspire them to come up with ideas for making the beer that they do. For me (Matt) my inspiration comes from several different origins in no particular order of importance. First, from my friends that come over drink, enjoy and critique the beers that I brew. I appreciate every bit of positive and negative feedback that I get and its what helps my beer grown and evolve. Secondly, my wife, who inspired me to get into making beer by buying my first homebrewing kit along with the countless upgrades to my system throughout the few years I've been brewing. In addition, she's a beer wife which is not the easiest thing to be when you have to put up with a person that constantly talks about beer making it, drinking it, different ideas for things I want to do with it....not to mention the countless trip we venture on together for some beer that is probably overpriced...but delicious. Finally, everyone has to look up to someone who has the same kind of attitude about brewing. For me Joe Short is one of those people. He is a brewer that still makes beer for all the same reasons that he started making beer, never sacrificing quality for quantity. I have, do and will always appreciate Short's willingness to push the limits of what a beer can and should be.

We uploaded a video that Irene took during a tour that Joe gave to us and some friends. If you ever get the chance to visit Bellaire and Short's Brewery, take the opportunity, its well worth the trip. Cheers to Short's Brewery and there continued success.