Short’s Plum Rye Bock (365 Day 59)

By scot in 365 Days of American Craft Beer on Saturday, January 29th, 2011

Short's Plum Rye Bock

Short’s Brewing Company has become a bit of an American craft beer novelty for me. I haven’t really been on board for all of their innovations but some really intrigue me as the combinations are quite off the beaten path. Key Lime Pie happens to be one of the strangest combinations I have tasted but, contrary to what I expected, it was pretty solid.

Plum Rye Bock is another unique combination of choices in which to make a beer: lager, out of the orgdinary fruit in plum, and rye. Not your everyday, run of the mill beer.

Of course I was curious as to how this could be brought together and if it could be pulled off well. Plums, straight plums, is one of my least favorite fruits and I like fruit. The aroma and flavor is more full of tart cherries than plums along with some light spice. I did leave the beer for a while after consuming about half. It probably warmed up into the mid 60s, the cherries did turn to plums, and I could no longer stomach the beer. So make sure to consume this one at the advertised price unless you like plums. Enjoy!

Aroma: 8, Taste: 8, Look: 7, Drinkability: 7, Overall 7.5

Useless Fact: The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days when engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.