Beer Review – Short’s Brewing Company – Soft Parade

Pizza and beer? Please. Oh my God please.

When the server first handed me the pitcher I was very confused as to whether I had gotten a beer or some Kool-Aid. That may be a slight exaggeration but it’s very, very red for a beer. The aroma gives me pause. I’ve heard people say that they really love the smell of this beer but I have to question that. To me it smells like Busch light with some strawberries mixed in.

Luckily the beer tastes better than that. It has a nice rye beer base and a lot of berries to round it out. It is a bit sweeter than I prefer but I like the variety of flavor. You can tell that this is a fruit beer. If that makes sense. I can’t even believe the 7.5%. My friend was trying to convince me it was above 5% and I wouldn’t believe him. Fool that I am! That’s a definite bonus but it could probably knock you out cold if you’re not paying attention! Drink with care!

I feel like for the sake of full disclosure I have to divulge that I don’t like berries. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, they’re all gross. So this beer probably isn’t made for me. But for what it is it’s a solid choice.

I have heard a number of people suggest that this beer be the “Michigan Summer Beer” instead of Oberon and I can see why. It is sweet and fruity with an above average ABV, especially for this type of beer. Overall I prefer something like Rübæus, which I feel like isn’t quite so sickly sweet but if you like fruity-sweet berry beers that will knock you out, grab this one!