7.7% ABV, 96 IBU

The world can be full of happy coincidences. I just made a trip to Michigan to plan my upcoming wedding to a beautiful gal. While enjoying the last Michigan beer I would have until we return for our wedding, I reflected on the fact that this particular beer and I happened to be in the same place at the same time, like a less psychotic Anton Chigurh was with his coin.

I was a big beer fan well before I met my future fiancé who just happened to be from the greater “Beer City, USA” area.  Last summer we were serendipitously blessed with the combination of one of her bridesmaids getting married in Traverse City, one of my groomsmen (who I met in Seattle but comes from Bellaire, MI where Short Brewery’s is based) recommending the brewery, and the added opportunity to hear the band we would ultimately end up hiring to play our reception, all bringing us to the brewery that evening. We immediately loved Shorts Brewing and now plan on serving their beer at our reception, so of course I bought a 6 pack while visiting. Weird, awesome stuff man. Ain’t life grand?

The same can be said for one of the flagship beers from Short’s, Huma Lupalicious.  It’s an all-around, fantastic IPA.  Each note falls into place perfectly to ultimately result in something special.  I unfortunately didn’t have a glass handy so I poured a little sample in 4 oz. snifter – more on that later.  I couldn’t really generate any head in the glass, but the pour was golden and slightly hazy.

Upon first whiff, you quickly discover why they named this baby after the scientific name for hops, as you get a great citrusy bouquet of mango and grapefruit, with a bit of pine thrown in for good measure.  I took my first sip and was rewarded with a sharp, clean bitterness that, combined with a nice effervescent bite, really wakes up the palate.

A second sip and you get past the hops a bit to notice the nice, toasty malt sweetness.  A few more sips in and everything starts falling into place, with mild sweetness on the tip of the tongue being balanced out by a bitter finish on the back of the palate. The parts come together and you end up with a really excellent example of what an IPA should be. So I sat back and enjoyed the last few moments of our trip, looking out on gray skies over a typical Michigan field of winter browned grass. Sometimes things just come together like they should.

A note on tasting.  After I finished my tasting notes out of the snifter, I switched to just drinking out of the bottle. Since reading about how poorly a pint glass conveys the flavor of a beer, I imagined drinking out of the bottle would be even worse. If I hadn’t been thinking about it, I still would definitely have enjoyed the beer – I’d already enjoyed several that week! – but there was a VERY noticeable difference. Everything just became a bit more one-note and the highs and lows were lost. So, if possible don’t neglect the proper glassware folks, but most importantly don’t miss out on enjoying this tasty brew.