“Kind of got started when I discovered beer and homebrewing in college,” said Joe Short as he described how he got Short’s Brewing Company in Bellaire off the ground.
Joe opened the pub in 2004.
“It’s not on your way to anywhere and we’re flattered by people going out of their way to experience rural and Northern Michigan,” said Joe.
Food wasn’t a part of the original plan.
“It was like people need something to eat, all right, let’s go,” he said.
Just about everything is made in house, and they try to use products they’d use in beer for other dishes, too.
“Just to connect the whole beer and food part of it,” Joe said. “So instead of like just a bit of sugar, we’ll use malt sugar.”
From the pizza dough to the pork in the buenas tardes nachos, it’s all the same idea.
“It’s got our Starcut Ciders hard cider in it, and in a custom Short’s Brewing special rub seasoning mix, we broast it and brine it in the cider and it’s all hand pulled,” Joe said. “You can put your own touch on things, we don’t buy beer off the shelf and sell it, we like to make our own flavors and same kind of applies to the kitchen.”
The attention to detail in every bite earned them MyNorth’s Red Hot Best restaurant for the Charlevoix and the Chain of Lakes region.
“Honored that people are recognizing how much we love and care about what we do over here,” Joe said.
He describes the menu at Short’s Brewing Company as the ‘greatest hits.’
All of our food is named after songs by the band “Ween.”
“We’re a big fan,” he said. “My wife and I were working on the menu on the way back from a concert road trip.”
Now, it’s like the album that never gets old.
“Kind of surreal, really,” Joe said describing how far Short’s Brewing Company has come. “It kind of feels like I’m in this dream that never ends, you know, like I’m waiting for to wake up at some point. We’ve tried to come with a lot of great things in our community and with our employees and just kind of build a culture to help shape the world we want to live in.”
You can find Short’s Brewing Company at 121 N. Bridge Street in Bellaire, or call them at 231-498-2300.
For more information about Short’s Brewing Company, click .
To see the rest of the MyNorth Red Hot Best winners, click .
© 2023 - 910 Media Group
