Short’s Brewery, one of the favorite breweries in Northern Michigan, was established in 2002 by Joe Short. The then-22-year-old brewer registered Short’s Brewing Company as a business in the state of Michigan. Short had gained significant brewing experience at other Michigan breweries and realized that his style of brewing was best suited to his own business model — where he would not have to answer to anyone for putting a lot of the best possible ingredients into his brews, or for brewing specialty beers that some might consider outrageous.
The microbrewery, located in downtown Bellaire (just outside of Traverse City), began keg and bottle distribution in 2009 from its production facility in nearby Elk Rapids.