Plenty of distillers have made the leap to produce craft beer, and more manufacturers of spirits offer home-brewed ale. But what happens when a distiller and a brewer join forces to produce a one-of-a-kind vodka?
What began as a conversation between employees at Short’s Brewing Co. in Bellaire in early 2022, based on feedback from customers, led to the creation of Soft Parade Vodka. InEx what may be a first for the alcohol industry, the spirit — infused with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries grown in Michigan — came about through a partnership with Iron Fish Distillery in Thompsonville.
The two northern Michigan businesses have collaborated on various projects over the years, such as sharing barrels to create different brew flavors, but they’d never before attempted to produce vodka infused with real fruit. Short’s Brewing, founded by Joe Short in 2004 — he began making craft beer while attending Western Michigan University — carved out space in the marketplace by using natural ingredients over artificial additives.
His Soft Parade beer, named after a song by the rock band The Doors, was an instant hit.
As the business grew and more beers and more locations were added, a friendly relationship was developed with Iron Fish Distillery. As the collaborators discussed their plans to bring forward Soft Parade Vodka, an immediate challenge was meeting industry standards.
“Something consumers may not know about vodka is that by federal regulation, it cannot be sweet,” says Richard Anderson, co-owner of Iron Fish Distillery. “Vodka must have less than 2.5 brix of sugar (each 1 degree brix is equivalent to 1 percent sugar concentration when measured at 20 degrees centigrade).
“Since both companies had no interest in using flavoring (aka flavored vodka) to get around the rule, the technical challenge was to impart the fruit flavor of Soft Parade Beer without making the vodka too sweet.”
From there, the respective brewing and distilling teams of both companies embarked on an exploration of all the variables.
On the production and technical side of Soft Parade Vodka, the specialty ingredients of Soft Parade Beer, namely wheat and rye, were featured as the base distillate for the vodka, using grain grown by Michigan farmers.
Then, Short’s Brewing shared its source of real fruit puree with Iron Fish to infuse the 100 percent concentrate and clarified fruit into the vodka. From there, the distiller naturally chill-filtered the base over the cold winter months.
“While not as obvious in Soft Parade Beer due to carbonation, the body of Soft Parade Vodka is characterized by small bits of pectins that bond with sugars and amino acids that deliver flavor in a way ‘flavored’ vodkas using artificial additives can’t,” Anderson says.
“Both companies decided not to filter out the pectins in order to clarify the vodka, preferring instead to leave fruit essence and real fruit flavor in the bottle. A ‘Shake Before Serving’ label was added to tip off our customers that fruit essence may settle in the bottle.”
The Rundown
MSRP of Soft Parade Vodka – $31.96
Annual number of cases of Soft Parade Vodka to be Produced – 800
Fruits used in vodka – strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries
Number of distillers/brewers in Michigan – 103/400
Sources: Iron Fish Distillery, Short’s Brewing Co., Michigan Beer Guild, American Craft Spirits.
Throughout the development process, Anderson didn’t know if he had “an Edsel or a Mustang.” From the outset, the two companies agreed to a one-time, limited seasonal release of the spirit, believing the marketplace might be slow to accept the new product offering.
As it turns out, the release on May 1 was a runaway hit. Iron Fish Distillery produced more than 800 cases of the 750ml vodka (12 bottles to a case). Distributed by Imperial Beverage, a statewide wholesaler, case displays at liquor store retailers and grocery chains sold out in a matter of days, Anderson says.
“We knew the Soft Parade brand was well-known by consumers, but pushing the boundaries of entering the vodka space was a whole other matter,” says Kerry Lynch, director of sales and copywriting at Short’s Brewing. “The sweetness requirement of vodka was the X factor. We weren’t sure if the taste of real fruit would come through, and whether the vodka could stand the test of time and wouldn’t spoil once opened.”
Due to consumer demand, Iron Fish and Short’s Brewing plan to repeat a limited release of Soft Parade Vodka every spring. In turn, more collaborations may be in the works.
“I’m already harassing our two teams to see what else can we do,” Lynch says. “We need to continue to innovate and elevate our respective brands. Our customers deserve that.”
