1 of state’s most popular beers is getting stronger
Double Soft Parade to be available on tap March 19
Soft Parade is the latest Michigan beer to get the “double” treatment.
Short’s Brewing Co., based in Elk Rapids, unveiled an enticing twist to their flagship fruit ale Monday: The Double Soft Parade, brewed with double the strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. The alcohol by volume is not yet known but, given that Soft Parade is a 7.5% ABV beer, expect the Double Soft Parade to be in the 9-11% range.
“Not all of our wild experiments are for everyone — but Soft Parade is a beer that people love at first sip. Especially folks who would come to the Pub early on looking for wine or cocktails,” said founder Joe Short in a news release. “Double Soft Parade is going to be a real treat. Double the fruit, double the fun.”
Short’s had previous released a “high-gravity” version of Soft Parade in 2007 as part of its Imperial Beer Series that year; the brewery said Double Soft Parade uses the same recipe.
Double Soft Parade will be available on tap at Short’s’ Bellaire pub and Elk Rapids taproom starting March 19, and will be released on tap and in six-packs at various independent retailers across Michigan the following week.
This release capitalizes on multiple beer trends taking place across Michigan and the rest of the country. The first: Taking a flagship fan favorite and doubling the strength. Most notably, Bell’s Brewery did this with Double Two Hearted Ale, which tastes very similar to the original Two Hearted Ale but packs a wallop at 11% ABV. Other breweries are known to do this to amp up the flavor for their bigger craft enthusiasts; Short’s actually did this already with Aww Jeah, which is marketed as “Huma Lupa Licious x2.”
Also worth noting is the gravitation toward fruitier ales and cocktail beers, partially spurred by the boom of hard seltzers the past two years but also the vast expansion of experimentation by brewers. Breweries have either responded with their own versions of hard seltzers (Short’s has a hard seltzer brand called Beaches), lighter session ales that keep the calories and carbohydrates down, or imperial ales that pack a fruitier, bolder and more flavorful punch; sometimes, all the above.
Short’s is focusing its limited distribution of Double Soft Parade on independent retailers to express support for Michigan businesses as they persist through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Many small Michigan businesses are struggling right now, and we want to make sure that they have our full support so they can come out on the other side of COVID,” said Pauline Knighton-Prueter, sales director at Short’s, in a news release. “These local shops are often the hub of their communities, and they’ve believed in our fearless beverages from the start, way back in 2004, so this is a small gesture of thanks to these partners.”
Short’s also plans to bring back Soft Parade Shandy (4.2% ABV), a lighter session version of Soft Parade blended with lemonade, in April, just in time for the summer months.
LANSING – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer remains a popular leader, but her support has slipped over the last several months in what a pollster believes is a reflection of public frustration over the coronavirus pandemic, nearing its one-year anniversary in Michigan.
In a new poll from EPIC-MRA of Lansing, 52% gave Whitmer a positive job approval rating and 47% gave her a negative rating. Also, 49% said they had a favorable opinion of Whitmer, while 44% said they had an unfavorable opinion of her. Another 7% were undecided or refused to say.
Whitmer’s numbers have gone down since September, when Whitmer received a positive job approval rating of 56% of those surveyed and a negative job approval rating from 44%. Also in September, Whitmer’s favorability ratings were 56% positive to 41% negative, with 3% undecided or refusing to say.
“She has slipped in terms of her favorability,” said Bernie Porn, president of EPICMRA. “Also, it is unusual that job rating is higher than favorability. That all can be related, I think, to frustration with COVID.”
No governor in recent history has had to deal with the type of all-encompassing crisis Whitmer has, and “you still have a majority saying she is doing a good job as governor,” he said.
The poll of 600 likely voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. It was conducted by live interviewers between Feb. 19 and 25 and included 50% cellphone users.
Bobby Leddy, a spokesman for Whitmer, said the governor has followed the advice of medical and health experts in responding to the pandemic and studies show her actions have saved lives.
“As we make our way out of the pandemic, the governor is committed to working across the aisle with the Legislature to pass the MI COVID Recovery Plan to provide billions of dollars in funding to expand our vaccine program, support small businesses, get children back in the classroom, and grow our economy,” Leddy said.
Whitmer is most popular in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, where 59% said
they had a favorable impression of her and 35% said they had an unfavorable one. She is least popular in northern Michigan, where 73% say they have an unfavorable impression and 27% a favorable one.
Among age groups, Whitmer is most popular with young people and elderly people. She got a 55% favorable rating among voters between 18 and 34 and a 52% favorable rating among those 65 and older. For those ages 35 to 64, only 45% rated Whitmer favorably.
Among Black voters, 84% of those surveyed had a favorable impression of Whitmer. White voters were pretty evenly split, with 46% having a favorable impression of the governor and 47% an unfavorable one.
She has a 90% favorability rating among Democrats, but only 40% among voters who consider themselves Independent. Among
Republicans, 87% of those surveyed had an unfavorable view of Whitmer.
More than half — 55% — said the state of the pandemic has improved over the past couple of months, while 35% said it has remained the same and 7% said it has gotten worse.
Porn said the view that the pandemic is improving, or going away, could relate to increased frustration over a lack of normalcy in terms of ability to patronize bars and restaurants and participate in sports. He said a recent controversy in New York over Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s handling of coronavirus cases in nursing homes could also be a factor, since Republicans have raised similar concerns about Whitmer’s nursing home policies.
The poll showed Whitmer in a virtual dead heat with former GOP congresswoman and secretary of state Candice Miller, in a theoretical matchup for governor. The poll found 46% would support Whitmer and 45% would support Miller, while 9% were undecided or refused to say.
Miller, who is public works commissioner in
Macomb County, said in July she will not be a candidate for governor in 2022.
Porn said he tested Miller against Whitmer because she is considered the strongest potential GOP gubernatorial candidate among names that have been put forward to date. The numbers for a Whitmer-Miller matchup should cause the governor some concern, Porn said, though Whitmer holds a larger edge over Miller, 42% to 38%, when only voters holding a clear preference are considered.
On the Michigan economy, 69% gave it a negative rating, while just 26% gave it a positive rating.
That is a significant change from July when just 51% gave the Michigan economy a negative raring, while 41% gave it a positive one.
Of those surveyed, 45% described themselves as Democrats, 41% of Republicans, and 11% as Independents.