Double Soft Parade
Short's Brewing Company

 

I’m not really a fruit beer guy. It’s okay.

 

 

12oz canned 2/10/2022 (52 days ago) poured into a teku glass at 47° Fahrenheit, no ABV listed on label. The beer pours mostly bright, rose in color with very light pink head. Sparce lacing. The aroma is moderate in strength featuring all the berries as promised on the can. The taste is semi tart berry wine with a hint of malt and negligible hop flavor or bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Alcohol is fairly well hidden for an alleged 10% ABV beer. Overall, very unbeery, yet enjoyable for what it is.

February 2022 Specialty Release - 6 pack
12 oz. can dated 020922 (02/09/22) - 9.0% ABV / 14 IBU
Brewed and canned in Elk Rapids, MI
Poured into a Bell's branded tulip snifter glass

Look - Pours a fizzy pinkish white head that evaporates quickly. Clear, dark pink appearance with tons of streaming bubbles.
Smell - Berries are the major scent and nothing else can be detected. No alcohol scent despite the high ABV.
Taste - Taste follows the nose with a bit of tartness and booze in the aftertaste.
Feel - Medium bodied with a sticky and somewhat crisp mouthfeel that finishes pretty dry.
Overall - A berry good booze bomb that delivers exactly what it advertises.

 

Brief Review:

O: Well, well. Double Soft Parade! Never got to try the OG Imperial from 2007, but they say this is the original recipe. The newer Soft Parade is one of my favorite beers, always a go to if you're in the mood for a drinkable fruit beer. I can't say I love this rendition though. If it was the only version out there, I'd probably like it a lot more, as it's a nice, big, bold beer from Short's. But directly up against the more drinkable, smoother regular Soft Parade, this just feels like an unnecessarily boozy version. I don't feel like the fruit is punched up, just the booze and alcohol.

Recommendation: Kind of a fun treat if you want to break away from regular Soft Parade and get fancy, certainly worth a try in my book.

There's a scene near the end of Pixar's Ratatouille where the jaded food critic tastes the eponymous dish. He's instantly transported in his mind to his childhood, where his mother comforts him with the same dish.
This is what Double Soft Parade did for me. Those early visits to the pub, sitting on a ratty couch, board games on a table, everyone sitting elbow to elbow on a Saturday night. The current Soft Parade, while still quite nice, can't quite fill the gap offered by the original served on tap. Double Soft Parade, however, hits the mark. I've already gown through two six packs and I'll probably head back to the store for another.