Last week Short’s Brewing Co. announced a collaboration with the boys from the funk group Vulfpeck. The American Sour Ale, “Compression,” is inspired by the Vulf Compressor, a mixing tool made famous by Vulfpeck, giving them their signature sound.

Vulfpeck formed while the members attended the University of Michigan’s music school in 2011. Founder Jack Stratton envisioned a German version of the Funk Brothers that eventually gave birth to their pop-funk sound. They played their first live gig at the Blind Pig, and have released several EP’s over the next few years and gained traction in the national music scene. The guys are based in sunny Los Angeles now, but their Michigan roots are strong.

The collaboration draws on the similarities between the process of mixing music and blending barrel aged beers. Best described by Short’s Brewing CEO Joe Short’s remix of Jack Stratton's thoughts on the Vulf Compressor:

“Compression really is the salt of music beer mixing. It’s the ultimate tool of a mix engineer and the Vulf Short’s Compress or ion is a really boutique, top-shelf Himalayan pink sea salt. This can really change the direction of a song beer. It’s kind of a one-trick pony in the best sense, in that it gives our songs beers a really distinct sound flavor and some people will just put it on drink the entire track bottle. It’s been a really cool addition to people finding out about Vulfpeck Short’s through this plugin funky blend. I really believe in it. We would not be selling it or commanding that price if it wasn’t a total game changer.” — Jack Stratton. Remixed by Joe Short

Short’s and Vulfpeck came together to blend four brews that correspond to the band members’ personal preferences. There’s an Oud Bruin with plums aged in red wine barrels, a Sour American Brown Ale aged in red wine barrels, a Belgian Sour Wheat Ale made with blackberries and aged in Sauvignon Blanc barrels, and a Sour Stout aged in bourbon barrels.

The beer drops at the Short’s Anni Party XII on Saturday, April 30th from 4:00 PM -10:00 PM in Downtown Bellaire, Michigan. Beer as well as live music will be on tap, with performances by The Go Rounds, The Crane Wives, and of course, Vulfpeck.