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March 2, 2026
WAUSAU – A new product is set to join the beverage portfolio at Forward Beverage Co. this spring, as the Wausau-based business expands its line of premium nonalcoholic cocktails.
Already home to several products – including nonalcoholic soft cocktails, THC and CBD social seltzers and nonalcoholic nitro cocktails – the newest endeavor for owners Paul and Amy Yanzer is “Suede.”
“It’s an herbal spirit alternative, and it will have THC as the relaxing effect, instead of the alcohol,” Amy said.
The duo said they included their social media following in the naming process, asking brand followers for ideas when it came to giving the new spirit its moniker.
“We received a lot of different variations of names, because one of the key ingredients is butterfly pea flower, which is a flower that changes color,” Amy said. “It dyes the drink purple, but then it changes [color] with a change in pH. We knew that was going to be one of the ingredients, so we asked everybody for their input, and then we narrowed it down to three [names], and those three were Suede, Metamorphosis and the third was Alchemy.”
“Suede,” Amy said, was deemed to be the best bet – giving the new potable a high-end feel in terms of branding.
“We’re not just sugar and water to make a mocktail,” she said. “We’re elevated and sophisticated.”
Creating a colorful, calming beverage
Amy said Suede takes a different approach for consumers looking to relax, while enhancing the portfolio of products already offered by Forward Beverage Co.
“Right now, [our products are] all infused, canned and ready to go in a serving size,” she said. “[Suede] allows people to create their own mixers and serving sizes with it.”
After following the market trend, Amy said they felt the time was right to move ahead, combining a timely opportunity with unique qualities to create a new spirit.
From conception to production, Paul said the team has spent about four to five months actively developing Suede, with a debut planned for later this spring.
Though by early February, a prototype had been developed, Paul said he continues to tweak and perfect the ingredients toward the outcome he wants.
His process for the products he’s developed at Forward Beverage Co., he said, has differed each time.
“Usually, I try to create something that will remind people of a flavor they’ve had before, or a familiar alcoholic beverage with the spirit alternative,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about [creating a spirit] since we opened the business, and how I wanted to do it.”
Though there are several spirit alternatives available, Paul said, in his opinion, most of them lack a distinctive flavor.
“I wanted to do something a little bit different, and the aperitif-type spirits are kind of what I was going for with this,” he said. “[Suede is] something a little bit more elegant and herbal.”
Paul said he added ingredients to give the spirit a distinctive aroma and said he enjoys experimenting with color, which led to the inclusion of butterfly pea powder in the recipe.
He said he likes using natural pH indicators – such as purple cabbage and beet juice – which change color to signal acidity or alkalinity.
Paul said the butterfly pea flower in Suede is sensitive to pH levels and will change color depending on the acidity of the other ingredients it is immersed in.
“[You can get] unique characteristics and colors out of butterfly pea flower that you don’t get with beet juice or other fruit juices that can change color with pH,” he said. “And it’s a natural ingredient, and I don’t have to put in fake colors to make it look nice.”
In addition to carefully crafting Suede’s flavor, appearance, and aroma, Paul said navigating the growing rules and regulations is also a key part of developing a nonalcoholic beverage.
“Because it’s a nonalcoholic product, that makes it a lot more difficult to have a shelf-stable product compared to an alcoholic drink,” he said. “The rules are a lot more stringent with food products, and it takes quite a bit more effort to adhere to those rules for shelf-stable products.”
Though he is still working on “cocktail”-like ideas for area bartenders to use to promote the new product, Paul said Suede’s herbal floral profile will likely find fitting companionship with club soda or seltzer.
“For consumers at home, it’s easy enough to pour,” he said.
Paul said it works well mixed in sparkling water or as a replacement for a spirit or other cocktail ingredient.
“Just having it on the rocks works, too,” he said.
‘Start low and go slow’
For those new to THC-infused products, Amy said it’s important to follow the serving size directions and take proverbial baby steps to see how it impacts them individually.
Much like a “pony shot” is one fluid ounce of alcohol and a “jigger” is 1.5 ounces, Amy said Suede bottles will include a suggested serving size, with 1.5 ounces containing 10 milligrams of THC.
“You would reduce that [measurement] to get the milligram dose you want,” she said.
Amy said they recommend that first-time users try THC beverages at home with no plans to go out, starting with a small amount and giving it time to take effect, as everyone reacts differently.
“That’s an education piece that I think everyone in the industry is trying to help teach the consumer,” she said. “This is different. Your body is going to handle it differently, and you need to start low and go slow.”
Enduring through legislative uncertainty
When it is ready for rollout, Paul said Suede will be available locally at Forward Beverage Co. – though the rollout will be modest due to ongoing regulatory uncertainty.
Recent federal changes restricting intoxicating hemp-derived products, the Yanzers said, have led them to take a cautious approach until there is more clarity.
“We really can’t do a big launch with anything right now because of the state of regulations,” he said. “Wisconsin is trying to figure out if and how they’re going to regulate the industry.”
Paul said they understood from the beginning that regulatory upheaval was a possibility and have plans in place to adapt if necessary.
“We didn’t know what that would look like, or how strict that closure would be,” he said. “So, we’ve been talking about what we would do to pivot as a business, pretty much the whole time we’ve been open, and I think we have a good plan in place.”
Those plans, Paul said, include leveraging the success of existing products to create a line of functional beverages without THC or CBD.
“Even with the Suede product, there’s another product lined up, ready to go that would be a functional beverage…,” he said. “[It will be] similar, but with different ingredients, that don’t use THC and CBD… It’s just waiting to see what we need to do as a business.”
As they ready to release their newest creation in the nonalcoholic space, even in the face of uncertainty, Paul said they continue to enjoy what they’re doing.
He said for him, creativity is the spark that sustains his ambition and momentum.
“I like the creative side of things,” he said. “That’s kind of where I exist. I probably have too many new ideas all the time…, [but] that type of [work] is really fun for me.”
For more information about Suede and a future release date, visit forwardbev.com.
