Michigan brewery makes beer deliveries via seaplane

June 15 (UPI) -- A Northern Michigan beer company enlisted the help of a seaplane to make six special deliveries to families on waterfront properties.

Steve Smith, aka Aquabear, took off in his seaplane Saturday morning with Joe Short, owner and founder of Short's Brewing Co., to deliver six crates of beer to waterfront properties in Antrim County.

The Elk Rapids-based brewery offered a limited run of seaplane deliveries online and the slots quickly sold out.

Smith and Short met at a fundraising event in 2018 and teamed up to film a water-skiing promo later that year.

Short said Smith pitched him the idea of using the plane to bolster the brewery's delivery service, which began in March amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"He likes to get his airplane out, fly it around and have fun bouncing around the lake," Short told the Traverse City Record-Eagle. "I was like 'Alright cool, let's put it together.'"

The pair's Saturday outing made an impression on their customers.

"This is a highlight of our summer, absolutely," delivery recipient Kathy Bryant said. "To see a seaplane come in right to your front step and deliver beer and hop off. I mean this was just phenomenal."