Nashville's Portal Cultured Soda launches as a healthy soda option
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Photo: courtesy of Alison Carmona Rau
The brewing mind behind Proper Saké is expanding his beverage business to include soda. And this time it's a family affair.
Driving the news: Byron Stithem and his 14-year-old son Booker Stithem partnered with Nashville's kombucha kings the Walker Brothers, creating a new endeavor last year called Portal Cultured Soda.
Why it matters: Portal is a healthy alternative to popular sodas. The Stithems use natural ingredients to create a cultured, probiotic soda.
State of fizz: Portal has two flavors: Mango Cream Soda and All the Berries. The sodas contain probiotic cultures, which are beneficial for your gut health.
- Sodas are available at Turnip Truck, Smith & Lentz pizza, Climb Nashville and Rice Vice. More retail partners are coming on board soon.
Between the lines: Portal's sodas are sweetened with agave inulin and skip dyes or junk ingredients.
- Their mango flavor has a subtle yellowish-orange tint, for instance, instead of the extreme neon color of mainstream sodas.
Zoom out: As the head brewer of Proper Saké, Byron Stithem has won numerous awards. The company began its own spirit line last year.
Flashback: Stithem, who also owns the East Nashville saké and spirits bar Rice Vice, says Portal started as father-son bonding before it blossomed into a business.
What he's saying: The project began with Booker was 8, Stithem tells Axios.
- "The goal was to have a fun activity we could do together while earning a little money at yard sales, etc.," he says. "The added bonus was we would have some healthy beverage options around the house in lieu of commodity sodas."
- As Booker got older, he became friends with Sam and Luke, the Walker Brothers, whom he refers to as honorary uncles. Walker Brothers kombucha is popular around Nashville.
"Now the scope has grown from yard sales to statewide distribution," Stithem says.
- "And maybe we'll even make enough money one day for Booker to get through college."