Anheuser-Busch of Williamsburg will be one of only two Budweiser breweries filling new bowtie-shaped cans fashioned after Budweiser’s logo, a new permanent packaging option scheduled for release May 6.
“It’s an honor to get on the shortlist of a new product. It’s fun, it’s different and it’s invigorating to me and our brewery,” said General Manager Rick Shippey of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery of Williamsburg.
The can has been in development since 2010 and required company engineers to solve technical challenges and make major equipment investments to produce the can at the New York can-making facility. More than 10 million cans were produced through March and another 8 million will be produced this month for a total of 750,000 cases.
“This can is incomparable, like nothing you’ve ever seen before,” said Pat McGauley, vice president of innovation for Anheuser-Busch, in a news release. “The world’s most iconic beer brand deserves the world’s most unique and innovative can. I think we have it here.”
Upgrades were also made to packaging lines at the Williamsburg and Los Angeles breweries, the first two breweries to be retrofitted to fill the new bowtie can.
About $500,000 went into getting the Williamsburg brewery ready to package the new can. Because the can is an 11.3-ounce can rather than the regular 12-ounce, Shippey said the equipment needed to be able to fill the smaller can. It also took time and effort to figure out how to seal the can because of the different size and shape from a traditional can.
The beer will be available only in the U.S. in eight-packs, and it will not replace the traditional can, but will be a permanent alternate packaging option.
Shippey said he hopes the new can is “impactful sight-wise so people reevaluate Budweiser because it’s a tremendous iconic brand.”
Where the bowtie logo came from originally is unknown. Company lore says it was introduced to highlight the entire Budweiser name as it was called “Bud” too frequently. The bowtie logo was first used in a 1956 Budweiser advertising campaign.
For information on where to purchase the new eight-packs, call 800-dial-Bud (800-342-5283).
