Budweiser’s Project 12 – the program that produced Budweiser Black Crown – returns with three new ZIP code beers this month.
This is the second year that Anheuser-Busch has packaged three beers that are named for the ZIP codes of the breweries where they were created. Each is fermented with the same yeast strain Budweiser has been using since Adolphus Busch founded the brewery in 1876. The beers are sold in a 12-pack that includes:
Batch 94534 (Fairfield, Calif.): Brewed with a of Northwest American hop varieties, including Cascade and Palisade. 5.5% ABV.
Batch 23185 (Williamsburg, Va.): Aged on a bed of bourbon barrel staves and vanilla beans. 5.5% ABV.
Batch 43229 (Columbus, Ohio): Brewed with chocolate and caramel malts and finished on Beechwood chips. 6% ABV.
Budweiser served the beers last week at the Great American Beer Festival.
“We think of Project 12 as the innovation arm of Budweiser,” Brian Perkins, vice president, Budweiser, told CNBC. “We see it not as a competition but a collaboration among our brewers.”
Budweiser has offered samples of the beer at the Made in America Music Festival on Labor Day each of the last two years. “Last year at the Made in America Music Festival, 85 percent of the people that tried the Project 12 beers had a higher perception of Budweiser than they did before they tried those beers,” Perkins said. “This year 93 percent of those that tried the Project 12 beers had a greater appreciation for Budweiser. That’s huge for us.”
Last year, Budweiser introduced Budweiser Black Crown – originally known as Project 12’s Batch 91406 – as a permanent Budweiser brand during Super Bowl XLVI. Perkins did not rule out the possibility of a similar brand extension based on this year’s beers, but said that was not planned currently.