NEW YORK — Today, Budweiser unveiled its new Discovery Reserve American Red Lager, a limited-edition beer brewed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing and the determination of the American spirit. Inspired by an archival Budweiser recipe from the time of the Apollo Moon missions, Discovery Reserve is brewed with medium-roast Voyager barley malt and features a light hoppy aroma, a toasted barley malt taste with a hint of toffee and a sharp finish. Discovery Reserve is brewed by Karissa Norrington, a Budweiser brewmaster and former U.S. Air Force Captain.
“This Bud’s for those who challenged the odds and made the impossible, possible,” said Ricardo Marques, VP of Marketing Core & Value Brands at Anheuser-Busch. “Budweiser Discovery Reserve is our tribute to this epic moment in history, one that will certainly continue to inspire generations of present and future explorers.”
Budweiser Discovery Reserve not only commemorates the pioneering American spirit that brought us to the Moon, it also recognizes future frontiers and is a nod to the United States Air Force, which worked in great partnership with the space program of the 1960s. For the eighth consecutive year, Budweiser is partnering with Folds of Honor to support those who serve. For every case of Budweiser Discovery Reserve sold, Budweiser will donate $1 to the Folds of Honor Foundation[1]. Since 2011, Budweiser and its partners have donated nearly $16 million toward educational scholarships, amounting to more than three thousand scholarships for military families across the country.
“I salute Budweiser and their life-changing donations and continued commitment to Folds of Honor over the last eight years,” said Major Dan Rooney, founder and CEO of Folds of Honor. “We are proud to stand with them as they release Discovery Reserve, further illustrating their commitment to our armed forces.”
The design of Budweiser Discovery Reserve is inspired by the past while recognizing the future; the 11 stars represent the Apollo 11 mission and the alternating bottle caps represent both our footsteps on the Moon and our next frontier, Mars. The historic Anheuser-Busch A & Eagle has also been updated to reflect the red planet with the Earth in the background. Finally, each bottle features wings and stars inspired by the original Budweiser cans.
Budweiser Discovery Reserve is the newest addition to the popular Reserve Collection, preceded by Budweiser Reserve Copper Lager – the most successful Reserve Collection variant to date – Budweiser Freedom Reserve and Budweiser Repeal Reserve. Launched in September 2017, Budweiser’s Reserve Collection was first created to develop and debut new recipes and packaging tied to premium and relevant moments in time. The Reserve Collection has seen strong performance since launch; it is a top 10 market share gainer[2] and shows a positive halo effect back to core Budweiser, helping drive total Budweiser brand quality perception.[3]
Budweiser Discovery Reserve is supported with a full 360-degree campaign, including in-store displays, digital advertising and social marketing programming along with new national TV creative that starts airing this week. Discovery Reserve will be available through September, or while supplies last.
For more information on Budweiser Discovery Reserve, check out Budweiser.com or follow Budweiser on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
[1] Donation up to $100k from 4/1/19 – 9/1/19
[2] IRI MULC, Total US, Avg Weekly Vol Per Store Selling, P13W Data (ending 3/24/2019)
[3] AB Insights via Infoscout