Budweiser to change name of beer to ‘America’ for the summer

Anheuser-Busch InBev announced Tuesday that it will temporarily rename its Budweiser brand "America" for the summer, complete with newly designed cans and bottles to reflect the change.

New packaging for "America" will roll out beginning May 23, and will be available through the November presidential election as a way to "inspire drinkers to celebrate America and Budweiser's shared values of freedom and authenticity." National TV ads will begin airing June 1.

Created by New York design agency John Knowles Ritchie, the new "America" cans and bottles come as part of the company's summer-long "America is in Your Hands" campaign. Aside from the "America" moniker, the cans will feature phrases like "E Pluribus Unum," "Land of the Free," and "Liberty & Justice For All."

As Budweiser Vice President Ricardo Marques explained in a press release, the name-change and new design were pursued as a way to commemorate "what should be the most patriotic summer that this generation has ever seen." Primarily, that's due to the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, the Fourth of July, the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Copa America Centenario soccer tournament, which is being held in America for the first time this year.

"Budweiser has always strived to embody America in a bottle, and we're honored to salute this great nation where our beer has been passionately brewed for the past 140 years," Marques said.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, meanwhile, is based out of Belgium and Brazil, and owns more than 200 beer brands throughout the globe. Stateside, the brewing giant owns six of America's 10 best-selling beers: Bud Light, Budweiser (soon to be America), Michelob Ultra Light, Natural Light, Busch Light, and Busch. Its brands alone accounted for more than 45 percent of the beer market share in the United States in 2015.