Sprecher Brewing has made some bold changes to its branding in 2022. But luckily for them they have a ton of heritage to lean on.
The Sprecher griffin image and classic German-inspired font are still featured prominently on new label designs for the company’s beers. But neither will appear on the bottles that have long been synonymous with Sprecher – remember those iconic Sprecher Special Amber pint bottles? That’s right, Sprecher beer is now only available in cans.
A shiny, new canning line at the Glendale brewery is busy putting beer into aluminum vessels that will keep it fresh longer than the glass alternative.
“The freshness component is so integral to beer. Everyone who’s an aficionado respects that,” said Brian Jaszewski, director of product management for Sprecher. “(Cans) fit really well with our rebrand and checked a lot of boxes. This is going to present a really positive image, brandwise and tastewise, to Sprecher consumers. We know that there’s a contingent that like the bottles, but we’re confident the brand will speak for itself.”
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Packaging may be changing in 2022, but the list of seasonal and year-round beers still leans heavily toward the traditional German styles that Sprecher is known for. Year-round beers are Abbey Triple, Special Amber, Black Bavarian, Hefe Weiss, Pineapple X-Press IPA and the newest year-rounder, Juicy IPA (introduced last year as ReFresh Button). Seasonal releases include Mai Bock (February to April), Festbier (May to July), Oktoberfest (August to October) and Winter Imperial Stout (November to January). One limited release beer already in the works for 2022 is Black Forest Chocolate Milkshake IPA, but expect a few more specialty beers to be announced later in the year.
“We’re seeing a move back to some of these traditional craft German beers,” added Jaszewski.
The extensive brand refresh work was done in-house with Sprecher’s internal marketing and design team. Jaszewski joined Sprecher in November, just in time to help implement the changes, but he’s no stranger to the beer.
“Sprecher Amber is my go-to beer at our brewery,” he said. “It’s the first legal beer I ever had. To be able to be here for the rebrand is really personal to me and I’m excited for that. The brand is obviously important. That’s why we paid so much attention to it. The Sprecher name is still prominent, the crest is prominent, the griffin is prominent. It’s carrying over, but we’re modernizing it a bit.”
While Sprecher’s beer offerings are heading to the canning line, its popular sodas are not. Staples like Sprecher Root Beer, Cream Soda and the newly acquired Green River lime soda will still be packaged in bottles. Soda makes up a whopping 90% of Sprecher’s business.
“(CEO Sharad Chadha’s) vision is Sprecher as a craft beverage company,” said Tim Cigelske, the director of communications for Sprecher. “That entails the line of sodas and, of course, the beer heritage. All that fits together. It’s craft, but it’s also a wide variety. This (brand refresh) is going back to the Sprecher roots and heritage with the design. It’s a return to the classic style with a contemporary feel.”
