Amid the headlines this week surrounding backlash to alcohol brands partnering with queer influencers, here are 5 beer companies that support the LGBTQ community in 2023.
This week Budweiser made transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney an ambassador for Bud Light. She was sent a customized can with her face printed onto it by the company in celebration of her first year as a trans woman.
Some major backlash ensued from conservative anti-woke communities online, with some pushing a boycott of the alcoholic beverage.
Jack Daniel’s has also been criticized for using drag queens in a campaign.
So, in contrast to the bad press, here are 5 beer companies that support the LGBTQ community in 2023:
Bud Light
Bud Light of course supports the LGBTQ community, being the brand to kick off the unfortunate backlash having recently partnered with social media sensation Dylan Mulvaney.
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In 2022, Bud Light Canada launched rainbow cans to celebrate the LGBTQIA2S+ community. The Pride cans were part of Bud Light Camp, an LGBTQIA2S+ community and ally-focused adult camp, which celebrated coming out to ensure everyone is accepted just the way they are, reports Yahoo.
Miller Lite
Since it was launched in the 1970s, Miller Lite has been a staunch supporter of the LGBTQ community. Throughout the 1990s, Miller Lite sponsored PrideFest events and Pride Weeks in New York City. Miller Brewing was also one of the first companies to offer same-sex domestic partner benefits, since 2000.
In 2021, Miller Lite launched a program called Open & Proud in partnership with the Equality Federation. It sought to make the 55,000 bars that serve Miller Lite more inclusive to the LGBTQ community.
The brand also partnered with Pulitzer prize-nominated historian Dr. Eric Cervini in 2022 to create Beers & Queer History, a book that documents iconic bars in queer history. The book tells the story of ten of the most important and influential LGBTQ+ bars that helped to empower the community.
Coors
Coors Light was sold in Pride cans for a brief period as part of the company’s Tap Into Change program, to show support to the LGBTQ+ community. The customized cans featured a logo filled with rainbow colors.
The temporary design was reportedly made available in select bars across Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Dallas, and Columbus. A part of the profit from its sale was donated to local LGBTQ charities.
Heineken
Over the last decade, the Dutch brewery and beer giant Heineken has publicly supported the LGBTQ community.
In 2014, Heineken launched a campaign featuring Neil Patrick Harris, the brand’s first openly gay ambassador.
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For Amsterdam Pride 2015, Heineken adopted the slogan #CelebrateLove and made rainbow-branded pins.
The company even sponsored New York City Pride in 2018. “We’re committed to Brewing a Better World, and are always looking for ways to foster inclusion and openness at Heineken and within our communities,” Stephanie Johnston, Director of Sustainable Business at Heineken USA said in a statement.
“For Pride Month and beyond, we’ll continue to support the LGBTQ community through our long-standing partnerships and our employee initiatives,” she added.
Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn Brewery has an IPA called The Stonewall Inn IPA, dedicated to supporting the queer community and in partnership with the Stonewall Inn.
As per its website, “Brooklyn Brewery is committed to creating space for grassroots activism in every community that [it] serves.”
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