With a plethora of alcohol and non-alcohol brands in the beverage landscape, packaging is paramount to attracting consumers. In the case of Wild Ginger Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer, a new craft beer, Dan Matauch, founder of Northville, Mich.-based Flowdesign, the firm that designed the new beer’s packaging, says the name itself immediately sparked his imagination.

ACDC, the Australian rock band, joined forces with German brewer Karlsberg and Eurobrew Inc. to introduce a rock-inspired premium lager to the United States. 

Samuel Adams, a brand of Boston-based The Boston Beer Co., released Time Hop Porter, a limited-edition hopped porter brewed with San Diego-based ChuckAlek Independent Brewers. The collaboration beer is the culmination of a year-long program, Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Brewing and Business Experienceship, which annually provides one craft brewer with hands-on brewing and business coaching, the company says. Sam Adams established the program to help small-craft breweries get a leg-up in the industry, it adds.

In 1976, the United States was celebrating its bicentennial, the National Basketball Association and the American Basketball Association agreed to a merger, and the CN Tower was built in Toronto, making it the tallest free-standing land structure at the time.

Groupe Geloso was founded in 1960 by Italian immigrant Vincenzo Geloso. He and his sons, Aldo, Antoine and Nicolangelo, rose from humble beginnings importing and crushing grapes to creating a multi-national beverage company that would help define future categories in the alcohol beverage industry.

White Plains, N.Y.-based Heineken USA’s Strongbow Hard Apple Cider is gearing up to make this fall Strongbow Season with a fully integrated, 360-degree program that encourages consumers of legal drinking age to experience Strongbow at its “bestest” when it is served over ice, the company says. The program includes national TV advertising, targeted digital media, social media engagements and point-of-sale (POS) materials designed to drive purchase of Strongbow’s four flavors all season long, it adds. 

Bud Light, a brand of St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, is teaming up with its partner Google to market unique, premium content directly to football fans through its new Full Season Football program, which features content from the NFL and other properties on Google Search and YouTube. Beginning Sept. 10, the beer brand, sports leagues and video platform will partner to capture football fans on the coveted second screen, the company says.

Coronado Brewing Co., Coronado, Calif., has been working to increase the efficiency and capacity of its brewery during the past few months. The current brewery will be expanding its capacity to 65,000 barrels due to its multi-million dollar renovation plan including the addition of four 240-barrel fermenters at the end of August, the company says. In addition to the fermenters, the brewery has been adding and upgrading some key components to help increase efficiency, it adds. 

The Charter Oak Brewing Co. announced its newest limited release in its Charter Series — Courageous Strong Ale. 

Today, New York-based Heineken USA announced a new partnership with experiential marketing platform, Gratafy, to give complimentary beers to consumers 21 and older in select markets via Facebook and Twitter. The campaign aims to connect fans in social settings through social media in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Houston by offering a free Heineken, Heineken Light or Dos Equis at restaurants and bars partnered with Gratafy.