Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Leading up to the 2022 NFL season, the Buffalo Bills were touted by many to be the best team in the league, with the best betting odds to win Super Bowl LVII this February in Glendale, Arizona.
With the potential for one of the most memorable seasons in franchise history, led by the likes of Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs and Von Miller, Community Beer Works wanted to commemorate the 2022 season with a line of special beer labels that brings a unique flavor to every matchup this year.
"I think it's a difference maker for us," said Chris Smith, co-founder and co-owner of Community Beer Works. "We started making a Bills-themed beer called 'Let's Go Pils' back in 2018, and it's based in my love, and the love of everybody else who works for Community Beer Works for our local team. I've been a Bills season ticketholder for most of my life, and really, we just wanted to create a special beer for a special moment for, what I think are, the most special fans in the league."
Community Beer Works has partnered with FanFare, a new company that specializes in creating custom beer can labels such as the Game Day Ale labels. The company started and became a client of 19 Ideas, who has been helping out with their marketing.
"It's a lot of fun," said Dan Gigante, a partner with 19 Ideas. "Working with the artists to come up with their kind of interpretation of the game is actually one of the most fun parts to see, to come to life. And then the thought being that you're going to be celebrating whatever game, now you can be drinking that week; in other words, Week 8 coming up here, so tailgate and prepare with the Week 8 ale."
The idea for the special Bills beer can labels sprouted in a conversation between Smith and Gigante about the concept of some way to celebrate a special football season in Western New York.
"It was really an inspiration," Smith said. "We thought to ourselves, this is going to be one of the most memorable seasons in history, and it's already turning out that way. We really wanted to create a special moment and a special collectible for, really, a potentially historic season."
Smith adds that the seed of the idea of creating collectable beer can labels was inspired by his six-year-old son, who's gotten himself into Pokémon Go.
"The 'gotta catch 'em all' idea of creating as many fun, memorable moments as we can for local fans," Smith said. "We hope at the end of the season there's plenty of people who have collected them all. And at the end of the season, we'll be selling commemorative prints that save all the labels from the whole season to share over the holidays."
After the gears were set into motion on the idea, Smith and the team involved started reaching out to artists not only they were familiar with, but also some really special local artists who are doing great work in the art industry and the digital design industry in Buffalo.
"Honestly, we had a great response from our local artists community. People wanting to be a part of something special," Smith said. "The story I told when we asked these artists to join us was, 'I've always wanted to make a beer that reminded me of the beers that I drank at the tailgate when I was younger in my early 20s, and I wanted to create something that was special, that was memorable, that was a collectible, and something that could be remembered and shared from a really special season.'"
Through the first eight weeks of the season, both Smith and Gigante say the response from Bills fans and beer lovers alike has been "overwhelming".
"We had originally intended to sell these in the market, but the demand is so high that we're moving them right out of our tap room and online before the start of every game," Smith said. "For home games, we reserve a number of cases that we bring to sell at the tailgate outside of the stadium. You can find us in 'Hammer's Lot' on Abbott Road, we're selling beer for you to drink, share and collect all season long."
"I think this season, you can't have too much content," Gigante added. "There's lots of different things out there, from posters to shirts to the other company I have [Went] with tickets. This is kind of a special year, and it's been been a great reception."
Gigante says the biggest question they have had, at this time, is being able to ship the cans and beer labels for out of town fans. It's been a process they are still trying to perfect.
With the widespread positive response from Bills fans and beer lovers with the beer can labels, Smith says there is some thought ongoing to make this more than just a one-off idea for the 2022 season.
"Our approach was this was a one-off, but the response has been pretty overwhelming. I think we're trying to find ways to expand this concept to more fans this season," Smith said. "We had really brewed this beer, candid, with a goal of selling it mostly in Buffalo, but there's demand nationwide. We get emails and phone calls every day from people from as far away as California. We got an email from a guy in London the other day from the London Bills Backers, who wanted us to mail him 10 cases of beer. We told him how expensive that would be, and he didn't really seem to care."
The Game Day Ale beer labels for the 2022 Bills season is Community Beer Works' first foray into private labels for beer, but it will not be the last going forward. In their partnership with FanFare, they will be making other beer can labels for people who would like specialized labels for other occasions.
"Say you're having a Christmas party and you wanted to have WBEN beer, we'd be able to come up with a label and have your own custom beer for that event. Or if it's a wedding, or just your company or whatever it may be," Gigante said. "it's kind of taking that whole custom aspect to the next level."
For anyone looking to find the Game Day Ale label designs and other custom beer labels, you can find them at GoFanFare.co.
"That's our website, where you can order both the Game Day beers that we're putting forward for the rest of the season, as well as our private label beers for any occasion," Smith said. "You can check us out at CommunityBeerWorks.com, and @CommunityBeer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram."
