Busch Light Apple beer is back: Anheuser-Busch confirms limited-time return of viral ‘Bapple’

The rumors are true: Anheuser-Busch confirmed on Tuesday that its viral sensation Busch Light Apple will be back in stores in May for the first time since 2022.

That’s welcome news to the legions of diehard fans who have been appealing the St. Louis-based beer maker to bring the apple-flavored lager back to stores for the past three years.

“Before Busch Light Apple was taken off shelves, our fans chased down trucks to get their hands on it,” Krystyn Stowe, head of marketing at Busch Family & Natural Family at Anheuser-Busch, said in a statement to Fast Company. “They created Facebook groups with thousands of members to mourn the loss of their favorite beer, and Reddit threads became a new home for those looking to connect with others who miss the signature sweet taste of Busch Light Apple.”

In recent weeks, people have taken to social media to share that they’ve apparently found early-release cans of Busch Light Apple on shelves or videos of the beer on assembly lines. Such posts have typically sparked large numbers of comments from fans asking where the beer can be located.

It’s a bit tricky to unpeel what exactly kicked off the rumor mill this spring that “Babble”—as fans call it—might be revived this year. However, in mid-March, a user on the X platform shared a photo that he said was from a December 2024 Anheuser-Busch meeting indicating a return of the fan-favorite beverage. That photo was subsequently shared widely across various social media platforms.

To be fair, some fans were hoping it was a sign of good things to come as far back as October when Busch Beer celebrated National Apple Day with a photo of a bushel of the beer and apples on Instagram.

“One in every three comments on Busch Light’s social posts is from fans urging us to bring back Busch Light Apple, and we’ve read every single one,” Stowe added in a statement. 

But the good-news announcement comes some news that might disappoint: The company promises that Bapple will only be available while supplies last and urges fans to stock up.

That said, Busch tells Fast Company that fans can expect to see the beer in stores “all summer long.”

Busch league of fans

All of this fervor might leave some of you scratching your heads in confusion: People are this passionate about . . . a Busch beverage?

Oh, you have no idea.

Something special seemingly happened when the Busch brand dropped its first flavored beer from the family tree in July 2020. Whether it’s the taste, the timing of the beverage launch, or the company’s announcement that lampooned an Apple keynote presentation of new tech product launches, the beverage soon amassed a loyal Busch league of fans. 

How loyal? A lot of people toss around the word “favorite” when describing the lager that’s made with real apple extract.

And while there’s seemingly a market for everything on eBay, some people have recently sold Bapple merchandise for $200 and up, while empty cans or even an empty box case could fetch $10. 

Apple tie-in

This year, Anheuser-Busch has once again played up that Apple tie-in, enlisting a perhaps-unlikely spokesperson for the beverage’s rebirth: Ronald G.Wayne, who cofounded the tech giant alongside Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. 

Wayne, now 90, liquidated his 10% stake in Apple in 1976 for just $800 and he’s parlaying a billion-dollar mistake that happened nearly 50 years ago as a selling point for fans to stock up on Busch Light Apple.

“This time, I’m not missing out on a great, Apple-related opportunity,” Wayne says in the YouTube ad before pointing to a pallet of Bapple and calling it “a real good investment.”

When and where will Busch Light Apple beer be available?

For fans who can’t wait to get their hands on a cold can of Bapple, the Busch website has a locator feature to search for any brew, including Busch Light Apple, by zip code.

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