How Garage Beer designed its delightfully retro glass bottles

Garage Beer just got a packaging update that looks like a throwback. The light beer company, which became a household name after football stars Jason and Travis Kelce backed the brand in 2024, debuted its first-ever glass bottles on April 13. Instead of a standard long-neck bottle, Garage opted for a retro, stubby form factor. It has almost the exact same dimensions as a regular aluminum can, but manufactured in satisfyingly hefty dark-brown glass. The new bottle comes from its unique marketing strategy: In an industry filled with big competitors experimenting with flavor sub-categories, separate low-calorie offerings, and gimmicky marketing stunts, Garage keeps its product simple and unpretentious. It’s an inexpensive, light beer that only comes in original and lime flavors. And while most craft breweries are struggling, Garage is posting record sales. According to Eric Torgerson, Garage’s chief operations officer, any additions to the brand have to hew to its distinct, no-frills aesthetic. A throwback bottle felt like a natural extension of the company’s ethos. The design of the new packaging represents a measured approach to branding that aligns with the core identity of the product itself—not just adding new bells and whistles for the sake of it. “We wanted to make sure we were staying true to our brand identity of old school beer the way it should be; beer–flavored beer,” Torgerson says. “This is a ‘bottle-shaped bottle.’” From classic can to retro stubby Garage is the brainchild of founder and CEO Andy Sauer, who acquired the brand from the Kentucky-based Braxton Brewing and relaunched it in 2023. Since then, the brand has been on an astronomic trajectory. Over the past three years, Garage has shown triple-digit year-over-year growth, with sales increasing more than 500% in the 12 months ended in early April 2025. As of a September report from The Wall Street Journal, it’s valued at around $200 million and is continuing to grow, despite an overall slump