Beer
Budweiser / AB InBev Batch Code Decoder
Anheuser-Busch pioneered the "born-on date" on Budweiser packaging, a YYDDD Julian plus time-and-plant stamp that lets drinkers and retailers rotate stock by freshness.
Decode your Budweiser / AB InBev code
Format: YYDDD + time + plant (born-on). Example:
Enter a code above to decode the production date.
Format
YYDDD + time + plant (born-on)
Example
26099
Year 2026 + day-of-year 099 (April 9) — Budweiser "born-on" date.
Typical freshness
110 days
from production date
About Budweiser / AB InBev batch codes
Anheuser-Busch introduced the "born-on date" on Budweiser bottles in July 1996 to differentiate the brand on freshness, and the format has been used on every Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob and related can and bottle ever since. The core date is a five-digit YYDDD: two-digit year followed by the three-digit day of year. A bottle with a born-on of 26099 was packaged on April 9, 2026. Alongside the Julian, most Budweiser packaging also prints the time of day (in a 24-hour HHMM format) and a plant identifier so the brewery can trace any lot back to a specific hour of a specific brewhouse shift. Beer freshness is real — Anheuser-Busch's own quality standard is 110 days from the born-on date, after which light lager begins to develop the classic cardboard off-flavor from hop oxidation. Retailers rotate stock to keep anything older than 110 days off the shelf, and enthusiasts use the born-on date to pick the freshest six-pack from a shelf of otherwise-identical product. The born-on format is a YYDDD not a YJJJ because beer cans are large enough to absorb the extra digit and the extra year precision is worth having.
Need the general technique for any package? See how to read a Julian date code. For the regulatory background on lot traceability, read the manufacturing guide, or convert any date on the converter.
This decoder is based on Budweiser / AB InBev's publicly documented code format. Manufacturers can change codes without notice — treat the result as an estimate and check any printed best-by date.