That’s not going to fit on the can

Logistics and retail operations everywhere rely on the quick response (QR) bar code to capture product information like stock-keeping unit (SKU), price, and expiration date. And many businesses now use the codes to engage with customers and provide easy access to additional information on their products and services.

But a new QR code unveiled last month looks a little different from the rest. Like any other code, it’s roughly square and marked with a pattern of pixilated boxes. But this one is a bit bigger—it’s a quarter-mile long by a quarter-mile wide. 

Grown from specially planted crops on a farm in Indiana, the giant QR code is the result of a collaboration between Chalfant Family Farms and the Pennsylvania-based brewery D.G Yuengling & Son Inc. Yuengling says it launched the project both to recognize the farming community, which plays an integral role in beer production, and to support the brewery’s “Stars and Stripes” program, which raises funds for charities that assist active-duty service members, veterans, and their families. (The display includes a tag line reading “Cheers to the Stars and Stripes.)

While scanning the giant code would require getting on a plane, the company says there’s an easier way to find the same information: A smaller rendition of the QR code is featured on Yuengling’s limited-edition camouflage Team Red, White & Blue (Team RWB) cans. By scanning the code, consumers can donate to Team RWB, the brewery’s longtime veterans charitable partner; watch a music video featuring Stars & Stripes brand ambassador Lee Brice; enter a drawing for concert tickets, and visit the brewery’s virtual gift shop.