Anheuser-Busch is trying to convince wholesalers that the Dylan Mulvaney controversy that has caused sales of Bud Light to plummet has been overblown.

The brewery sent a letter to wholesalers about the backlash to the trans-identifying influencer posting a TikTok video with a can of Bud Light that had Mulvaney’s face on it. In the video, Mulvaney celebrated 365 days of “being a woman.”

“This was one single can given to one social media influencer,” the letter declares. “It was not made for production or sale to the general public. This can is not a formal campaign or advertisement.”

The letter was forwarded to retailers, bars, and restaurants by Grey Eagle, which distributes Anheuser-Busch products, the St. Louis Dispatch reported. A cover letter from Grey Eagle stated, “Anheuser-Busch did not intend to create controversy or make a political statement.”

“In reality, the Bud Light can posted by a social media influencer that sparked all the conversation was provided by an outside agency without Anheuser-Busch management awareness or approval,” Grey Eagle continued. “Since that time, the lack of oversight and control over marketing decisions has been addressed and a new VP of Bud Light marketing has been announced.”

“The minute you step into the political or religious spectrum, when you know your target audience is going to have a real issue with this, you know you’ve alienated at least half of your target audience,” Robert Lachky, the former chief creative officer at Anheuser-Busch, told the Dispatch. “The minute you step into the political or religious spectrum, when you know your target audience is going to have a real issue with this, you know you’ve alienated at least half of your target audience. In the end, people don’t like getting preached to, especially when it comes to drinking beer.”

Soon after InBev, based in Belgium, purchased Anheuser-Busch in 2008, Lachky left. He said that foreign marketers didn’t understand American consumers. He said of the current marketing team, “None of these marketing folks has ever been to a NASCAR race, none has been to a football game or a rodeo. That’s insanity. That’s marketing incompetence.”

In the wake of the controversy, Anheuser-Busch is reportedly offering a free case of beer to every employee of its wholesaler network.

The giveaway may just be the only viable plan to get rid of a product that customers are rejecting. The company’s wholesaler network, which consists of many family-run businesses, has been hurt by the disastrous PR stunt and the boycott that has followed.

Related: SOS: Anheuser-Busch Now Sending Free Beer To Every Employee Of Wholesaler Network: Report