The brewing giant Anheuser-Busch has joined craft distilleries that have heeded the call of duty to respond to the coronavirus pandemic by adding a new product to their lineups of beer, gins, whiskeys and rums: hand sanitizer.

Many are reporting extraordinary demand for the product, which has been hard, if not impossible, to find on store shelves. Yet many distilleries are giving away hand sanitizer for free, despite losing sales of their traditional spirits because of the closing of restaurants, bars and their own tasting rooms.

“This is not an economic lifeline for distilleries,” said Brad Plummer, a spokesman for the American Distilling Institute and editor in chief of Distiller Magazine. “We live in these communities. We know these people. We’re watching them suffer, and we have the ability to help.”

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the maker of Budweiser and one of the world’s largest brewers, announced on Monday that it would also repurpose facilities and its supply chain to make and distribute hand sanitizer.