Pabst Blue Ribbon

Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, introduced in 1844 and originally called Best Select and later, Pabst
Select, was renamed Pabst Blue Ribbon after winning a blue ribbon for the best beer in show
at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.  The can and bottle logos still proudly announce that fact,
but PBR has won many other awards over the years, most recently winning the silver medal
for American-Style Light Lager in 2007 and the Gold medal for American-Style Lager in
2006 at the Great American Beer Festival and gold for American-style Premium Lager in 2006
at the World Beer Cup. 

In the 1950s Pabst was the number one American beer brand, and peak beer production was
reached with 18 million barrels produced in 1977.  But, at this point Pabst began to stumble
due to Anheuser-Busch's ruthless and ingenious advertising competition.  By 1999, only about
900,000 barrels of Pabst were being brewed.  However, while other brewers (Falstaff,
Schaefer, Ballantine, Schlitz, etc.) were destroyed by the competition, Pabst Brewing
Company is still in operation, although in a modified form.  In 1985, Pabst was acquired by
Paul Kalmanovitz, who died in 1987.  From 1987 to 2010 the Kalmanovitz Charitable Trust
operated Pabst Brewing Company, but under pressure from the US government, which does
not allow a non-profit to own breweries, the business was sold to C.D. Metropoulos for about
$250 million.  One of the most important events in the company's history was the 1999 block-
buster deal with Miller Brewing Company.  With this agreement, Pabst acquired Stroh
Brewing Company, which had bought out Heileman Brewing in 1996.  Probably in order to
avoid US government anti-trust harassment, Pabst then signed a working agreement with Miller
Brewing, instead of making an outright merger.  Under the agreement, which was approved by
the US government, Pabst turned over the very valuable brands of Mickey's Fine Malt Liquor,
the Hamm's beer line, and the Henry Weinhard craft beer line to Miller ownership, and by the
early 2000s the Pabst breweries were either shut down or turned over to Miller ownership and
continue operations.  Therefore, today, all of the many Pabst products are brewed by Miller
and a few other small brewing companies in the USA and Canada.  This alleviated the nagging
union problems, as this relieved Pabst of having to employ an unprofitable and militant brewing
staff. 

Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, for reason that are unclear, began to become a hipster/college icon in
the early 2000s, and its production numbers have been on the incline for ten years.  Pabst has
been careful not to undermine the "anti-hero" aspects of the beer (most hipsters are probably
unaware of Pabst's macro-brewing back story), while promoting the product all over the
independent music/art world and college campus scene.  This has proven quite successful,
and today the availability of Pabst in grocery and beer stores is close to ubiquitous. 

The taste of PBR is typical of what one would expect for an American-style lager, although the
beer is very slightly darker, richer, and full-bodied than others in its genre.  There are also Pabst
variants available: Pabst Light, Pabst Draft, and Pabst Ice, all of which I have tried and enjoyed.
Pabst Blue Ribbon beer is sold in 12 oz., 16 oz., and 24 oz. cans and in 12 oz., 22 oz., 32 oz.,
and 40 oz. bottles.  Also, one can find Pabst on tap in many bars, and some grocery stores
offer Pabst Blue Ribbon or Pabst Light in kegs or half-kegs. 

At one time Pabst received heavy television, radio, and print advertising attention, but this
ended in the early 1980s.  Today, however, Pabst print advertising (even billboards) are
becoming more and more common.  It will be interesting to see what direction this brand takes
in the future.