PBR me, ASAP

“Look! Up in the sky!” “It’s a bird!” “It’s a plane!” “It’s…



…Pabst Blue Ribbon!”

Ah, good ol’ PBR. It’s my beer of choice, but I often prefer to broaden my barley and hob horizons and drink specialized beers. I am, after all, a beer connoisseur (minus the technical knowledge of aroma, favor, turbidity, color…so I guess I’m not a real beer connoisseur, but just an adventurous taster). Every weekend (I only drink on Friday and Saturday nights) I like to compliment my Peebers with a stout or something I’ve never tried. I think this weekend I may buy an IPA. I’ve never had India Pale Ale before.

Why Pabst? For many reason:

-PBR is damn good beer. Why else was it awarded the blue ribbon at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition? Its more recent awards include gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival for American Style Premium Lager (in 2004 and 2005) and American Lager (in 2006). It was also awarded gold in the American Style Premium Lager category at the 2006 World Beer Cup.

-My best friend is the heir of a Pabst distributing empire in Iowa City. In college, his dad gave us the damaged 30-packs he couldn’t stock in stores, so we drank sweet stuff for free. It may have taken Mike forever to convince his old man that he should be a part of the family business, but he has now firmly secured himself a place on the lowest rung of the Evans Distributing ladder. The guy’s practically family to me, so it’s both a pleasure and a privilege to drink Pabst. Plus, it helps that PBR is damn good beer (see above explanation). I might think differently if they sold Budweiser. Blood and friendship may be thicker than water, but all three are thicker than Budweiser.

-PBR is so retro. The second most popular beer during the 1970s was…[trumpet playing]…Pabst! I mean, how could I pass up something so ‘70s? In the ’80s the beer market changed with competition from “light” beers and a heavy stream of mass marketing from the emerging megabrewreies (Bud, Miller, and Coors), and PBR hit the skids. It’s sales fell, but the company stayed traditional and committed to its fan base. Its labeling and logo have remained unchanged for generations, and the company invests toward quality, not quantity. Spud MacKenzie and the Budweiser Frogs are cute marketing ploys, but they doesn’t change the fact that the beer sucks.

-Pabst is grassroots. It represents the brewing industry’s mom-and-pop stores. The Pabst Brewing Company is committed to regionalism, unlike the megabreweries that mass market their one-trick ponies all over the country, putting local breweries out of business. Lone Star, Olympia, and Old Style thrive in niche regional markets, and Pabst has recognized their importance in the fabric of American life. Pabst is character and culture.

-In writing terms, Pabst is the beer of Carver Country. It’s a workingman’s beer through and through. My industrious German blood loves it.

There’s not too many reason’s for me not to enjoy a PBR (which I am doing right now). It’s me personified in a beer. Wait…does that mean I’m drinking myself? Anyway, check out some of the old school Pabst commercials from the ‘60s and ‘70s, back in the day when they were still marketing themselves.

Pick up a six-pack and support your local Pabst distributor.

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