Pabst Blue Ribbon
Encyclopedia
Pabst Blue Ribbon is a brand of beer
sold by Pabst Brewing Company
, originally established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, but now based in Los Angeles
. Pabst Blue Ribbon is contract-brewed
in six different breweries
around the U.S. in facilities owned by Miller Brewing Company
(a few of which were actually Pabst breweries at one time).
Originally called Best Select, and then Pabst Select, the current name came from the blue ribbons that were tied around the bottle neck, a practice that ran from 1882 until 1916.
in Chicago in 1893.
Whether the brand actually won an award in 1893 is unclear. Some contemporaneous accounts indicate that many vendors were frustrated by the fair's refusal to award such prizes. One account says that the only prizes awarded by the executive committee were bronze medals, in recognition of "some independent and essential excellence in the article displayed," rather "than merely to indicate the relative merits of competing exhibits."
Sales of Pabst peaked in 1977, when they reached 18 million barrels; by 2001, the brand's sales were below a million barrels, 90% less than the peak.
, published the following tasting notes for Pabst Blue Ribbon in 2008: "A contrasting counterpoint of sharp texture and flowing sweetness is evident at the first sip of this historic brew. A slowly increasing hoppiness adds to the interplay of ingredients, while the texture smooths out by mid-bottle. The clear, pale-gold body is light and fizzy. Medium-bodied Blue Ribbon finishes with a dusting of malts and hops. A satisfying American classic and a Gold Medal winner at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival
."
in cities such as New York City (Brooklyn
); Omaha
, Nebraska; Louisville
, Kentucky; Austin
, Texas; Columbus
, Ohio; Chicago
, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Ann Arbor
, Michigan; Portland
, Oregon; and Richmond
, Virginia.Pabst Blue Ribbon is also the future Sponsor of the Shred Thirty Race team of Catalochee Ski Area and Spa.
Although the Pabst website features user-submitted photography, much of which features twenty-something Pabst drinkers dressed in alternative
fashions, the company has opted not to fully embrace the countercultural label in its marketing, fearing that it could jeopardize the very "authenticity" that made the brand popular as was the case with the poorly received OK Soda
. Pabst instead targets its desired market niche through the sponsorship of indie music concerts, local businesses, post-collegiate sports teams, dive bar
s and radio programming like National Public Radio's All Things Considered
. The beer has also been drunk by characters in various films such as Blue Velvet and Gran Torino, and in television shows such as AMC's Breaking Bad
.
episode "The Poor Kid
" as an alcoholic beverage favored by white trash
people.
In the episode, Schlitz sponsors the show, White Trash in Trouble. The show displays what happens when you give white trash a little Pabst Blue Ribbon, claiming that white trash can't help getting arrested. Pabst Blue Ribbon and white trash is "a deadly combination that can lead to prison time and children being taken away from their homes."
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
sold by Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and by 1889 named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently the holding company contracting for the brewing of over two dozen brands of beer and malt liquor from defunct companies...
, originally established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, but now based in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Pabst Blue Ribbon is contract-brewed
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
in six different breweries
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
around the U.S. in facilities owned by Miller Brewing Company
Miller Brewing Company
The Miller Brewing Company is an American beer brewing company owned by the United Kingdom-based SABMiller. Its regional headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the company has brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Eden, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas;...
(a few of which were actually Pabst breweries at one time).
Originally called Best Select, and then Pabst Select, the current name came from the blue ribbons that were tied around the bottle neck, a practice that ran from 1882 until 1916.
Brand history
The company has historically claimed its flagship beer was renamed Pabst Blue Ribbon following its win as "America’s Best" at the World's Columbian ExpositionWorld's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
in Chicago in 1893.
Whether the brand actually won an award in 1893 is unclear. Some contemporaneous accounts indicate that many vendors were frustrated by the fair's refusal to award such prizes. One account says that the only prizes awarded by the executive committee were bronze medals, in recognition of "some independent and essential excellence in the article displayed," rather "than merely to indicate the relative merits of competing exhibits."
Sales of Pabst peaked in 1977, when they reached 18 million barrels; by 2001, the brand's sales were below a million barrels, 90% less than the peak.
Taste
Charlie Papazian, president of the Brewers AssociationBrewers Association
The Brewers Association is an American trade group of over 1,000 brewers, particularly concerned with the promotion of craft beer and homebrewing....
, published the following tasting notes for Pabst Blue Ribbon in 2008: "A contrasting counterpoint of sharp texture and flowing sweetness is evident at the first sip of this historic brew. A slowly increasing hoppiness adds to the interplay of ingredients, while the texture smooths out by mid-bottle. The clear, pale-gold body is light and fizzy. Medium-bodied Blue Ribbon finishes with a dusting of malts and hops. A satisfying American classic and a Gold Medal winner at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival
Great American Beer Festival
The Great American Beer Festival is a three-day annual event hosted by the Brewers Association, held in Denver, Colorado, in mid to late September or early October. This year, 2011, the festival runs from 29 September through 1 October. The GABF brings visitors from around the world to sample more...
."
Nutritional content
A 12 USfloz Pabst Blue Ribbon has:- 153 calories
- 12.01 grams of carbohydrates
- 4.74% alcohol by volumeAlcohol by volumeAlcohol by volume is a standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in an alcoholic beverage .The ABV standard is used worldwide....
Marketing and revival
The beer experienced a sales revival in the early 2000s after a two decade-long slump, largely due to its increasing popularity among hipstersHipster (contemporary subculture)
Hipsters are a subculture of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with musical interests mainly in alternative rock that appeared in the 1990s...
in cities such as New York City (Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
); Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, Nebraska; Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, Kentucky; Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Texas; Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, Ohio; Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, Michigan; Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon; and Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia.Pabst Blue Ribbon is also the future Sponsor of the Shred Thirty Race team of Catalochee Ski Area and Spa.
Although the Pabst website features user-submitted photography, much of which features twenty-something Pabst drinkers dressed in alternative
Alternative culture
Alternative culture is a type of culture that exists outside or on the fringes of mainstream or popular culture, usually under the domain of one or more subcultures...
fashions, the company has opted not to fully embrace the countercultural label in its marketing, fearing that it could jeopardize the very "authenticity" that made the brand popular as was the case with the poorly received OK Soda
OK Soda
OK Soda was a soft drink created by The Coca-Cola Company in 1993 that aggressively courted the Generation X demographic with unusual advertising tactics, including endorsements and even outright negative publicity. It did not sell well in select test markets and was officially declared out of...
. Pabst instead targets its desired market niche through the sponsorship of indie music concerts, local businesses, post-collegiate sports teams, dive bar
Dive bar
A dive bar is a type of bar or pub. Dive bars generally have a relaxed and informal atmosphere—they are often referred to by local residents as "neighborhood bars," where people in the neighborhood gather to drink and socialize...
s and radio programming like National Public Radio's All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
. The beer has also been drunk by characters in various films such as Blue Velvet and Gran Torino, and in television shows such as AMC's Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...
.
In popular culture
Pabst Blue Ribbon was featured in South ParkSouth Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
episode "The Poor Kid
The Poor Kid
"The Poor Kid" is the fifteenth season finale of the American animated television series South Park, and the 223rd episode of the series overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 16, 2011. In the episode, Kenny and his brother and sister are sent to a foster home...
" as an alcoholic beverage favored by white trash
White trash
White trash is an American English pejorative term referring to poor white people in the United States, suggesting lower social class and degraded living standards...
people.
In the episode, Schlitz sponsors the show, White Trash in Trouble. The show displays what happens when you give white trash a little Pabst Blue Ribbon, claiming that white trash can't help getting arrested. Pabst Blue Ribbon and white trash is "a deadly combination that can lead to prison time and children being taken away from their homes."
External links
- A souvenir booklet from the Pabst Brewing Company, 1907, Wisconsin Historical Society