article

Pabst Brewing Company is an American company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best. Best known for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, it is historically associated with Milwaukee, Wisconsin where it was founded, although its corporate headquarters are currently in San Antonio, Texas. In 1999, the Pabst Brewing Company began transferring its production to Miller Brewing on a contract basis. In 2001, it closed its last brewery in Allentown, Pennsylvania. By the end of 2006, Pabst plans on moving its headquarters from San Antonio to Woodridge, Illinois.

History

The original brewery was founded as Best Brewery in 1844 by the immigrant German brewer Jacob Best. He started on Chestnut Street Hill in Milwaukee with a capacity of 18 barrels. Later in 1863. Frederick Pabst, a steamship captain, bought a share in Best and Company, by which time the brewery was already selling a lager which in 1875 they would bottle under the name Best Select. Best Select was a popular beer which the by now named Phillip Best Brewing Company entered in competitions, gaining several awards - sometimes winning against its rival Budweiser. In 1882 the company starting selling the beer with a blue ribbon tied around the neck to signify it was an award winning beer. In 1888 the name of the brewery was changed to Pabst Brewing Company, and by 1898 the name of the beer was changed to Blue Ribbon. Such was the success of the beer that Pabst was ordering millions of yards of blue ribbon. One factory in 1902 worked around the clock for nearly a year to complete a contract for 10 million yards of ribbon.

In 1906, the Pabst Brewing Company first began to use caps on bottles instead of corks. Growth continued up to Prohibition when all alcohol production stopped. When the beer returned (without the blue ribbon) in 1933 it quickly became a national brand brewed in several locations across the country. In 1935, Pabst was the second brewer, following Krueger Beer, to put beer in cans. Called "Export", they came with a picture of a can opener on the side, with instructions on how to open the can.

During World War II all cans of PBR were painted a military green and were exclusively made for the troops because of tin rationing. During the 1950’s, Pabst sponsored the boxing on CBS.

In 1958, with an annual production of 3.9 million barrels, PBR had now sold a total of 100 million barrels since first being brewed, an event commemorated by adding the red stripe to the logo. Annual sales figures climbed each year, helped by Pabst cutting the price of the beer, until it reached a record high of 18 million barrels in 1977. Impressive though this is, Budweiser had achieved the same output nearly ten years earlier, and would never again see PBR as a competitor.

Pabst now entered a period of poor management and decline. After several messy years spent fighting corporate buyouts, Pabst was sold for $63 million to Paul Kalmanovitz in 1985. Advertising stopped. Quality dropped. Drinkers turned elsewhere. At the time of Kalmanovitz’ death in 1988 it seemed like the brewery would have to close, but Lutz Issleib took and kept PBR alive, although production was fairly static. Economics eventually forced closure of all of Pabst's breweries in 2001, though the transfer of production to the Miller Brewing Company is a continuation of sorts because Miller was founded in the Plank-Road Brewery which had been established by some members of the Best family, just after the original Best brewery was founded.

Pabst Blue Ribbon

Pabst Blue Ribbon (colloquially PBR) is the most famous product of the Pabst Brewing Company. Originally called Pabst Select, the current name came from a blue ribbon tied around the bottle neck, a practice that ran from 1882 until 1916. Many people choose Pabst Blue Ribbon due to its labeling as 'union made beer.'

Pabst Blue Ribbon in Pop Culture

  • In an episode of Saturday Night Live, President Clinton is depicted celebrating his acquital in the Senate by drinking beer. He delares "We are not gloating. This isn't even good beer. It's Pabst Blue Ribbon"
  • Appears in The Hipster Handbook, a parody guidebook for hipsters.
  • Mentioned in Blue Velvet, a film directed by David Lynch.
  • Pabst is the beer of choice for Brad Pitt's character in the movie Seven.
  • Mentioned in the Kid Rock song, "You Never Met a Motherfucker Quite Like Me": "I pimp through town with the top laid back. Black hat, fine blonde, cold Pabst in my lap."*
  • In the movie Old School, Will Ferrell's character wears a Pabst Blue Ribbon t-shirt while working on his car.
  • Mentioned in the Johnny Russell song Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer.
  • In the episode of Futurama, "The Route of All Evil," Bender claims his favorite beer being PBR, standing for "Pabst Blue Robot" which is the future version of Pabst for robots.
  • The Pabst Brewery is featured prominently in the Disney film Midnight Madness.
  • Pabst Blue Ribbon has become the staple beer in Portland, Oregon which has become PBR's largest importer city.
  • Pabst Blue Ribbon was the featured beer in the movie Mash.
  • "Pabst Blue Ribbon" is a live bootleg by The Get Up Kids

PBR Revival

By 2001, sales of the Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) had fallen to less than 1 million barrels, about one-tenth its peak in 1975. In 2000-01, Pabst sales executives noticed that sales in Portland Oregon PBR were growing, without any marketing or explanation. Further research found a local Portland bar The Lutz had changed its offering to Pabst after a local beer went off the market. It was found that the local community was made up of a large counterculture along with working class people, who had adopted Pabst as their brew. Soon other bars in the area started to offer Pabst as their less expensive beer (Portland being famous for its high-end Microbrews)Portland Oregonian. Oregonian, August 2005 "The Pabst and the Present,". From Portland PBR has become popular again in San Francisco, Seattle and other cities with consumers who are anti-marketing.AP, March 2004. Associate Press article "Pabst is back". New York Times, June 22, 2003 New York Times, June 22, 2003 "The Marketing of No Marketing".

Olympia

Olympia has been brewed since 1983 by Pabst Brewing Company. It was started and formerly brewed in Tumwater, Washington by the Olympia Brewing Company in 1896.

It is known for its long-running slogan "It's the water" — a slogan characterizing the trait that the beer had over its competitors. It was a popular Pacific Northwest brand which eventually expanded nationwide, positioned as a low-price beer.

In Canada, Olympia beer is brewed in Saskatoon Saskatchewan under license by the Great Western Brewing Company.

Olympia in Pop Culture

  • Dustin Hoffman's character, Benjamin, drinks from a can of Olympia beer while lying in bed in his hotel room in the movie The Graduate.

Old Style

Old Style was first brewed in 1902 by the G. Heileman Brewing Company in La Crosse Wisconsin under the name Old Style Lager; it has since grown popular in both Wisconsin and throughout the Chicago area.

Old Style was originally marketed only in Wisconsin, under the slogan "Pure brewed in God's Country". Eventually, Chicagoans vacationing in Wisconsin developed a taste for the beer, and it began to gain popularity in the Chicago area as well. In 1950, Heileman's and Old Style became sponsors of the Chicago Cubs; the relationship continues to this day, and Old Style is still sold by beer vendors in Wrigley Field.

In 1996, Heileman's was purchased by the Stroh Brewing Company, including the Old Style name. In 1999, Pabst bought out Stroh's and shortly thereafter licensed out all brewing to Miller. The original Heileman's/Old Style brewery in La Crosse is now owned by the City Brewing Company. While City Brewing Company is now brewing La Crosse Lager there, it is a different beer with different ingredients and a different flavor profile than Old Style.

Old Style has been a sponsor of the Cubs since 1950, representing the longest lasting corporate sponorship of any teams in the USA.

Notes

External links

Pabst Blue Ribbon

Companies based in Texas | San Antonio, Texas | Texas breweries | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | History of Wisconsin

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Pabst Brewing Company".

Home Page • arts • business • computers • games • health • hospitals • home • kids & teens • news • physicians • recreation• reference • regional • science • shopping • society • sports • world