Pabst Blue Ribbon's a real American beer

Inside Bay ^ | 7/19/06 | Bill Brand

[pissant]

'THERE STANDS the Glass," the 1953 country classic, echoed in my mind the other night as I contemplated the glass of beer in front of me. It was Pabst Blue Ribbon , and it's our Beer of the Week.

The old Webb Pierce song, contemplates the oblivion and destruction that lies ahead when the narrator takes the first sip of the day: "There stands the glass/ Fill it up to the brim/'Til my troubles grow dim/It's my first one today."

This is standard American lager, a kind of soulless beast, driven by profits. But it's acquiring a hip, new legend that goes something like this: Bicycle messengers in Portland, Ore., who drink a lot of beer, discovered Pabst and made it their beer. Word spread and PBR's sinking sales began to rise, up 4.3 percent last year to 1.25 million barrels. Now, it's the right thing to drink PBR.

Homebrew experts at Beer, Beer & More Beer in Concord, say it's 20 to 30 percent rice, the rest pale German pilsner barley; hops are most likely Saaz: faint lager aroma, slightly sweet taste, dry finish. You know: a kiss of the hops and high drinkability. This is true, hot-summer-day, lawnmower beer.

The beer was originally called "Select." The company, founded in 1844 in Milwaukee, began tying blue ribbons around the bottles and it became Pabst Blue Ribbon in 1895.

Sales peaked in 1977 at 16 million barrels. A Bay Area takeover artist bought Pabst in 1985. The company wound up in San Antonio, Texas. A few years ago, the company stopped brewing, hired Miller (now SABMiller) to brew the beer. Now the company's moving to a Chicago suburb, because the Chicago area is its best market.

I found this fitting quote in 8bitjoystick.com, an E-zine For Nerds:

"These are harsh times and it calls for a harsh beer. Pabst Blue Ribbon is just the thing. It is not shoved down your throat with multi-million dollar mass marketing, it is simply a decent cheap beer. This beer is America whether you like it or not. It is real for what that is worth anymore."

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I don't drink beer anymore.

I drink ale exclusively.

I can't palate anything brewed with rice. Sacrilege.

My two new favorites:

[vikzilla]

G. Heilemanns Old Style, the mothers milk of beers!