Pabst Blue Ribbon
Pabst Blue Ribbon (colloquially PBR) is an American brand of beer with a long history and current popularity among the working classes and retro hipsters.
History
Pabst Blue Ribbon was originally called Pabst Select. The name Pabst Blue Ribbon came from a blue ribbon tied around the bottle neck, a practice that ran from 1882 until 1916.
In 1906, the Pabst Brewing Company first began to use caps on bottles instead of corks. In 1935, Pabst was the second brewer, following Krueger Beer, to put beer in cans. This was Blue Ribbon beer but it was called "Export" when sold in the can. The PBR cans had a picture of a can opener on the side with instructions on how to open the can with the can opener.
During World War II, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans were painted olive drab at the factory for military use. All the canned beer was for the military. Pabst Blue Ribbon beer was not sold to civilians in cans during the war because of tin rationing.
In 1999, the Pabst Brewing Company began transferring its production to Miller Brewing on a contract basis, and, in 2001, it closed its last brewery, in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
References in Pop Culture
- Appears in The Hipster Handbook, a parody guidebook for hipsters.
- Pabst Blue Ribbon is mentioned in Blue Velvet, a film directed by David Lynch. The saying goes, "Heinekin??? Fuck that shit! PABST BLUE RIBBON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
- Although Billy Carter, brother of former President Jimmy Carter, served as spokesman for Billy Beer, his brand of choice actually was Pabst Blue Ribbon.
- Pabst is also the beer of choice for Brad Pitt's character in the movie Seven.
- In the movie Old School, Will Ferrell's character wears a Pabst Blue Ribbon t-shirt while working on his car (and ignoring his wife).