Pabst Brewing Company
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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 Woodridge, Illinois. Pabst retains a datacenter in San Antonio, Texas, the previous location of its headquarters. In 1999, the Pabst Brewing Company began transferring its production to Miller Brewing Company on a contract basis. In 2001, it closed its last brewery in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
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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 they began bottling in 1875 under the name Best Select.
Best Select became a popular beer, which the by now named Phillip Best Brewing Company entered in competitions, gaining several awards - sometimes winning against its rival Budweiser. So in 1882 the company started selling the beer with a blue ribbon tied around the neck to signify it was an award winning beer.
In 1889 the name of the brewery was changed to Pabst Brewing Company. In 1893 Pabst's beer won a hotly contested competition at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Afterward, the name Pabst Blue Ribbon became firmly entrenched within American beer vocabulary.
The year 1895 brought additional honors when Pabst became the first U.S. brewer to hit the million-barrel per year mark. The beer was so successful that Pabst began 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.
When Fredrick Pabst died on New Year's day of 1904 he left control of the business to his sons Fred Jr. and Gustav. 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. Fred Jr. and Gustav successfully guided the company through the discouraging years of prohibition by switching to malt syrup, tonic, cheese and near beer.
When the beer returned in 1933, minus the blue ribbon, 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", the cans came with a picture of a can opener on the side, with opening instructions.
During World War II all cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon were painted a military green and were exclusively made for the troops because of tin rationing. During the 1950’s, Pabst sponsored boxing on CBS.
In 1958, with an annual production of 3.9 million barrels, Pabst Blue Ribbon 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.
Although impressive, Budweiser had achieved the same output nearly ten years earlier, and would never again see Pabst Blue Ribbon as a competitor. Although it had fallen from the number one spot, the brewery continued into the 1960's as one of the country's top producers.
Pabst was also renowned in Milwaukee for its brewery tours. A statue of King Gambrinus welcomed visitors, who gazed upon a vast, beer-filled warehouse as they were informed that another, equally-sized warehouse sat in the basement--for distribution to Wisconsin alone. Visitors to Pabst's tour were rewarded with sometimes bottomless glasses of beer at its end-of-tour Sternewirt Pub. Complete with a statue of Captain Frederick Pabst and waitresses pouring from pitchers of Pabst Blue Ribbon, Pabst Dark, and Andeker, the pub was popular with both tourists and locals, especially students from nearby Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
In 1983 it purchased another famous name in U.S. brewing, Olympia. Then in 1985 Pabst itself became a takeover target when it was absorbed by General Brewing. By the 1990's Pabst was once again positioning itself to regain former glory as it became one of the first foreign brewers to set up operations on the Chinese mainland.
Pabst then 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 the Pabst brand alive, although production was fairly static.
In 1997 one of the saddest chapters in Pabst's proud history was written. Facing the cold reality of bleak financial performance at its flagship brewery, it closed all Milwaukee facilities—brewery and headquarters. A century-and-a-half after its birth the last barrel rolled out its fabled doors.
Corporate headquarters was moved to San Antonio, Texas.
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.
In Canada, PBR is brewed and distributed by Sleemans Brewery in Guelph, Canada. A large proportion of the brand's success comes from its popularity in the Greater Toronto Market and, purportedly, a passionate drive to grow the brand by Ontario sales representative Troy Dominique. The company recently began selling Pabst Blue Ribbon in 473-mL bottles.
In 2004, Students at Oregon State University approached marketers at Pabst Brewing Company. Pabst agreed to sponsor an unofficial fraternity based on Pabst Blue Ribbon's famous letters. Pi Beta Rho quickly became the envy of many Oregon State Students.
Pabst's long obsolete Pabst Brewery Complex in Milwaukee has been targeted to be developed into restaurants, entertainment venues, stores, housing and offices. The $317 million project is currently the subject of much debate in Milwaukee.
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. Also, Pabst Select won a blue ribbon at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition for being selected as "America's Best." Pabst is 4.9% alcohol by volume and 3.92% by weight.
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 of PBR were growing, without any marketing or explanation. Further research found a local Portland bar 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 and college students 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) From Portland PBR has become popular again, specifically in Philadelphia, but also in San Francisco, California, Seattle, Washington (cities known for their large hipster populations), Richmond, Virginia, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Omaha, Nebraska], Memphis, Tennessee (cities with a respectable counterculture, but also associated with the working class) and other cities with consumers who are anti-marketing, notably the New York City neighborhood of Alphabet City and the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Olympia Brewery
The Olympia Brewery has been owned and brewed by the Pabst Brewing Company since 1983. 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
- In the film Repo Man, many characters are named after beers, and the main character's boss is named 'Oly'.
- Olympia is mentioned in the first line of "Playing Your Song" by the band Hey Mercedes.
- In the movie Every Which Way But Loose, Philo Beddoe's (Clint Eastwood) favorite beer is Olympia
- In the movie Friday The 13th Part 3, during the scene where the bikers are first encountered, an Olympia beer truck can be seen at the gas station as a pan out shot is taking place
- Benjamin drinks Olympia Beer in The Graduate.
- The advertising slogan "It's the Water" is parodied by the Firesign Theatre in their slogan for Bear Whiz Beer, "It's in the Water."
- Olympia Beer is prominently featured in the 1971 film Sometimes a Great Notion (1971 film) with Paul Newman about a tough, anti-union logging family in coastal Oregon. In one scene Newman drowns his sorrows with numerous cans of "Oly" after the death of his father (Henry Fonda), departure of his wife (Lee Remick), and death of his cousin.
In the film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot Clint Eastwood & Jeff Bridges can be seen enjoying a Olympia brew & an apple.
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 Wisconsin, the Chicago, Illinois metro area, and Southwestern Michigan.
Old Style was originally marketed only in Wisconsin, under the [[advertising 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, Illinois 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. When Pabst bought the Old Style name, it did not buy the beer's recipe.
The original Heileman's/Old Style brewery in La Crosse is now owned by the City Brewing Company. City Brewing Company is now brewing La Crosse Lager, which is the original Old Style recipe and is krausened for 30 days.
Old Style advertising has often emphasized coldness, with images of ice and snow. In one such series of TV ads, the background music was an excerpt from "L'Enfant" by Vangelis.
Old Style has been a sponsor of the Cubs radio broadcasts since 1950, representing the longest lasting corporate sponsorship of any teams in the USA. Competing St. Louis brand Budweiser has also long been a sponsor of the TV broadcasts, and its presence is prominent at Wrigley Field, but Old Style is more specifically associated with the Cubs.
PBR sponsorship
Over the past few years, PBR has started sponsoring a number of "under the radar" and Do-It-Yourself events including film festivals and sporting events.
- Frequent sponsor of National Public Radio's Car Talk.
- Sponsors numerous Women's Flat-Track Roller Derby teams.
- Sponsor of the Oberlin Rhinos, Oberlin College's women's rugby club.
- Major sponsor of the Backseat Film Festival.
- PBR was also a sponsor for the rock (music) and alt-country band Drive-By Truckers' World Tour in support of their 2004 album The Dirty South (album). The members of the band are all avid PBR drinkers.
