REVIEW 25: PABST BLUE RIBBON

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:   Pabst Brewing Company

STYLE:  Adjunct Lager

ABV:  4.7%

PURCHASE:  Case of 30 12-oz. cans, $16.99.

SERVING:  12-oz. can, poured into pint glass. Heady from the can; even a slow (30-second) pour produced two solid inches of suds atop the body. A faster (20-second) pour yielded three. Good retention, particularly for an inexpensive adjunct.

APPEARANCE:  Transparent straw-brass color, though on the darker side of that part of the spectrum. You can watch YouTube videos through a glass of this, as I did tonight! Bright white, effervescent head with nice lacing.

BOUQUET:  Like most mass-produced, North American adjuncts, sports a largely clean aroma with traces of a freshly sanitized metal surface. That said, there are actual beer-like scents present: Biscuity malt, floral essences, and a tinge of noble hops. Agreeable nose.

PALATE:  Light-medium body with moderate carbonation, but a smooth overall mouthfeel. Entry is semisweet and grainy. A bit of hop bitterness sneaks in mid-palate, but remains subdued. Finish is yeasty, while the aftertaste features a kiss of malt sweetness. Fairly simple taste profile.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  If you're a patriotic American, you can relax. Pabst was not sold to the Russians. Rather, it was sold to an American entrepreneur in conjunction with an American equity firm. The brewery is now based in L.A., after decades in storied Milwaukee.

Has this recent development affected the product? Hard to say. Time will tell, as the cliche goes. In any case, PBR is known as a "hipster" beer; in other words, it is held in high regard by mainly younger, urban, male consumers with stylish facial hair, rimmed glasses, and a record of social alienation during their high school years. However, it is also known as an "All-American" brew favored by our country's everyday working-class iron men, as well as the beer of cinematic anti-heroes like Walt Kowalski, and villains such as Frank Booth. What did they see in it?

Probably the same thing I do: No frills; just simple gratification. In that sense, PBR is the beer world's answer to Corn Flakes: A straight-forward product that doesn't pretend to be anything fancy; and not only endures, but enjoys iconic status, perhaps because of that. I have no objection to a bowl of Corn Flakes in the morning; but to be truthful, I don't get excited for it either. I trust you see the analogy.




GRADE:  C