If you didn’t know, Pabst Blue Ribbon is the hipster beer of choice. I didn’t used to believe this was possible, but I’ve personally witnessed the prevalence of Pabst Blue Ribbon in the funkier parts of four North American cities in the past two months. It’s the truth.
I find the popularity of Pabst Blue Ribbon surprising and upsetting. Surprising because, in Vancouver at least, hipsters are responsible for producing most of the best craft beer and innovative food. Upsetting because Pabst Blue Ribbon tastes not very good. It scores a whopping 2/100 on RateBeer. Needless to say, I’m not a big fan of PBR.
BUT WHY THE HIPSTER LOVE? I mean, there must be a reason, and I’m quite sure it’s not to do with taste. PBR was first brewed in 1844, so maybe because it’s old? But then there’s lots of old beers, why aren’t Abbey beers the coolest? Maybe because PBR is pretty cheap? But there’s lots of other beers in the same price range, or cheaper. Maybe because it’s so uncool that it’s super cool? I don’t know, I don’t get hipsters.
Turns out other people on the internets were also wondering why PBR is so cool with the kids who aren’t trying to try to look cool. As it would happen, PBR is actually popular because it was so uncool that it became cool with the ironic crowd in the late nineties. A PBR marketing manager jumped all over this and began sponsoring indie music, skate shops, art galleries, weird sports, facial hair clubs, and other hipstery things. This Quora thread and this Wikipedia blurb do a good job of explaining what went down. I find it really funny that PBR themselves decline to acknowledge their hipster fan base for fear of becoming inauthentic.
But now that everyone knows PBR is cool, is it uncool? Probably, since hipsters sort of got punked into drinking bad beer. Hey cool kids, maybe start drinking better tasting local craft beer?
Cheers,
Chris
UPDATE: One of my colleagues sent me this fantastic article on the rise of PBR. Read it instead of this post.
Thanks, that “rise of PBR” article was good.
PBR tall cans seem to be associated with one of my favorite indie bands, The Drive-by Truckers.
No worries, that band should get a better tasting sponsor.
Do hipsters really make the best beer and food in our city? They certainly frequent some of our greatest beer bars. I’ve never thought of hipsters and brewers.
Although not great beer, the Pabst story is kind of neat. A company that once competed for first place with Budweiser in the early American beer wars, almost disappears and than returns byway of a a marketing mistake/neglect/good timing.
It’s a pretty neat story, if only PBR tasted good. I feel like a lot of the best new restaurants are operated by hipsters. Off the top of my head, I’m thinking Pizza Farina, Meat and Bread, and Tacofino Commissary.
We used to drink PBR before it became cool. Fifty cents a can at my our old dive bar.
i loved pbr about 2 years before it became popular its a great classic american beer and i cant stand when people hate on it, its a descent affordable beer.And im drinking one right now
My only problem with it is that it tastes bad. Hate on that.
I refer to PBR as “Ironic” beer but that probably isn’t accurate. Irony is a verdict not an willful act. PBR could be more precisely described as “sarcastic” beer. Maybe it’s some sort of misplaced anti-establishment, bourgeois asceticism. I know it shouldn’t bug me but it lacks poetry. It’s lazy. Maybe what I find most troubling is that it is not very good beer. Why punish yourself? There are better causes to suffer for.