The Pabst Brewing Company () is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by

Jacob Best Jacob Best Sr. (1786 – 1861) was a German-American brewer who founded what would later become known as the Pabst Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Life and career Best was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, where he learned the trade and ran a s ...

and was, by 1889, named after

Frederick Pabst Johann Gottlieb Friedrich "Frederick" Pabst (March 28, 1836 – January 1, 1904) was a German-American brewer for whom the Pabst Brewing Company was named. Biography Early life Pabst was born on March 28, 1836, in the village of Nikolausrieth ...

. It is currently a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

which contracts the brewing of over two dozen brands of

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

and malt liquor: these include its own flagship

Pabst Blue Ribbon Pabst Blue Ribbon, commonly abbreviated PBR, is an American lager beer sold by Pabst Brewing Company, established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1844 and currently based in San Antonio. Originally called Best Select, and then Pabst Select, the cu ...

, as well as brands from now defunct breweries including: *

P. Ballantine and Sons Brewing Company P. Ballantine and Sons Brewing Company was an American brewery founded in 1840, making Ballantine one of the oldest brands of beer in the United States. At its peak, it was the 3rd largest brewer in the US. The brand is currently owned and ope ...

, *

G. Heileman Brewing Company The G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States, was a brewery firm that operated from 1858 to 1996. It was ultimately acquired by Stroh's, and its independent existence ceased. From 1872 until its acquisition, the brewe ...

, *

Lone Star Brewing Company The Lone Star Brewery, built in 1884, was the first large mechanized brewery in Texas. Adolphus Busch, of Anheuser-Busch, founded it along with a group of San Antonio businessmen. The castle-like building which was once its brewery now houses ...

, *

Pearl Brewing Company The Pearl Brewing Company (also known as the Pearl Brewery or just Pearl) was an American brewery established in 1883 in Downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. In 1985, Pearl's parent company purchased the Pabst Brewing Company and assumed ...

, * Piels Bros., *

Valentin Blatz Brewing Company The Valentin Blatz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It produced Blatz Beer from 1851 until 1959, when the label was sold to Pabst Brewing Company. Blatz beer is currently produced by the Miller Brewing Com ...

, *

National Brewing Company The National Brewing Company was an American brewing company that was founded in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1885. Its Baltimore brewery was located in the city's Highlandtown neighborhood. After World War II, it grew to be the largest brewer in Balti ...

, *

Olympia Brewing Company The Olympia Brewing Company was a brewery in the northwest United States, located in Tumwater, Washington, near Olympia. Founded in 1896 by Leopold Friederich Schmidt, it was bought by G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1983. Through a series of ...

, *

Falstaff Brewing Corporation The Falstaff Brewing Corporation was a major American brewery located in St. Louis, Missouri. With roots in the 1838 Lemp Brewery of St. Louis, the company was renamed after the Shakespearean character Sir John Falstaff in 1903. Production peake ...

, *

Primo Brewing & Malting Company Primo Brewing Company is a Honolulu-based beer brewing company. The company claims the title "Hawai’i’s original beer". The brand is currently owned and operated by Pabst Brewing Company. History Around 1897 or 1898, the Honolulu Brewing & ...

, *

Rainier Brewing Company The Rainier Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Seattle, Washington. It brewed Rainier Beer, a popular brand in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Although Rainier was founded in 1884, the Seattle site had been brewing beer s ...

, * F & M Schaefer Brewing Company, *

Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and once the largest producer of beer in the United States. Its namesake beer, Schlitz (), was known as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" and was adve ...

, *

Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company The Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company is the name of a former brewing company that was located at 882 W. Seventh Street in St. Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1855, the brewery was originally known as the Christopher Stahlmann Cave Brewery. Its name wa ...

, and * Stroh Brewery Company. About half of the beer produced under Pabst's ownership is ''

'' brand, with the other half their other owned brands. The company is also responsible for the brewing of Ice Man Malt Liquor, St. Ides High Gravity Malt Liquor, and retail versions of beers from

McSorley's Old Ale House McSorley's Old Ale House, generally known as McSorley's, is the oldest Irish saloon in New York City. Opened in the mid-19th century at 15 East 7th Street, in today's East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, it was one of the last of the "Men ...

and Southampton Publick House (of

Southampton, New York Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stret ...

). Pabst is headquartered in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. On November 13, 2014, Pabst announced that it had completed its sale to Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings, LLC. Blue Ribbon is a partnership between Russian-American beer entrepreneur

Eugene Kashper Eugene Kashper ( rus, Евгений Кашпер) is an American beer entrepreneur and Chairman of Blue Ribbon Partners. He also served as the Chairman and CEO of Pabst Brewing Company. Biography Kashper was born in the Soviet Union to Russian ...

and

TSG Consumer Partners TSG Consumer Partners is an American private equity company based in San Francisco, California. The firm was founded in 1987, and was among the first private equity firms to invest exclusively in consumer companies.

, a San Francisco–based private equity firm. Prior reports suggested the price agreed upon was around $700 million.

History

Founding

The original brewery was founded in 1844 as The Empire Brewery, later Best and Company, by brewer

. The brewery was run by Jacob Sr. and his sons Phillip, Charles, Jacob Jr., and Lorenz. Phillip took control of the company in 1860. They started the brewery on Chestnut Street Hill in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

with a capacity of . Later, in 1863,

, a steamship captain and son-in-law of Phillip Best, bought 50% of Phillip Best, and assumed the role of vice president. In 1866, Best's other daughter, Lisette, married Emil Schandein, to whom Best sold the remaining half of the business. This move made Frederick Pabst president, and Emil Schandein vice-president. Lisette Schandein took over as vice-president of the company through 1894 after her husband's death. Two factors helped position the company for significant growth; the untimely death of Milwaukee brewing competitor C.T. Melms in 1869 due to an infection from a needle, and the

Great Chicago Fire of 1871 The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

. Melms' brewery was sold to Best and Company after Melms' death, which greatly expanded capacity for the company. Then, with the fire in Chicago a couple of years later wiping out the Chicago brewing industry, the company was in a position to grow with less competition to worry about. By 1874 Phillip Best Brewing Co. was the nation's largest brewer. The brewery's best-seller was a

lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storage" ...

, Best Select, which began public sales in 1875. By 1893, Pabst became the first brewer in the United States to sell more than a million barrels of beer in a year.

20th century

During much of the 20th century, Pabst was run by Harris Perlstein, who was named president by Frederick Pabst in 1932 after a merger of Pabst Brewing and Premier Malt Products Co. (the latter of which Perlstein had been president). Perlstein emphasized research and innovation; under his direction, Pabst worked with American Can Company to produce the first

beer can A drink can (or beverage can) is a metal container designed to hold a fixed portion of liquid such as carbonated soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, fruit juices, teas, herbal teas, energy drinks, etc. Drink cans are made of aluminum (75% of ...

s, worked to create product consistency among multiple location breweries, and invested heavily in advertising and promotion. Pabst was involved in the

1953 Milwaukee brewery strike The 1953 Milwaukee brewery strike was a labor strike that involved approximately 7,100 workers at six breweries in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The strike began on May 14 of that year after the Brewery Workers Local 9 and an employers' or ...

. In 1954, Perlstein was named Chairman, and served until 1972; he then served as Chairman of the Executive Committee until his retirement in 1979. Pabst's sales reached a peak of in 1978 before they entered into a steep decline. During Prohibition, Pabst stopped making beer and switched to cheese production, selling more than of ''Pabst-ett Cheese''. When Prohibition ended, the company went back to selling beer, and the cheese line was sold to Kraft. Pabst was renowned in Milwaukee for its brewery tours. 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 Bock, and Andeker, the pub was popular with tourists and locals alike, especially students from nearby

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

and the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

Kalmanovitz era

Paul Kalmanovitz Paul Kalmanovitz (1905–1987) was a millionaire brewing and real estate magnate best known for owning all or part of several national breweries and their products, including Falstaff Brewing Company and Pabst Brewing Company. Most of the Kalma ...

, a self-made beer and real-estate baron, purchased the Pabst Brewing company in 1985 for $63 million in a hostile takeover through the auspices of his holding company S&P Co.; S&P Co.'s first brewery was Maier Brewing Company, purchased in 1958. When Kalmanovitz died in 1987, S&P became legally inseparable from the Kalmanovitz Charitable Trust. In 1996, Pabst's entire beer production was contracted out to the Stroh Brewery Company, which utilized excess capacity at the former flagship brewery of the

of La Crosse, Wisconsin it had absorbed earlier that year. In turn, the historic Pabst brewery in Milwaukee was closed, ending a 152-year association with the city and turning that company into a virtual brewer. In 1999, Pabst purchased the

Stroh Stroh Austria GmbH is an Austrian manufacturer of rum, especially spiced rums and high-proof rums used in warm drinks and cooking. The Stroh Rum brand is one of the best-known spirits from Austria. The name is widely used as a generic synonym f ...

label, and the brewery in La Crosse was sold to

City Brewing Company City Brewing Company is a large brewery located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA. It also goes by the trade name of City Brewery. History In 1999 the old G. Heileman Brewing Company's former brewery buildings in La Crosse were bought by a group o ...

. In 2001, production was contracted to

Miller Brewing Company The Miller Brewing Company is an American brewery and beer company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller. Molson Coors acquired the full global brand portfolio of Miller Brewing Company in 2016, and operates the M ...

, and by then what remained of the Pabst company operated out of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

. S&P was ordered by the IRS to sell the Pabst Brewing Company by 2005 or lose its not-for-profit, tax-free status. After a while, Pabst Brewing claimed that they were unable to find a buyer at market value and requested an extension until 2010 that the IRS granted. In 2006, CEO Brian Kovalchuk resigned and the board replaced him with Kevin Kotecki. Kotecki swiftly moved the Pabst Brewing Company and its roughly 100 headquarters personnel to

Woodridge, Illinois Woodridge is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, with small portions in Will and Cook counties, and a south-western suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 34,158. The village is just north of the I-55 junction with IL-53 ...

, a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

suburb. The offices in Woodridge were located on historic

US Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

. Between 2005 and 2010, "PBR brand volume increased 69%, and Pabst's gross margins increased 48 percent, operating profit rose 81 percent, and net revenue per barrel increased 28 percent." On May 28, 2008 a former Pabst Brewery in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.

Metropoulos era

On May 26, 2010, investor

C. Dean Metropoulos Charles Dean Metropoulos ( el, Ντιν Μητρόπουλος; born May 1946 in Tripoli) is a Greek-American billionaire investor and businessman. He was the owner of Pabst Brewing Company, which was founded by Jacob Best in 1844. On the ''Forb ...

reached a deal to purchase Pabst for about $250 million. On May 14, 2011, it was announced that Pabst would be relocating to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Pabst retains a data center in

, the previous location of its headquarters. Pabst's shuttered brewery complex in Milwaukee was targeted to be redeveloped into restaurants, entertainment venues, stores, housing and offices. The $317 million project became the subject of public debate in Milwaukee.

Kashper era

Pabst Brewing Company announced November 13, 2014 that it had completed its sale to Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings, LLC. Blue Ribbon is a partnership between American beer entrepreneur

and

, a San Francisco–based private equity firm. Prior reports suggested the price agreed upon was around $700 million. Redevelopment of the historic Pabst campus continued, with the original brewhouse converted into a hotel, other buildings converted into condominiums and offices, and others still to be redeveloped. In July 2015, Pabst announced plans to return to Milwaukee and refurbish a former church and training center on the site of the original Pabst Brewing complex as a micro-brewery and taproom. This project was completed in Spring 2017, with the taproom featuring both newly developed and historic beers in the Pabst portfolio. Driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company closed the facility in 2020 and it taken over by Central Waters Brewing Company in 2021. In November 2018, a lawsuit by Pabst against

MillerCoors MillerCoors was a beer brewing company in the United States. MillerCoors was formed in 2008 as a joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors to combine their brewing, marketing and sales operations in the United States. The company was acqui ...

reached trial stage. Pabst argued that MillerCoors wanted to put it out of business by ending a longstanding contract through which MillerCoors brews Pabst's beers. Pabst said that MillerCoors is its only option for the 4 million to 4.5 million barrels brewed annually for the company, since

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple glo ...

, which has the biggest U.S. market share, does not do contract brewing. The lawsuit was settled out of court, and the contract between the two companies was renewed.

Outside the United States

Pabst Blue Ribbon America has a licensing agreement and joint venture arrangement with China Pabst Blue Ribbon. It is produced, marketed and distributed by CBR Brewing Company, which jointly owns the company along with Guangdong Blue Ribbon Group under a sub-licensing agreement with the Pabst Brewing Company. CBR is a

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

owned company but it is based in China. China Pabst recently released a new beer called Pabst Blue Ribbon 1844 for consumption in the domestic market; it sells for $44 USD a bottle. In 1999,

Sleeman Breweries Sleeman Breweries is a Japanese-owned Canadian brewery founded by John Warren Sleeman in 1988 in Guelph, Ontario. The company is the third-largest brewing company in Canada. Along with its own Sleeman brands, the company produces under licence the ...

Guelph, Ontario Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Welli ...

, a division of

Sapporo Breweries is a Japanese beer brewing company founded in 1876. Sapporo is the oldest brand of beer in Japan. It was first brewed in Sapporo, Japan, in 1876 by brewer Seibei Nakagawa. The world headquarters of Sapporo Breweries is in Ebisu, Shibuya, Toky ...

, acquired Stroh Canada which owned the Canadian rights to a folio of brands, including Pabst. Sleeman then became the Canadian manufacturer and distributor of those products.

Product lines

Pabst Blue Ribbon

Pabst Blue Ribbon, also known as "PBR", is the namesake of the Pabst Brewing Company products. Originally called Best Select, and then Pabst Select, the current name came from the blue ribbons that were tied around the neck of the bottle, a practice that ran from 1882 until 1916, and discontinued due to a silk shortage during World War I. After Prohibition, the blue ribbons were once again tied around the neck of the bottle, a custom that endured from 1933 until 1950. Besides the 4.8% ABV Original there are now also Pabst Extra a stronger 6.5% lager, Pabst Easy which is their low calorie light beer offering (3.8%ABV), and Pabst Non-Alc with less than 0.5% ABV. In July 2019, the organization began testing a Hard Coffee line of drinks under the Pabst Blue Ribbon name in states along the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

, as well as a hard tea, hard seltzers, and even a whiskey.

Jacob Best

Jacob Best Pilsner is a

pale lager Pale lager is a very pale-to- golden-colored lager beer with a well- attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. The brewing process for this beer developed in the mid-19th century, when Gabriel Sedlmayr took pale ale brew ...

named after Pabst's founder, Jacob Best.

Ballantine

Ballantine Brewery P. Ballantine and Sons Brewing Company was an American brewery founded in 1840, making Ballantine one of the oldest brands of beer in the United States. At its peak, it was the 3rd largest brewer in the US. The brand is currently owned and ope ...

was acquired by Pabst in 1985 when it bought the

. Ballantine's flagship beer, Ballantine XXX Ale, has remained on the market since Prohibition ended. Ballantine IPA re-launched in August 2014 after nearly 20 years off the market.

Schlitz

Schlitz was first brewed by the

in Milwaukee. Schlitz was one of the world's top-selling beers during the first half of the 20th century. Pabst Brewing Company also produces four Schlitz malt liquors—Schlitz Red Bull, Schlitz Bull Ice, Schlitz High Gravity, and Schlitz Malt Liquor.

Blatz

Blatz was the flagship brand of the

of Milwaukee. The brewery was a major competitor of Pabst, Miller, G. Heileman, and other Milwaukee-area brewers, but was bought out in 1968 by Pabst. Pabst then sold Blatz to the G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1969. Under contract, Pabst continued to produce Blatz beer into the 1990s, when it was discontinued. The brand was revived in 2007 and is currently being brewed under contract by the Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee.

Old Milwaukee

Old Milwaukee is a

. The beer was first brewed in 1890 by the

in Milwaukee, and was re-introduced in 1955 as a value-priced beer.

Colt 45

Colt 45 is a brand of malt liquor first produced in 1963 by the

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

St. Ides

St. Ides is a brand of malt liquor first launched by the

McKenzie River Corporation McKenzie River Corporation is a beverage marketing firm based in San Francisco, CA. Founded in 1987 by Joseph Wessinger with the help of his father, Fred Wessinger, the McKenzie River Corporation has launched a number of successful beverage produc ...

in 1987. St. Ides gained prominence during the late 1980s and early 1990s through the company's use of

celebrity endorsement Celebrity branding or celebrity endorsement is a form of advertising campaign or marketing strategy which uses a celebrity's fame or social status to promote a product, brand or service, or to raise awareness about an issue. Marketers use celebr ...

s by rap artists such as

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

, Scarface,

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

, and

Method Man & Redman Method Man & Redman (also referred to as Meth & Red, Red & Mef, John Blaze and Funk Doc or Funk Doctor Spock and Johnny Blaze) are an American hip hop duo, composed of East Coast rappers Method Man (of Wu-Tang Clan) and Redman (of Def Squad) ...

Stroh's

The Stroh Brewery Company in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

first brewed Stroh's beer in 1850. Stroh's is an

American-style lager American lager or North American lager is pale lager that is produced in the United States. The pale lager-style beer originated in Europe in the mid-19th century, and moved to the US with German immigrants. As a general trend outside of Bavaria ...

Old Style

Old Style was first brewed in 1902 by the

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

, under the name Old Style Lager; it was popular in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

metro area,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, eastern

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, southwestern

, Upper Michigan, and Fargo and

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

. It has been served at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

for decades and is popular with fans of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. The original Heileman's Old Style brewery in La Crosse is now owned by the

. It brews La Crosse Lager, which is based upon the original Old Style recipe and is kräusened for 30 days. In the early 1990s,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-born actor

Dennis Farina Donaldo Gugliermo "Dennis" Farina (February 29, 1944 – July 22, 2013) was an American actor. Often typecast as a mobster or police officer, he is known for roles such as FBI Agent Jack Crawford in '' Manhunter'', mobster Jimmy Serrano in the ...

made a series of commercials for Old Style beer, mentioning that it was "our great beer... and they can't have it." In 2016, the production of Old Style returned to the La Crosse brewery under a new contract with Pabst; City Brewery became the sole producer of the Old Style brand. Along with the homecoming of the beer, the brand introduced Old Style Oktoberfest.

Lone Star

Lone Star was first brewed by

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. It was Lone Star Brewing Company's main brand and marketed as "The National Beer of Texas".

Olympia

The

Tumwater, Washington Tumwater is a town in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,350 at the 2020 census. It is situated near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound; it also borders the state ca ...

first brewed Olympia beer. Olympia is an American-style pale lager.

Rainier Beer

Rainier Beer was first brewed in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

by the

. It is popular in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

of the United States.

Schmidt Beer

Schmidt Beer was first brewed by the

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

in 1855. It is popular throughout the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...

National Bohemian

National Bohemian was the flagship beer of the

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. It is a

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

-style

American beer Beer in the United States is manufactured by more than 7,000 breweries, which range in size from industry giants to brew pubs and microbreweries. The United States produced 196 million barrels () of beer in 2012, and consumes roughly of bee ...

. Ninety percent of National Bohemian sales are in the Baltimore area.

Former independent brands

Andeker

Pabst introduced a premium brewed European style lager called Andeker in 1939. After being discontinued in the 1960s it was brought back from 1972 to 1986. It has been described as "The most European of the Americans, with full body and well-modulated flavor. Creamy rather than violently carbonated, sharp but not bitter." Andeker has been revived by Pabst at their microbrewery on the old Pabst brewery grounds in Milwaukee, is available on tap, in growlers and crawlers.The Great Gulp: A Consumer Guide's to Beer
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Red, White and Blue

Red White & Blue was a brand of beer produced and sold by Pabst from before Prohibition until the mid-1980s. Pre-Prohibition advertisements lauded its mellow taste and drinkability. After years of average sales, the brand saw significant growth in the early 1980s due to creative marketing campaigns. However, Pabst reformulated it to reduce costs and by the mid-1980s it was known as a "cheap beer". Sales steeply declined and the brand was discontinued.

Awards

''Awards at the

Great American Beer Festival The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is an annual beer festival hosted by the Brewers Association, held in Denver, Colorado. Typically held in late September or early October, the event is currently held at Denver's Colorado Convention Center. ...

:'' ''Awards at the

World Beer Cup The World Beer Cup is an international beer competition organized by the Brewers Association, a trade group A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organizat ...

:'' ''Golden Icon Awards by Travolta Family Entertainment:'' Pabst Brewing Company won "Large Brewing Company of the Year" at the

in 2011, 2012 and 2016.

Image:Pabst Malt Extract.jpg, Pabst Malt Extract 1896 Image:Pabst-brewing 1897 malt.jpg, Pabst Malt Extract 1897 Image:Pabst-brewing 1897 beer.jpg, Pabst Malt Extract - Advertisement - 1897 Image:Pabst 1897 new-amsterdam.jpg, Pabst New Amsterdam - Advertisement - 1897 Image:Pabst Extract Advertisement 1917.jpg, Pabst Extract 1917

References

External links

Pabst Brewing Company

History of Pabst Brewery

Paul Bialas Photography & Brewery Books
modern images of the dilapidated Schlitz and Pabts breweries.

Old Style Beer: History

Pabst Brewing Company and the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition Urban Myth Debunked
{{Authority control 1844 establishments in Wisconsin American companies established in 1844 History of Milwaukee Companies based in DuPage County, Illinois Manufacturing companies based in Milwaukee

History

Founding

20th century

Kalmanovitz era

Metropoulos era

Kashper era

Outside the United States

Product lines

Pabst Blue Ribbon

Jacob Best

Ballantine

Schlitz

Blatz

Old Milwaukee

Colt 45

St. Ides

Stroh's

Old Style

Lone Star

Olympia

Rainier Beer

Schmidt Beer

National Bohemian

Former independent brands

Andeker

Red, White and Blue

Awards

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See also

References

Further reading

External links