MACRO MONDAY WEEK TWO: Pabst Blue Ribbon

Pabst Blue Ribbon is a beer that conjures up all kinds of images. A decade ago, that image would most likely be your average working man: the construction worker who considered budweiser too fruity to keep in his icebox. Today mention Pabst and the image is undoubtedly a trend-seeking, bearing wearing, vintage denim sporting hipster. But is it a good beer? Beyond all the hype, is it worth drinking?

Pabst Blue Ribbon is the namesake of Pabst Brewing company. Pabst, through a variety of acquisitions now brings us all sorts of beers, from Lone Star to Schlitz. But since its inception, Pabst Blue Ribbon has been there No.1 Beer. Reportedly named Blue Ribbon after winning an award at the World's fair, but more then likely because Pabst used to put silk little blue ribbons on every bottle.

But whether the ribbon in question is figurative or literal in this case, I intend to get to the bottom of whether it's a half decent Adjunct Lager. I cracked open a can that had been cooling in the back of my refrigerator for some time, and poured it into a nice and clean Pilsner Glass. The beers a nice yellow color, with plenty of head that fizzles away to nothing. No lacing, looks pretty light. All in all a pretty unassuming Lager.

The taste is pretty good though. Your usual adjunct lager flavors, corn, bit of malt, slight taste of hops, and just a touch of citrus. Very light, very bubbly. I once heard a Redditor on /r/Atlanta wax poetically about PBR because it was the ultimate palate cleanser, totally inoffensive and fine with anything. In that way, PBR excels fantastically. It's definitely crisp and refreshing, and would be as good grilling a burger as it would at a concert.

So all in all, PBR is a pretty-ok Beer. It's better then Natty Ice, and a good beer to share with friends on a lazy weekend, but that's about it. And that's ok! We need beers like that, and Pabst isn't putting on any aires, we are. So enjoy a PBR, it's not a Yuengling, but it'll do!