Pabst

Pabst is the brand name of an American beer producer and its flagship beer, Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR). The Pabst Brewing Company traces its origins to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Jacob Best founded a brewery in 1844 that evolved into Best Brewing Company. Frederick Pabst acquired the business in the 1880s and renamed it Pabst Brewing Company. Pabst Blue Ribbon, introduced in the late 19th century, became the firm’s best-known beer and earned its “Blue Ribbon” designation after winning awards at international expositions, a lineage that helped the brand achieve national distribution in the United States.

During Prohibition (1920–1933), the company diversified into non-alcoholic products and resumed beer production after repeal. The late 20th century brought consolidation in the U.S. beer industry, and Pabst shifted toward licensing and production by contract brewers rather than operating its own large brewing network. In 2010, Pabst Brewing Company was acquired by Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings, LLC, a joint venture formed by investment firm TSG Consumer Partners and entrepreneur Eugene Kashper. Since then, Pabst beers have been produced at contract breweries in North America and, in some cases, abroad, under license to the Pabst brand.

Today, Pabst Blue Ribbon remains the best-known product and is distributed in the United States and in select international markets. The Pabst brand is associated with a sense of traditional American heritage and straightforward lagers, and its packaging frequently features the blue ribbon motif. The name Pabst is also a surname of German origin associated with the brewery’s founders.