PBR - Now Hip and Pricey?
I was clicking through my Google reader today on beer and found this article about the populartiy of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
Now, I drink a PBR once in a while (especially since it comes in convienent river-friendly pint cans), but Pabst is looking at a 25% increase in sales this year! That's more than just selling a few cans. I've also heard from several folks (no sources) that PBR actually outsells all other beer here in Portland. Anyone care to weigh in with a source? Here is the opening article text:
Pabst Blue Ribbon Now More Popular Than Ever; Sorry, Hipsters
In twist of irony, alternative drinkers pushed beer mainstream
By MATT BARTOSIK
Updated 4:32 PM CDT, Thu, Sep 17, 2009
Sales of Pabst Blue Ribbon are up a whopping 25 percent this year, according to Information Resources Inc.
"Well, of course," you say. In this economy, consumers are looking for low-cost options, and cheaper beers are going to do better than more expensive ones.
But Pabst raised its prices last year and now it isn't as cheap as you may think: The beer now costs $1.50 more than MillerCoors' Keystone, $1 more than Anheuser-Busch's Busch and Natural brands, and 50 cents more than Miller High Life, Crain's reports.
Yet, despite being more expensive, PBR is doing remarkably better than all those brands in profits.
