In PBR's Big Milwaukee Homecoming, The Brewing Giant Goes Micro
Think about Milwaukee, and two things probably come to mind: cheese and beer. And with good reason. The city is built on a foundation of breweries. Among those, the most famous today is Miller — but that's not how it always was.
Established in 1844, Pabst Blue Ribbon was the first of the great Milwaukee brewers and the first beer company to produce 1 million barrels a year. But in 1996, Wisconsin's long-brewing pillar packed up and shipped out of Milwaukee, contracting out the production of its beer to other brewers like Miller.
Now, nearly two decades later, PBR is returning to town, and to its sprawling, historic compound — a place that spans seven city blocks. But don't be fooled by the scale of the building; the brewing giant will be making its homecoming with a microbrewery, complete with restaurant and tasting room, inside the original complex.
"It's very exciting for us to have this innovation laboratory, and to be back in our hometown. There's so much loyalty and passion for the brand," Eugene Kashper, Pabst's CEO, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last month. "But we will always try to tie that back to our roots."
Gregory Deuhs, master brewer for Pabst, says that opening a microbrewery in Milwaukee is about more than coming home. It's about bringing back some old favorites — including some beers out of the past.
"Of course Pabst Blue Ribbon, as well as the other Pabst products that were under that umbrella like Andecker, the Pabst Bock, Kloster beer."
But Deuhs also says the microbrewery will be a testing ground for new recipes, which, if successful, could be produced for wider consumption.
"It could seem like a natural progression. Microbrews are in many ways the antithesis of mainstream breweries," says Caleb Warren, a marketing professor at Texas A&M University.
Though Warren does warn that the move could backfire.
"It might seem like the brand is just doing this to try to gain money or gain market share, which is basically the death toll of saying the brand's no longer autonomous."
That said, brand autonomy isn't exactly on the mind of every PBR drinker. Take younger people like Jessica Desimon.
"People always make fun of me, but I'm a pretty big Pabst fan," she says. "Wherever I go I still bring like a 12-pack or something of PBR. And I always just get made fun of because I get kind of prideful cause it's like in Milwaukee."
Depending on how the microbrewery pans out, PBR plans to open others outside its hometown.
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Transcript
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
Pabst Blue Ribbon beer is back, though you might not know it was ever gone. Pabst shut down its Milwaukee brewery nearly 20 years ago. Latoya Dennis of member station WUWM reports that now the company is headed back to its hometown.
LATOYA DENNIS, BYLINE: Think about Milwaukee, and probably two things come to mind - cheese and beer. The most famous of the Milwaukee breweries is now Miller, but it used to be Pabst
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Singing) ...Sparkle million's favor. Taste that smoother, smoother flavor - Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
DENNIS: Established in 1844, Pabst Blue ribbon was the first of the great Milwaukee brewers. They were the first beer company to produce a million barrels a year. The historic Pabst compound spans seven city blocks. And it's here, in one of these old buildings where Pabst will open its first microbrewery next year. Jim Haertel owns a bar in another former Pabst building just down the street.
What beer are you having today?
JIM HAERTEL: This is a mixture of Pabst and a new brand that Pabst just brought back called Ballantine IPA.
DENNIS: Haertel sips his beer surrounded by Pabst memorabilia. A PBR clock hangs on the wall, and some of the building's original furniture from the mid-1800s is still in use. Haertel says it was a sad day when Pabst left town in 1996. Pabst contracted out the production of its beer to other brewers, including Miller.
GREGORY DEUHS: We want to return to Milwaukee and return to our roots and support the community that we started with.
DENNIS: Gregory Deuhs, master brewer for Pabst, says opening a microbrewery in Milwaukee is about more than coming home. It's about bringing back some old favorites.
DEUHS: Of course, Pabst Blue Ribbon, as well as the other Pabst products that were under that umbrella like Andeker, the Pabst Bock, Kloster Beer.
DENNIS: Deuhs says the microbrewery will also be the testing ground for new recipes. If successful, they could be produced for a wider consumption. Caleb Warren is a marketing professor at Texas A&M University.
CALEB WARREN: It could seem like a natural progression. Microbrews are, in many ways, the antithesis of mainstream breweries.
DENNIS: Or, Warren says, things could go badly.
WARREN: It might seem like the brand is just doing this to try to gain money or gain market-share, which is basically the death toll of saying the brand's no longer autonomous if it's doing it just to try to make money.
DENNIS: Brand autonomy is not on every Pabst drinker's mind.
Do you drink Pabst?
JESSICA DESIMON: I do, almost exclusively (laughter), sadly.
DENNIS: Seriously?
DESIMON: Yeah, people always make fun of me, but I'm a pretty big Pabst fan (laughter).
DENNIS: Pabst is often the choice for younger people like Jessica Desimon.
DESIMON: I always - wherever I go, I still bring, like, a 12-pack or something of PBR, and I always just get made fun of 'cause I get kind of prideful 'cause it's, like, in Milwaukee.
DENNIS: Depending on how the microbrewery pans out, PBR intends to open others outside its hometown. For NPR News, I'm Latoya Dennis in Milwaukee. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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