Pabst Brewing Company () is an American brewery based in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1844 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by Jacob Best and later named after Frederick Pabst, who expanded the company significantly during the late 19th century. The company became one of the largest brewers in the United States by the turn of the 20th century. It oversees a diverse portfolio of legacy American beer brands, including its flagship Pabst Blue Ribbon, its former Milwaukee rival Schlitz, Old Milwaukee, and Lone Star.

Though it closed its Milwaukee brewing facility in 1996, the company continued operations through contract brewing arrangements with other manufacturers. Most recently, it has been in concurrent production agreements with City Brewing Company since 2019 and AB InBev since 2025. 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. 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.

20th century

thumb|The [[Pabst Building in Milwaukee in the early 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).

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 and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

21st century

thumb|Former bottling department at the [[Pabst Brewery Complex, Milwaukee]]

In 2001, production was contracted to Miller Brewing Company, and by then, what remained of the Pabst company operated out of San Antonio. This project was completed in Spring 2017, with the taproom featuring both newly developed and historic beers in the Pabst portfolio. The project was completed in 2017 and closed in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the taproom taken over by Central Waters Brewing Company in 2021.

In November 2018, a lawsuit by Pabst against MillerCoors reached the 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 brewed annually for the company, since Anheuser-Busch did not do contract brewing. Pabst exercised its option to purchase Molson Coors's Irwindale, California, brewery in 2020, and in 2021 sold the Irwindale brewery to City Brewing. The transition of production from Molson Coors to City Brewing was underway in 2022. By early 2025, Pabst had entered into a second production agreement with AB InBev.

International production

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 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 US$44 a bottle.

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, In 2020, the judge allowed the case to proceed. In January 2021, Pabst announced it was discontinuing Olympia beer. The suit was dismissed in 2022 as the plaintiff "could not show a concrete threat of future harm".

Rainier Beer

Rainier Beer was first brewed in Seattle, Washington by the Rainier Brewing Company. It is popular in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

Schmidt's of Philadelphia

Schmidt's of Philadelphia, which had no connection to the St. Paul Schmidt Beer, was brewed by the Christian Schmidt Brewing Company, founded in 1860.

Schmidt Beer

Schmidt Beer was first brewed by the Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1855. It is popular throughout the Upper Midwest.

National Bohemian

National Bohemian was the flagship beer of the National Brewing Company in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Bohemian-style American beer. Ninety percent of National Bohemian sales are in the Baltimore area.

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:

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Award

! Category

! Beer

|-

| 1990

|

| American Lager

| Pabst Blue Ribbon

|-

| 1990

|

| Malt Liquor

| Olde English 800

|-

| 1991

|

| American Lager

| Pearl Lager Beer

|-

| 1991

|

| American Malt Liquor

| Olde English 800

|-

| 1992

|

| American Malt Liquor

| Olde English 800

|-

| 1992

|

| American Lager

| Hamm's

|-

| 1992

|

| American Dry Lager

| Olympia Dry

|-

| 1993

|

| American Dry Lager

| Olympia Dry

|-

| 1993

|

| Mixed/Non-Alcoholic

| Pabst NA

|-

| 1994

|

| American Light Lager

| Pabst Genuine Draft Light

|-

| 1994

|

| American Malt Liquor

| Olde English 800

|-

| 1994

|

| American Dry Lager

| Olympia Dry

|-

| 1995

|

| American Light Lager

| Pabst Genuine Draft Light

|-

| 1995

|

| American Malt Liquor

| Olde English 800

|-

| 1995

|

| American Specialty Lager

| Olympia Dry

|-

| 1996

|

| American Light Lager

| Pabst Genuine Draft Light

|-

| 1996

|

| American Lager

| Pabst Blue Ribbon

|-

| 1997

|

| American Style Specialty Lager

| Olde English 800

|-

| 1997

|

| Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverages

| Pabst NA

|-

| 1998

|

| Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverages

| Pabst NA

|-

| 1998

|

| American Style Light Lager

| Pabst Genuine Draft Light

|-

| 2000

|

| Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverages

| Pabst NA

|-

| 2003

|

| American Style Light Lager

| Old Style Light

|-

| 2003

|

| American Style Lager

| Old Milwaukee

|-

| 2003

|

| American Style Lager

| Rainier

|-

| 2003

|

| American Style Light Lager

| Old Milwaukee Light

|-

| 2003

|

| American Lager/Ale or Cream Ale

| Old Style

|-

| 2004

|

| Non-Alcoholic Malt Beverage

| Old Milwaukee NA

|-

| 2004

|

| American Style Light Lager

| Rainier Light

|-

| 2004

|

| American Style Lager

| Old Milwaukee

|-

| 2004

|

| American Lager/Ale or Cream Ale

| Special Export

|-

| 2004

|

| American Style Light Lager

| Old Milwaukee Light

|-

| 2004

|

| American Style Specialty Lager

| Schlitz Malt Liquor

|-

| 2004

|

| American Style Lager

| Schlitz

|-

| 2004

|

| American Style Premium Lager

| Pabst Blue Ribbon

|-

| 2004

|

| American Style Specialty Lager

| St. Ides Malt Liquor

|-

| 2005

|

| American Style Premium Lager

| Pabst Blue Ribbon

|-

| 2005

|

| American Style Lager

| Stag

|-

| 2005

|

| American Style Light Lager

| Old Milwaukee Light

|-

| 2005

|

| American Style Premium Lager

| Olympia

|-

| 2005

|

| American Style Lager

| Rainier

|-

| 2005

|

| American Cream Ale or Lager

| Special Export

|-

| 2006

|

| American Style Lager

| Pabst Blue Ribbon

|-

| 2006

|

| American Style Light Lager

| Old Milwaukee Light

|-

| 2006

|

| American Cream Ale or Lager

| Lone Star

|-

| 2006

|

| American Style Lager

| Blatz

|-

| 2007

|

| American-Style Cream Ale or Lager

| Lone Star

|-

| 2007

|

| American Style Light Lager

| Old Milwaukee Light

|-

| 2007

|

| American Style Light Lager

| Pabst Blue Ribbon Light

|-

| 2007

|

| American-Style Cream Ale or Lager

| Old Style

|-

| 2008

|

| American Style Cream Ale or Lager

| Lone Star

|-

| 2008

|

| American Style Lager or Premium Lager

| Olympia

|-

| 2008

|

| American Style Light Lager

| Old Milwaukee Light

|-

| 2008

|

| American Style Lager or Premium Lager

| Blatz

|-

| 2010

|

| American Style Lager or Light Lager

| Old Milwaukee

|-

| 2010

|

| American Style Specialty Lager or Cream Ale or Lager

| Rainier

|-

| 2010

|

| American Style Specialty Lager or Cream Ale or Lager

| Old Style

|-

| 2011

|

| American-Style Lager, Light Lager or Premium Lager

| Old Milwaukee Light

|-

| 2011

|

| American-Style Lager, Light Lager or Premium Lager

| Pabst Blue Ribbon Light

|-

| 2011

|

| American Style Specialty Lager or Cream Ale or Lager

| Rainier

|-

| 2011

|

| American Style Specialty Lager or Cream Ale or Lager

| Old Style

|-

| 2012

|

| American-Style Lager, Light Lager or Premium Lager

| Pabst Blue Ribbon

|-

| 2012

|

| American Style Specialty Lager or Cream Ale or Lager

| Old Style

|-

|2016

|

|American-Style Lager, Light Lager or Premium Lager

|Pabst Blue Ribbon

|}

Awards at the World Beer Cup:

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Year

! Award

! Category

! Beer

|-

| 1996

|

| American Style Malt Liquor

| Olde English 800

|-

| 1996

|

| American Style Malt Liquor

| Schlitz Malt Liquor

|-

| 1996

|

| American Style Malt Liquor

| Country Club Malt Liquor

|-

| 1996

|

| American Style Ice Lager

| Schlitz Ice

|-

| 1998

|

| American Style Malt Liquor

| Schlitz Malt Liquor

|-

| 2006

|

| American Style Premium Lager

| Pabst Blue Ribbon

|-

| 2006

|

| American Cream Ale or Lager

| Old Style

|-

| 2008

|

| American-Style Cream Ale or Lager

| Special Export

|-

| 2008

|

| American-Style Light Lager

| Old Milwaukee Light

|-

| 2008

|

| American-Style Cream Ale or Lager

| Lone Star

|-

| 2008

|

| American-Style Light Lager

| Lone Star Light

|-

| 2010

|

| American-Style Lager

| Olympia

|-

| 2010

|

| American-Style Cream Ale or Lager

| Old Style

|-

| 2010

|

| American-Style Lager

| National Bohemian

|-

| 2010

|

| American-Style Cream Ale or Lager

| Lone Star

|-

| 2010

|

| American-Style Specialty Lager

| Colt 45

|}

Golden Icon Awards by Travolta Family Entertainment:

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Year

! Award

! Category

! Beer

|-

| 2006–2007

| Golden Icon

| Best Domestic Beer

| Old Style Light

|}

Pabst Brewing Company won "Large Brewing Company of the Year" at the Great American Beer Festival in 2011, 2012 and 2016.

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Further reading

  • Cochran, Thomas C. The Pabst Brewing Company: The History of An American Business. New York: New York University Press, 1948. online
  • Weiss, Jana. "Frederick Pabst" in William J. Hausman (ed.). Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present. German Historical Institute, 2018.
  • Pabst Brewing Company
  • History of Pabst Brewery
  • Paul Bialas Photography & Brewery Books, modern images of the dilapidated Schlitz and Pabts breweries.
  • Olympia Beer: The Death of a Brand
  • Old Style Beer: History
  • Illustrated History of the Olympia Brewing Company
  • Pabst Brewing Company and the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition Urban Myth Debunked