WOODRIDGE, Ill. — Pabst Blue Ribbon: the breakfast of Chicago hipsters. Old Style: beer of the Chicago Cubs. Schlitz: “The beer that made Milwaukee famous.” But in Los Angeles? It would be difficult to find a more quintessentially Midwestern pack of brews than those owned by Pabst Brewingpurchased last June by food-industry magnate C. Dean Metropoulos. The announcement that it would move its headquarters to L.A. took state officials and branding experts by surprise.
“I do kind of want to grab these guys by the ears and say, ‘Hey, do you not know what this (group of beers) is?’ This is a Midwest portfolio of beers, and it makes no sense to plop them in, of all places, L.A.,” said Kelly O’Keefe, professor of brand strategy at the Virginia Commonwealth University Brandcenter.
Branding experts say such tactics could backfire. The flagship brand, Pabst Blue Ribbon, has a cult following of young, hip urbanites.
But Pabst doesn’t brew PBR. The beer is made in six breweries around the U.S. in facilities owned by Miller Brewing Co. Chicago Tribune
