Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer
Pabst beer wasn’t a new invention, having been around since the 1840s. Frederick Pabst, who inherited a brewery from his father-in-law Jacob Best in 1873, won the blue ribbon for beer at the World’s Fair, one of the most elite, sought after prize in the industry at the time. After this win, Best changed the name of his beer from Pabst’s Best Select to Pabst Blue Ribbon.
To drive the point home, Captain Pabst tied blue silk ribbons around every bottle, despite the extra production cost. This marketing strategy paid off, as patrons asked bartenders for the “blue ribbon beer.” A silk shortage during World War I stopped actual ribbons from being included on each bottle, but in the 1930s, an illustrated blue ribbon was included in the official Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer logo.
