Yeah, I saw it all over the place in Baltimore. But I also saw it in New Hampshire and in a suburb of Philly. I thought it was pretty "meh"even for a cheapass brew.
Ronald Theriot gave it a C minus.
I’ve also seen the occasional Blatz at some of the more hipstery places I go to. That’s a beer I haven’t seen outside Wisconsin in godknowshowlong.
I think I missed most of the PBR marketing push. I was living out of the country from '98-'03, and I seem to recall upon my return PBR suddenly being popular. I just assumed it was some hipster irony thing, taking something “uncool” and making it “cool,” or just being “unique” and contrarian and settling on a cheap macro lager that wasn’t the usual Budweiser or Miller everyone else was drinking. I would have figured Old Style in Chicago being pretty set for that role, being the local (in the sense that it’s what locals drink) blue collar beer alternative to the more universally popular BudMillCoors products (and, yes, I know Old Style is part of the Pabst Brewing Company now and contract brewed by Miller, so it’s all related anyway.) If you really want to get old school, you can get La Cross Lager, which is supposedly the old Old Style as brewed in La Crosse, Wisconsin. And, besides, Dennis Farina!
Incidentally, that Dennis Farina set of commercials is a good example what a genuine Chicago blue-collar accent sounds like. (As opposed to accents exaggerated for comic effect, a la Da Superfans.)
Upland makes an excellent lager called Champagne Velvet.
It’s Czechvar in N.America and it’s definitely my favorite!