Back in the late 70s, PBR was just a step above Lucky Lager and Brew 102. Krokodil said it perfectly: “I’m broke, but not totally without pride.”
Since at least the mid-2000s, probably a bit earlier. Go to any hipster bar in the city, and PBR is usually the $2 beer of choice.
I’ll drink PBR before I drink any AB beer. But not because I think PBR is good. To be honest, I think it tastes like a watery mixture of corn and rice. So while PBR is certainly not a “good” beer (IMO), at least it’s not a *bad *beer like Busch or Buttwiper.
If you want to drink a pilsner that is good *and *cheap, look no further than Burger Beer. I am serious. It is made with 100% barley (no corn or rice), and uses the more expensive 2-row hops vs. the (more common) 6-row hops.
!00% correct…
I have drank my way thru Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium and the Netherlands (each country on several different occasions) as well as the Micro-Brew Meccas of Northern California, Oregon and Washington, up into Vancouver (all of these places many, many, MANY times) and with the exception of Belgium, the beer that the average German, Dutchman or Czech is drinking on a daily basis is a hell of a a lot closer in taste, style, appearance and strength to ol’ Pabst Blue Ribbon than an average American micro like Sierra Nevada, Full Sail, Goose Island or Sam Adams.
PBR is great for what it is, so is Rainier, Yuengling, Old Style and Strohs, all of which are very similar in taste and style to the mass produced beers of the European Beer-Belt, like Heineken Pils, Pilsner Urquell or Bitburger.
This gets asked a lot, and it usually just gets a lot of hipster hate.
PBR wedged its way into the indie music/“hipster” community by sponsoring a lot of live music in dive bars and such, and for being cheap and adequate in a situation where it seems more fitting to pound a few tallboys than savor a $7 microbrew. And since the crowd in question is one that seeks out alternatives to the mainstream, it makes sense that they’d migrate to something other than the Bud/Miller/Coors behemoths.
Bike messenger races in the Pacific Northwest.
When I was in high school Schaefer could be purchased for $6 a case. It is an undrinkable beer. It is fit only for beer bonging. Drinking a PBR on the other hand can be an enjoyable experience.
At our local Natural Foods Co-op, you can get about 50 different kinds of microbrews…and Pabst Blue Ribbon.
It’s just freaky…
As for Schaeffer, my father swears that it used to be the most popular beer in Brookly/NYC area. Apparently they shut the brewery down in the 70’s and moved it to Pennsylvania. He said after the move sales dropped dramatically in the area. Everyone said that it just didn’t taste the same. Considering beer is like 95% water, and now you’re no longer using the same water…it probably would change the taste.
Again…no real proof…just according to my father.
Well, it is a good bit different. The mass-market American beers tend to skew sweeter and have a good bit of corn and/or rice in them. I wouldn’t go around comparing PBR to Pilsner Urquell, which is a truly great beer the nearer you get to the source. The popular European lagers do have the advantage in being all-malted barley beers, for the most part.
I would have guessed it was entirely because of the scene in Blue Velvet.
NSFW: [noparse]Blue Velvet Pabst Blue Ribbon - YouTube
Those are valid points, but what tastes, looks, finishes most similarly?
A PBR and an Urquell or a Sierra Nevada and an Urquell?
Not even close to close…
And is cheap? Not many. See my post above on Burger beer.
Sure, PBR is closer to Urquell than Sierra Nevada is to pretty much anything in Europe outside England. And, even in England, their IPAs and pale ales are different enough that there shouldn’t be any mistaking the two.
It’s this. It’s as cheap or cheaper than Bud/Miller/Coors, but it’s not Bud/Miller/Coors. It doesn’t scream trying too hard the way a microbrew or other “good tasting” beer would. You don’t want to spend your money on beer after all, if you are going to spend you money you are going to spend it on (checks calendar sees that Rye is scheduled to be popular in June) quality shots of Rye*.
PBR started sponsoring the music stuff because of this, not the other way around. It was just starting to be a thing in Los Angeles, in 2003 when I turned 21 so it goes back at least that far. I don’t remember it being serious until 2005 though.
*If you didn’t get your calendar this moth is Rye, so put down the Bourbon that was last month and for god sake Patron Tequila stopped being a thing at least 2 years ago, put it away. Next month is top shelf Gin, don’t think this Rye thing will last too long so don’t go nuts and buy any for your home. Tequila should be back in style by December though, but not Patron. That’s done forever. Don Julio is on the schedule, but it’s still tentative.
I should amend this and stress the words “pretty much.” There are breweries in Scandinavia that are trying out hoppier styles of beers with American hops that are somewhat similar to Sierra Nevada. I’m sure there must be others. So no nitpicking. 
But predominantly, the most usual popular styles are lagers. And, yes, of course I’m aware of the plethora of things Belgians do with their beer (which don’t resemble Sierra Nevada, either), and there are plenty of examples of (other types of) ales throughout the continent, too (what with Germany and their wheat beers, the Baltic area with their porters, etc., etc., etc.) So do take my statement as a broad generalization and in context. 
Posers. 
It was the hipster beer of choice in the Star Bar in Atlanta at least from the mid-90s. Some Seattle kid passing through must have picked up on it.
One last thing and then I’ll have no more to say about the subject.
For the record, I really like Sierra Nevada and other quality American Craft-Brews, (especially if I am only having a couple of beers in one sitting, more than that and most microbrews get way too filling and heavy for my tastes) and I am not under any delusion that Pabst Blue Ribbon is actually great beer; For what it is, (a fairly generic American, mass-produced, “budget” beer,) it’s far better than most of it’s direct competition (Miller High Life, Busch, Keystone) and just because the perception is that some segment of the market-share has glommed onto PBR as a Hipster “Badge of Honor” is not going to deter me from drinking a brand that I have been enjoying regularly for 20+ years.
One of us doesn’t know what a hipster is.
This commercial makes Schaefer cooler than pretty much any beer ever made, in my opinion.
I’d buy it if it was available where I am - just because of that commercial.