Last week we reported that the country has officially hit “Peak PBR,” or the moment when the iconic brand became too hip even for hipsters.
With PBR reaching unprecedented sales levels (from 2009 to 2011 the beer had double-digit growth annually, according to ), it looks like everyone’s favorite subculture of urban counter-culture millennials will have to migrate to another ironic brew soon. Which one will they choose? Our best guesses:
Schlitz
叠谤辞飞蝉别听 and it becomes obvious that (PBC) realized the possibility of hitting “Peak PBR” before we did. Schlitz, which was bought by PBC in 1999, is being positioned as the company鈥檚 next hipster beer. On the website, images of old-timey starlets mix with Instagram-tinged modern-day snaps. And an advertisement for something called the “Schlitz Bouts,” a vintage-inspired boxing match, makes it clear that Schlitz, like PBR, will be marketed through events instead of traditional media.
Hamm’s
Originally brewed in Minnesota, this 聽is now difficult to find聽outside of a few select states鈥攂ut that just adds to its hipster charm. Also charming? It’s gloriously cheap: Hamm’s can be found on sale for as little as $13 for a 30-pack. Sidenote: For a trip down the wormhole of weird 1970s advertising, watch a few , which are somehow both curious and charming.
Narragansett
By far the most drinkable of all of the brews on this list, this is also still independently owned. Narragansett has been a staple at New England picnics, clambakes, and sporting events for more than a century, but it鈥檚 starting to pop up in other parts of the country. Fun fact: Dr. Seuss actually drew 鈥攁 somewhat culturally insensitive Narragansett Chief. The company (wisely) no longer uses the image but instead sticks to snarky, irreverent messaging. It鈥檚 also broadened its lineup, offering a porter, a stout, a lager, and several more varieties.
National Bohemian
“If you called it National Bohemian in Baltimore, everyone would know you鈥檙e not from Baltimore,” says Adam Curtis, a D.C. radio personality who lives in Charm City. “ is Baltimore’s ‘native’ answer to PBR; it’s a proud source of civic pride, even though it’s brewed in North Carolina now.”
“It’s best when drunk ice-cold,” Curtis adds. “Slightly better than PBR, but still similar to it and others such as Bud, Miller Light, or Coors.鈥 Apparently the trademark on Mr. Boh鈥攖he beer鈥檚 adorable, hipster-mustache-sporting mascot鈥攚as allowed to lapse, so it鈥檚 now common domain. As a result, his little one-eyed face is everywhere in Baltimore鈥攈e even proposed to the Utz gal (another famous Baltimore brand) in 2007.
The Philly Citywide Special
Okay, this isn鈥檛 really a new beer at all鈥攊t鈥檚 . The Philly Citywide Special is a shot of Jim Beam and a can of PBR. In most bars it costs between $3 and $4. While most people in Philly know the drill, outsiders don鈥檛鈥攚hich makes it perfect for the hipper-than-thou set. “It was invented in 1993 or 1994 by an employee and friend of the owner,” says Kelly “Waffles” Wolff, a bartender at the drink’s birthplace,聽. As for whether patrons buy it more for the taste or the price: “It鈥檚 a little of column A and a little of column B…maybe a bit more of column B.”