What is it about Pabst Blue Ribbon that has made it the choice beer on campus? Is it the slightly tinny aftertaste? The fact that Dennis Hopper claims that it is superior to Heineken in Blue Velvet? Is it simply that it is very, very cheap?

It can’t simply be that it’s cheap. You get more alcohol for your money with a forty anyway. Rather, there seems to be a certain image attached to the beer itself, on this campus and nationwide. Pabst Blue Ribbon has been around for a while.

It was established in Milwaukee in 1844. It was the first brewery to can its beer rather than bottle it, and was also the official supplier for the U.S. Army in World War II. Pabst has been traditionally linked to blue collar workers and in many ways as a sign of class. Budweiser, for example, was seen as a much ‘higher class’ beer. Pabst became hip first in the 60s and 70s among bikers, where maintaining a disdain for middle and upper class tastes was in fashion. Pabst became a badge of working-class honor.

When debating over canned beer, many would choose Pabst over Budweiser, not only because it is slightly cheaper, but also because it is ‘cooler’ or ‘better tasting’. Whether one tastes better than the other is a matter of preference and opinion, but that Pabst has surpassed Budweiser as the choice beer in terms of social preference is rather clear.

“It’s trendy now,” said Senior Alex Serkin. “It makes [well off] kids feel like they’re poor, and that’s really in vogue, it’s always been cool for Oberlin students to act like they’re poor.”

According to the Washington Post, Pabst Blue Ribbon’s sales went up 12 percent last quarter. It was mentioned in the Hipster Handbook and the New York Times Magazine. It is now being sold for 3 dollars a can at bars in Brooklyn, the lower East Side, and Chelsea. It is also doing incredibly well in Philadelphia, Portland and Seattle. Gibson’s frequently sells out of Pabst, and it is one of only two canned beers you can buy at the Feve.

Pabst’s newfound success is not based on any kind of advertisement, but instead the lack thereof. The question is, now that it has become mainstream, will its popularity among them continue or will it be replaced, by the next hip thing?