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PBR Is Making Other Crappy Beers Expensive, Because Hipsters
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published May 17, 2013
Modified May 17, 2013
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published May 17, 2013
Modified May 17, 2013
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If you get slapped with a $7 bar tab for a Budweiser, feel free to blame that bearded dude sitting next to you drinking a PBR: according to a recent study, cheap beer prices have been climbing, and it's all because of those cool kids drinking Pabst.
The study, which was conducted by food research group Restaurant Sciences, found that the price of basic non-craft beers like Budweiser, Coors Light and Miller Lite have seen 3.5 percent to 6.8 percent price spikes over the past seven months. And researchers think those silver tallboys are to blame: "I believe the single biggest driver in sub-premium beer price increases is indeed specifically PBR," Chuck Ellis, the group's head, told the Daily News. "It has become quite fashionable." And though it's not entirely clear why PBR's singularly responsible for this price jump, researchers say that because it's hipper now, venues feel comfortable charging more for it and other low-cost brews. According to the study: "traditionally lower-priced beers such as Pabst Blue Ribbon have seen sizeable double-digit price increases in both restaurants and bars and nightclubs," while fancier craft beers are seeing more moderate price increases.
It's true that PBR's become the Beacon Beer of Hipness over the past few years—local hipster hunters have even been known to find the beer an effective bait. But for the most part, PBR is still cheap, with bars selling cans for as little as $2-$3,"Personally, I think it tastes like s---," Sam Rio, a bartender at Pete's Candy Shop in Williamsburg, where a can of PBR runs $3, told the Daily News. "It's been that price for as long as I've been here, which is about seven years." And even Ellis agrees: "[It's] still an outstanding value for beer drinkers."
So, if you're bummed about that Budweiser, you can go ahead and hate hipsters, or poor people, or those $14 cocktails that no longer seem like absurd alcoholic expenditures after a few drinking years in New York. Then again, in a city where you can get a Sixpoint Sweet Action for $6, why were you ordering a Bud to begin with?
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budweiser
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pbr
pete's candy shop
study
Rebecca Fishbein
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