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The Pabst revival started in Illinois LONG before it got trendy with Oregon folks. As much as you want to give Oregon credit, the source of the trend was in central Illinois. Three to Four years earlier.
The real story:
In 1997 a group of indie rockers from Peoria, Illinois started drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon because of the fact the brand used to have breweries in the small city. No joke, I was there when it happened. Taking the nature of the indie rock scene in the midwest within 6 months the beer was found at rock shows and in bars as the popular drink. This all happened long before folks in Oregon picked it up. Sorry, but I was there when it happened, and it was one of the weirdest things I have ever seen happen.
Make no mistake, Pabst has historic roots in the midwest, they had breweries throughout the region as well as Pabst bars. But it all started with some rock kids in Peoria, Illinois. Their friends just so happened to be tied throughout the indie community in Chicago, Champaign-Urbana, and other college towns and cities in the midwest. Then in the early part of 2000s I began to see other cities follow the lead and start drinking it.
I know all of this may be disappointing, to find out it was some kids in Peoria, Illinois, but the truth is they did start the trend of the Pabst revival with hipsters. Who thought a bunch of dorky math rock kids in a small city would start a trend. Portland starting the trend SOUNDS cooler. But it simply is far from the truth. The Pabst trend started not to far from Chicago for good reason. They still had ties with bars throughout the area.
