Memorial Day is coming. And unlike that Commie Labor Day garbage, Memorial Day is dedicated to remembering the sacrifices of our fighting men and women.
What does that mean? It means don’t get shitfaced on Sunday night so you can head down to the cemetery Monday morning. Although the morning is the time for the great American traditions of dog-walking, yard work and bacon, Memorial Day afternoon is time for a different kind of patriotism: enjoying the good fruits of America, namely amber waves of grain (in the form of cheap, delicious beer) and man’s God-given dominance over savory animals.
To help America celebrate this great holiday, the folks at The Daily Caller have tackled the forbidden question: Which red, white and blue-decked canned beer goes best with which Memorial Day food. It is a thankless job, drinking tall boys in the office, but so is the duty of the butcher, fishermen, welder, farmer, canner and cow that make this day so enjoyable. In the meantime, light the grill, lift a can to our brave men and women, and get ready for the most intellectually stimulating beer review in U.S. history: Coors Light, Bud Heavy and PBR.
PBR, Budweiser and Coors Light. Photo by Grae Stafford.
Pabst Brewing Company’s Pabst Blue Ribbon
“Heineken? Fuck that shit! PABST! BLUE! RIBBON!
-Dennis Hopper, “Blue Velvet”
“You kids still drink that crap?”
-Papa, Christmas dinner
“We were in serious trouble until it caught on with the messenger fags.”
-Anonymous PBR spokesman, London
First on the agenda today is that old American favorite Pabst Blue Ribbon. As the above quotes illustrate, it’s a beer with history. Seriously. This bad boy of industrial American lagers still advertises its blue ribbon award as “America’s Best” from 1893 — an award it won after being in business for nearly half a century. But don’t scoff! Because not only is this union beer delicious, it proudly flies our American colors.
Brewed in Milwaukee with “Nature’s choicest products,” PBR — as it is called on the street — kicks off with a thick white head over a light gold, rapidly bubbling body.
Now, most people don’t smell their PBR. After all, Pabst is for drinking. But pour it out and try a sniff — it carries a strong sour dough nose; grainy, with a lemon touch. That is, when we poured it out. Otherwise it just kind of smells like sour dough and tin.
Vintage PBR advertisement.
On the palate, PBR has a slight burn we chalk up to bitterness, carbonation and, honestly, alcohol. Unlike some mainstream American lagers, Pabst Blue Ribbon is assertive, and you can smell it. And what’s hysterical is their ABV varies from website to website, but to avoid any confounding confusings, we’re going to toe the old 4.74 percent line and hope it’s more. Either way, you can actually taste the alcohol in this beer. And that is refreshing.
Winding down with some of that sour dough and lemon we detected on the nose, this savage brew is more in the tradition of German pilsners than many of its peers.
Because of its strong and assertive taste, TheDC pairs our PBRs with spicy buffalo wings and bleu cheese. It holds its own against those strong flavors while cooling your palate after each sip. A perfect beer for a hot Memorial Day afternoon.
