BBC World2 hours agoCrime2 min read

Pabst Brewing Company Offers Reward for Stolen Blue Ribbon Beer Shipment

Quick Look

Pabst Brewing Company is seeking public help via social media to recover 40,000 pounds of stolen Blue Ribbon beer taken from a California distribution center using false documentation, marking the second theft at the same facility on the same day, with the company offering a reward and setting an 18-day, 44-minute deadline for return.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Pabst Blue Ribbon beer is brewed under contract by Anheuser-Busch for Pabst Brewing Company. The theft occurred at an Anheuser-Busch distribution center in Montclair, California, where false documentation was used to fraudulently obtain shipments.

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Pabst Brewing Company has turned to social media for help locating thousands of cans of its Blue Ribbon beer taken from a distribution centre in California.

"STOLEN," the company announced. "To the thief: we don't fault you for wanting to brag to your friends how much PBR you have, we just wish you obtained it the honourable way."

The alleged thief presented false documentation at an Anheuser-Busch distribution centre in Montclair, police said, and made off with a shipment worth $25,000 (£18,500) that had been destined for San Diego.

Pabst says it is being "deadly serious" about the "ridiculous" incident and is offering a reward for help finding the 40,000lbs (18,144kg) of beer.

It was the second theft on the same day from the same distribution centre, Montclair Police said in a statement. Police are investigating whether "they were committed as part of the same fraudulent cargo-theft operation".

In the first incident, a shipment worth $45,000 (£33,000) headed for Tucson, Arizona, was picked up on 17 August but had not arrived at its destination two weeks on.

An hour later, police say thieves used fraudulent documents to pick up the Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

"Investigators identified similarities between the two incidents," police said. "Information provided regarding the trucking company, driver and vehicles involved contained discrepancies and is currently being investigated."

Although they are separate companies, Anheuser-Busch has a contract to brew Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. It is unclear if the Arizona-bound shipment also contained PBR beer.

"What we discovered was it was just a bad actor essentially who came in and pretended to be the person who was supposed to pick up the beer," a spokesperson told CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

"It wasn't the person who was supposed to pick up the beer and then they drove off with it."

The company sought to underscore the seriousness of the crime in its social media post.

"We realise how ridiculous that sounds, but it's the truth," it said. "This is real and we are deadly serious."

Pabst also had a message for the thief: "Pabst is officially starting the clock now - you have exactly 18 days and 44 minutes to return our truckload of beer, no questions asked." The number is a nod to the company's year of founding: 1844.

The company is also offering an unspecified reward for the return of the shipment.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

The stolen beer will be recovered within the 18-day, 44-minute deadline set by Pabst.
Possible · Within days
Montclair Police will link both thefts to the same fraudulent cargo-theft operation.
Likely · Within weeks

Open Questions

Who is responsible for the theft?
Was the Arizona-bound shipment also Pabst Blue Ribbon beer?
Have any suspects been identified?
Is the stolen beer recoverable?