Study Says Hipster’s PBR Obsession is Driving Up Cheap Beer Prices

Turns out, that kid sipping PBR while waxing poetic about Nietzsche and existential nihilism is to blame for driving up prices of cheap beer. According to a study by food research group Restaurant Sciences, the popularity of Pabst Blue Ribbon may be the reason low-cost beers such as Budweiser, Miller Lite and Coors Light have seen up to a 6.8 percent price spike over the past seven months. 

“I believe the single biggest driver in sub-premium beer price increases is indeed specifically PBR,” Chuck Ellis, head of Restaurant Sciences, told the NY Daily News. Researchers reason that since PBR has “become quite fashionable,” restaurants and bars feel justified charging more for it and other standard non-craft brews.

The study further states:

While all the attention has been on Craft (Ultra-Premium) beers, the price of mainstay brands in the mid-price (Premium) tier have risen more dramatically. And traditionally lower-priced beers such as Pabst Blue Ribbon have seen sizeable double-digit price increases in both restaurants and bars & nightclubs.

Still, the study found no concrete cause and effect relationship between PBR’s popularity and rising prices of premium to sub-premium beer. So, take it with a grain of hops. (Slick, I know.)

H/T Gothamist + PicThx The L Magazine, Restaurant Sciences