The cult of Pabst Blue Ribbon

Bend artist Panambi Elliott has spent the last three Julys drinking more than her fill of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

When she’s had enough, she asks her friends to help. When they’ve had enough, she visits local restaurants and bars, asking for their PBR empties.

But Elliott isn’t recycling the cans for money.

She’s turning them into outrageous fashion pieces.

“It’s just so much fun to express yourself in this kind of art form,” said Elliott. “That’s what’s great about the competition. It doesn’t matter what media you’re working with. It’s creating whatever you think of as art and putting it out there.”

Tonight is the third annual Central Oregon PBR art contest. a competition that challenges local artists to create one-of-a-kind pieces using recycled cans of PBR. This year’s event is being held at JC’s Bar and Grill in downtown Bend (see “If you go”). The grand prize is a package of PBR swag and VIP passes to the John Butler Trio concert Aug. 8 at the Athletic Club of Bend. All judging in the competition is done by the public.

In the past, the contest has produced everything from elaborate dresses to oil paintings to a PBR fountain.

Elliott, who specializes in making recycled fashion, won the competition in 2012 and came in second last year. She said she usually spends about two months creating her pieces, going through several cases of PBR.

“I like the whole idea of PBR,” she said. “Not so much drinking it, but I get my friends to help.”

And while Elliott may not be the biggest PBR fan, the brand has an established cult following in Central Oregon, as it does elsewhere in the country. It may seem blasphemous in this craft-beer mecca, but there are plenty of local folks who bypass local microbrews in favor of PBR’s iconic red, white and blue cans.

Cheaper than some local brews by at least 50 percent, PBR is also often loved, particularly by young hipsters, for its low alcohol content and easy drinkability.

“It does very well in Central Oregon,” said Trever Joers of Columbia Distributing, which distributes PBR in the region. “I think that with craft beer, even though it’s really good beer, you can’t always drink it throughout the day. If you drink Boneyard all afternoon, you’d just get hammered. PBR just kind of lets you maintain.”

Joers, who organizes the annual art contest and designs the PBR-inspired storefront for Bond Street Market downtown, said Bend in particular has a strong PBR cult following that’s unhindered by the plethora of craft breweries. One reason may be that, in places like Parrilla Grill and Longboard Louie’s, you can get a PBR tallboy for less than a soda.

Rian Steen, the owner of Bond Street Market, said the changing PBR displays the market has had in its storefront window for the past three years has attracted plenty of attention.

“People constantly stop by and take pictures in front of the display,” Steen said. “When people drive by, they’re expecting to see some Boneyard or GoodLife or Deschutes display. But instead, it’s all PBR. We go low-class.”

Thanks in part to the display, PBR outsells every other beer at the Bond Street Market by a long shot, Steen said.

Even some local brewers, as evolved and worldly in their beer tastes as anyone, opt for a PBR every now and then.

“For me as a craft brewer, it actually grounds the palate,” said Jimmy Seifrit, brewmaster at 10 Barrel Brewing. “We drink so many hoppy beers through the whole week, it’s easy for the palate to get fatigued and out of whack. So it’s a good way to get back to base.”

Seifrit said brewers at 10 Barrel will often observe something they call “Domestic Fridays,” where they drink big-name macrobrewery beers like Busch Light or PBR solely for the beers’ easygoing nature and dependability.

He said though PBR is somewhat flavorless, the fact that every batch tastes exactly the same is a key characteristic of the beer.

“It’s technically perfect every time, no matter if you drink it in Bend or Florida,” Seifrit said. “The average customer doesn’t always appreciate that skill.”

Joers said the allure of PBR is grounded in nostalgia and the brand’s trendy image.

“It’s red, white and blue American culture,” he said. “People thrive towards it. It’s edgy and cool.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0354, mkehoe@bendbulletin.com