Posted by Pabst Offers Reward for Info in Big Beer Heist
The search is on in a real-life whodunnit mystery for the whereabouts of more than 1,600 cases of missing Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, that may add up to the biggest beer heist in recent history.
Approximately 40,000 pounds of the malt beverage disappeared from an Anheuser-Busch distribution center in Montclair, California on August 17th – a bucketload of beer valued at approximately $70,000.
Pabst Blue Ribbon has given the perpetrator of the heist until September 9th to return the hijacked brew, “no questions asked.” After that time, a reward of $20,000 is offered to anyone who shares new information leading to the location and recovery of the missing ale.
The company initially kept communications light about the incident on social media, with CEO Greig DeBow issuing statements like “he’s sure whoever stole the 40,000 pounds of beer looks cool with a garage full of PBR,” and “We don’t fault you for wanting to brag to your friends how much PBR you have, we just wish you obtained it the honorable way.”
“Our tone on social media is fun,” said Pabst’s senior director of Integrated Marketing Operations, Paul Meyers. “And it’s what our customers expect. It’s sort of at the heart of our efforts to bring awareness to this situation.”
Their posts sparked a response from KitKat USA, who was faced with a similar situation when more than 400,000 KitKat candy bars were stolen from one of their production sites in Italy last March. KitKat said they “know a thing or two about these things.”
In fact, the rhetoric was initially so bubbly that some readers on social media were led to wonder whether the heist was actually real. Which prompted Pabst Blue Ribbon to underscore their desire for the public to share information on this very real crime.
“Enough is enough,” said DeBow. At the end of the message Pabst added, “p.s. this is real and we are deadly serious.”
Pabst is ready to get their missing brew back. But the trail seems to have grown cold. Police believe two thefts took place on Aug. 17, one at 10 a.m. and the other an hour later. The first escapade involved $45,000 worth of product picked up at the distribution center that never made it to its destination in Tucson, Arizona.
The second incident included $25,000 worth of Anheuser-Busch and PBR beer retrieved by a fake subcontracting company who submitted false paperwork, according to Montclair Police. Investigators believe they’ve identified similarities between the two incidents and are pursuing whether they were tied to a fraudulent cargo-theft operation.
Either way, it’s a lot of lager to have gone missing out there. PBR encourages anyone who has information to email hotline@pabst.com. In the meantime, the company hopes their social media campaign will help solve one of the biggest beer crimes ever. Social media being used for good? There’s something we can all raise a stein to.
Read more about this story:
https://abc7.com/story/pabst-blue-ribbon-offers-20k-reward-information-40000-pound-beer-heist-montclair/19783210/?utm_campaign=mb&utm_source=morning_brew&utm_medium=newsletter