Pabst Blue Ribbon
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Classic American adjunct lager at 4.7% ABV. Nutrition databases list about 144 calories and 12g of carbohydrate per 12oz.
- Ingredients / botanicals
- water, barley malt, cereal adjunct, hops, lager yeast
In its favor
- ✓Cold lager fermentation keeps biogenic amines low
- ✓Light hopping means a small polyphenol load
What to watch
- !Contains gluten from barley malt
- !Calories and carbs are well above the light lagers
- !Low price encourages volume drinking
Factor by factor
Congeners Low ▾
Byproducts of fermentation (methanol, acetaldehyde, fusel alcohols). Strongly linked to hangover severity; darker, less-distilled spirits carry more.
Histamines Low ▾
Produced by bacteria during fermentation/aging. Trigger flushing, headaches, congestion in sensitive drinkers. High in red wine, beer, aged spirits.
Polyphenols Very Low ▾
Plant compounds with antioxidant activity. Slightly protective at low doses but at high concentrations may worsen hangover via tannin/quercetin reactions.
Sulfites Low ▾
Preservatives (SO₂) added to wine and some beers. Common trigger of headaches, asthma, and allergic-type reactions.
Tannins Very Low ▾
Astringent polyphenols from skins, seeds, barrels. Bind proteins, slow alcohol clearance, and aggravate dehydration-style symptoms.
Sugar Low ▾
Residual sugar amplifies hangover via blood-sugar swings and dehydration. Liqueurs and cocktails are the main offenders.
Additives Low ▾
Colorants, flavorings, glycerin, propylene glycol, sorbates. Cheap spirits and ready-to-drinks often hide these in trade-secret formulas.
Pabst Blue Ribbon is a full-strength American lager, not a light beer: 4.7% alcohol and about 144 calories and 12g of carbohydrate per 12oz in nutrition databases. The site’s formula (ethanol plus 12g) gives about 140.
That is roughly 45 calories more than Miller Lite per can. These figures come from third-party databases rather than a brewer page, and no sugar number is published, so there is no nutrition table here.
Pabst Blue Ribbon questions
Is Pabst Blue Ribbon gluten-free? ▾
No. Pabst Blue Ribbon is brewed from barley and never distilled, so the gluten stays in the glass. It is not safe for coeliacs; look for a beer brewed from sorghum, rice or millet instead.
Does Pabst Blue Ribbon give you a bad hangover? ▾
Pabst Blue Ribbon scores 4/10 on the SpiritFacts Hangover Index, against 6/10 for beer overall. It is low on every hangover factor we track, so most of the morning after comes down to how much ethanol you drink.