[2] When Philip Best retired to Germany in 1867, Pabst and Emil Schandein – his sister-in-law's husband and the vice-president of Best Brewery – worked to transform the company into one of the nation's largest brewers, capitalizing on, among other things, the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 that destroyed nineteen Chicago breweries and helped position Milwaukee as the leading beer-producing city in the United States.

One account says that the only prizes awarded by the executive committee were bronze medals, in recognition of "some independent and essential excellence in the article displayed", rather than "merely to indicate the relative merits of competing exhibits".

[14] In 2011, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission forced two advertising executives to cease efforts to raise $300 million to buy the Pabst Brewing Company.

[15] In November 2014, Eugene Kashper, an American beer entrepreneur, and TSG Consumer Partners acquired Pabst Brewing Company.

[19] Pabst Blue Ribbon is now available in several international markets, including Australia (where it is brewed locally),[20] Canada,[21] Ukraine, Russia,[22] Dominican Republic,[23] Brazil[24] and China.

The beer experienced a sales revival in the early 2000s after a two-decade-long slump, largely due to its increasing popularity among urban hipsters.

In 1973, American country music artist Johnny Russell recorded, "Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer," a song written by Bob McDill and Wayland Holyfield.

In the 1980 Martin Scorsese film Raging Bull, during a fight, Pabst Blue Ribbon has an advertisement that says "And the next time that friendly bartender says, "What'll you have?"

In the Route of All Evil episode of Futurama, a parody called Pabst Blue Robot is mentioned by Bender as his favorite beer.

[44] In Marvel Comics "Savage Avengers", there are a number of in jokes attributed to Wolverine, who describes himself to Conan the Barbarian as "Logan ... of Pabst".

Trying to awaken and inspire his friend, Conan picks up Wolverine and shakes him, yelling for the mutant super hero to wake up, "..for Pabst!

In the lyrics of the Lana Del Rey song "This Is What Makes Us Girls" from her first studio album Born to Die, PBR is mentioned on the first strophe of the song: "Drinkin' in the small town firelight (Pabst Blue Ribbon on ice)" In May 2016, WWE released a John Cena T-shirt that bears resemblance to and inspired by the Pabst Blue Ribbon can design.

The Pabst Brewing Company threatened to sue Cena and the WWE for trademark infringement which drew criticism by wrestling fans and fellow personnel as a publicity stunt.

[47][48] Pennsylvania-based Horrorpunk/Metal band Seglock's 2024 EP "Not For Human Consumption" features a stylized version of the Pabst Blue Ribbon logo as its album cover.