Here’s How To Get Pabst Blue Ribbon’s ‘hard Coffee’ Alcoholic Beverage With Caffeine
Pabst Blue Ribbon is brewing something new: coffee.
The Los Angeles-based brewery has just come out with a new beverage, a “Hard Coffee” alcoholic-coffee drink that became available in a few locations this past Monday. The 5 percent alcohol by volume malt beverage is made from Arabica and Robust coffee beans, “American milk,” and vanilla flavor. Sold in 11-ounce cans, the drink boats 30 milligrams of caffeine, according to the company’s site.
Established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1844, Pabst Blue Ribbon was originally called Best Select, and then Pabst Select. The current name comes from the blue ribbons tied around the bottle neck between 1882 and 1916.
“Pabst Blue Ribbon has always been a brand that pushes boundaries and celebrates those who experiment and try new things,” John Newhouse, PBR brand manager, told the Beer Street Journal. “Hard Coffee is an opportunity for us to pioneer a delicious and fun new drink, and give America something unique. We hope everyone loves it as much as we do.”
According to the company’s , this hard brew is currently available in Pennsylvania, Maine, New Jersey, Florida, and Georgia. To find more specific locations, the company suggested the product locator on their website.
In November 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration notified nearly 30 manufacturers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages that it would study the safety and legality of their products.
The companies complied and removed the stimulant.
What Is Pbr Hard Coffee
For starters, lets talk about what it is not.
- It isnt a blend of coffee and beer.
- Its not a beer with coffee flavoring.
- According to the PBR website, its not even beer.
According to PBRs own website, this isnt beer, its a flavored malt beverage.
Okay, fine, but that leads to a new question:
Is Pbr Hard Coffee Safe
How many cans of PBR Hard Coffee can you drink before it becomes dangerous? In an earlier episode on the GreenEyedGuide YouTube channel, I reviewed the consensus of several different countries regarding mixing caffeine and alcohol.
The scientific consensus of the European Food Safety Authority is that you can have up to 200 mg caffeine mixed with enough alcohol to give you a Blood Alcohol Content of 0.08.
If you exceed 200 mg caffeine or BAC 0.08, mixing caffeine and alcohol becomes no longer safe.
For reference, heres what 200 mg caffeine looks like:
The graphic above, from Caffeine Informer, shows how much caffeine you can safely mix with alcohol at 30 mg per can, the caffeine amount in PBR Hard Coffee is very low, so it makes PBR Hard Coffee much safer than something like the original Four Loko.
Also Check: Most Caffeinated Tea At Starbucks
Kahla Espresso Style Martiniabv: 45%
It shouldnt come as a surprise that one of the best-known brands for coffee-flavored booze offers one of the finest hard coffees going. This canned Espresso Martini is another option that benefits from a Guinness-style nitro widget, delivering picture-perfect foam, roasted Arabica coffee notes, and generous sweetness. Kahlúa says each 200-milliliter can should serve two, though we doubt anyone who tries it will be willing to share.
Bomani Cold Buzz Alcohol
Of all the canned hard coffees available, BOMANIs Cold Buzz does the best job of emulating the bright, fruity notes of the cold brew served in third-wave coffee shops. The palate skews surprisingly more toasty than its citrusy nose leads you to expect, while its finish and overall profile are bone dry a notable outlier in this category. At 110 calories per 12- ounce serving, this is as close as hard coffee comes to better for you beverages like hard seltzer on the nutritional front.
Recommended Reading: Verismo Pods For Sale
New Pabst Blue Ribbon Hard Coffee
According to the brand, the Pabst Blue Ribbon Hard Coffee features Arabica and Robusta coffee beans, creamy American milk and a touch of great-tasting vanilla flavor. The product clocks in a 5% alcohol by volume , giving you that caffeinated buzz you can’t get from other alcoholic beverages. Pabst spoke with Food and Wine, sharing that the fun drink will taste like a “vanilla infused premium iced coffee with a 5 percent ABV kick”. It’s almost as if Yoo-Hoo chocolate milk, a Starbucks Frappuccino, and a bottle of booze had a baby.
“Pabst Blue Ribbon has always been a brand that pushes boundaries and celebrates those who experiment and try new things,” said John Newhouse, brand manager for Pabst Brewing Company. “Hard Coffee is an opportunity for us to pioneer a delicious and fun new drink, and give America something unique.”
Pbr Hard Coffee Caffeine Content
According to CNN , theres 30 mg caffeine in a can of PBR Hard Coffee. For reference, a standard cup* of coffee contains 100 mg caffeine. But before you mentally compare this to your favorite cup of coffee, you should know the actual amount in a cup of coffee varies wildly. Caffeine content varies by brewing method, bean quality, and tons of other scientific variables. Researchers even found variation when they bought a cup of coffee from one location on multiple days.
Science nerd tangents aside, you can still use the following graph of typical caffeine amounts for comparison:
- A 12-oz can of Red Bull has 110 mg caffeine just a little more than a standard cup of coffee.
- PBR Hard Coffee has 1/3 of that amount only 30 mg caffeine per can.
Looking at the caffeine content in milligrams caffeine per fluid ounce, its 3 mg/oz for PBR Hard Coffee, 13 mg/oz for a standard cup of coffee, and 9 mg/oz for a 12-oz Red Bull.
You May Like: Does The Caramel Frappe From Mcdonalds Have Caffeine
Rebel Hard Coffee Mocha Latteabv: 5%
Its hard to pick a favorite from Rebel Hard Coffees impressive lineup, which includes Hard Cold Brew and Vanilla Hard Latte, but the Mocha Hard Latte is likely the most crowd-pleasing. Like many other RTD hard coffees, this drink offers creamy richness, a strong coffee core, and the perfect level of sweetness. But it stands out from the pack with its depth and complexity: The cacao notes are pleasantly bitter, as if a wedge of dark chocolate has been freshly grated on top. The coffee character exhibits layers of bitterness, toast, and vanilla. Theres even a whiff of fresh cream on the nose. This is everything you seek from a fine latte, canned and with a splash of undetectable alcohol.
Pabst Blue Ribbon Hard Coffeeabv: 5%
PBRs hard coffee is dangerously easy to drink. With the texture of a rich milkshake, each sip serves chocolate milk and vanilla, followed by a pleasant undercurrent of coffee. The profile is a fine exhibition of balance, with the sweet and creamy notes hitting at just the right pitch, and alcohol thats so well incorporated, youll forget this coffee is spiked.
Recommended Reading: Caffeine Free Snapple
Rumchata Cold Brew Frappachataabv: 125%
The first of a few coffee-cocktail hybrids to make the list, FrappaChata stands out for not being packaged in single-serve form. As hard coffees go, its delightfully decadent. The texture recalls lightly whipped cream, while the palate serves equal doses of rum, vodka, and coffee. Though lacking the portability of its canned competitors, this hard coffee makes up for it with its versatility. Serve over ice, blend with ice, or use as a cocktail mixer the choice is yours.
Newground Hard Nitro Cafe Latteabv: 5%
Cracking open Newgrounds Cafe Latte releases a deep, inviting fizz, signaling that its nitro widget is busy creating silky, pillowy foam. The effects are best observed when poured in a glass, but the velvety texture can still be appreciated when sipped directly from the can. This malt-beverage-based spiked latte captures the very essence of creamy dairy and freshly brewed coffee, with just a hint of booze arriving on its finish.
You May Like: How Does Dunkin Donuts Make Their Iced Coffee
Pbr And Coffee Has A Surprisingly Solid Track Record So Far
Pabst Blue Ribbon is yet again launching a new release into the wild. The company behind your favorite $2 beer special has pretty consistently been putting out new releases over the last couple of years. Among those releases given a chance to survive on their own was the well-received PBR Hard Coffee, which only recently became available nationwide.
PBR is building on the success of Hard Coffee with a Hard Cold Brew, which was not coincidentally announced on National Coffee Day. The big difference between this new release and Hard Coffee is that the latter is pretty sweet and contains milk. This new release is described by PBR as “black cold brewed coffee with a kick.”
PBR says that hard Cold Brew is a non-dairy alternative, but still has a “hint of sweetness.” It also, importantly, has a 4.2% ABV and 30mg of caffeine. It’s joining a portfolio that has ballooned to include a whiskey , Stronger Seltzer, PBR Extra, a non-alcoholic PBR, and Seabird IPA, which is part of a new “craft” label called Captain Pabst.
Only a few lucky people will be able to give Hard Coffee and Hard Cold Brew a side-by-side taste test. The initial launch will make Hard Cold Brew only available in Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Maybe it chose those states because it’s pandering for votes before the election. Who knows.
for our daily Thrillist email and for our YouTube channel to get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.
Whats The Difference Between Beer And A Flavored Malt Beverage
According to Charlie Bamforth, Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Brewing Science from the University of California, Davis:
Beer is an alcoholic beverage made from malted cereal grain, flavored with hops, and brewed by slow fermentation.
A flavored malt beverage is an alcoholic beverage made from original base containing malt, but then stripped of malt character and then flavored. FMB production starts out much like a beer and then goes through treatment to remove as much beer and malt flavor and color as possible. The clear, colorless treated malt base is then sweetened, usually with high-fructose corn syrup, and then flavored.
Don’t Miss: How To Clean Mr Coffee Water Reservoir
Why Did Four Loko Get In Trouble With The Fda But This Pbr Hard Coffee Is Okay
On the FDAs information sheet on caffeinated alcoholic beverages, they clarify the reason the manufacturers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages got in trouble is they were adding caffeine to the products. According to the FDA, caffeine is an unsafe food additive because it is not approved, at any amount, to be added to alcohol. Adding a natural source of caffeine, however, is just fine.
If youre curious about FDA regulations around caffeine, this blog post does a good job of explaining the regulations for caffeine in food, drinks, and supplements Beverage Vs Supplements What Monster Energys Switch Means to the Consumer
The difference with PBR Hard Coffee is theres no added caffeine, theyre adding coffee, which is a natural source of caffeine.
Hello, loophole? Perhaps.
The amount of caffeine in PBR Hard Coffee is so low youd have to finish 7 cans before the caffeine crosses that 200 mg threshold where it starts interfering with how drunk you feel.
Where Can I Buy Pbr Hard Coffee In Pennsylvania
The closest location to southcentral Pennsylvania selling the beverage is Chester County Beverage in Parkersburg, according to Pabst Blue Ribbon. Harry’s Bar also sells the drink at its establishment. Further south in Oxford, the drink can be purchased at Oxford Beverage.
Several other establishments sell the drink the further east you go in the state. You can search for the place closest to you by
Read Also: Starbucks Salted Dark Chocolate Frappuccino Discontinued
Pabst Debuts Hard Coffee And Everyone Says It Tastes Like Yoo
According to unofficial but very real reports, including a beer distributors YouTube page, nearly 200 Untappd reviews, and a tip from a VinePair contributor, Pabst Brewing has debuted a new product: Pabst Hard Coffee.
The canned beverage has a coffee-and-cream-colored label that reads, the original Pabst Blue Ribbon Hard Iced Coffee with a dash of milk. This java brew balances a rich creamy blend with a whipped vanilla flavor.
Shore Point Distributing of Freehold, N.J., posted an ad for the brew on YouTube on Monday, July 1, 2019. The distributor was also among the first to check in Pabst Blue Ribbon Hard Coffee on beer review website Untappd, in March 2019.
Since then, more than 100 users have checked in the as-yet-unannounced brand. The 5-percent-ABV alcoholic coffee has garnered a general consensus of being a Frappuccino-like coffee chocolate milkshake, akin to childhood chocolate drink Yoo-hoo.
with a bit of booze, writes Mark J. Tastes like with a coffee aftertaste, writes Eric A. Yoooooohooooo, writes Jackie. Legit iced coffee with booze, said Adam G. And from Jeremy D., broTHATS A YOOHOO!!! .
Beer label tipster My Beer Buzz posted an image of the Pabst Hard Coffee label in April 2019.
The 7 Best Hard Coffees Tasted And Ranked
For coffee fans or anyone keeping an eye on the ready-to-drink category, theres plenty of excitement percolating in the hard coffee space. In the 52 weeks ending July 18, 2020, sales of boozy java spiked an incredible 11,000 percent.
Admittedly, theres a long way to go before hard coffee makes the same kind of waves other hard beverages have in recent years, with the category worth just under $20 million last summer. Still, theres much cause for celebration if you enjoy convenience, caffeine, and alcohol.
The growing range of hard coffees adds a new dimension to the single-serve, RTD beverage category. But not all boozy coffees are created equal. Some arrive rich, creamy, and sweet others are perfectly placed for those who drink cold brew dark, on ice, and year-round and some blur the lines between spiked coffee and canned cocktails. With alcohol levels ranging from 4.5 percent ABV to 14 percent, theres something for everyone.
Ready to find out what all the buzz is about? Here are seven of the best RTD hard coffees, tasted and ranked.
Recommended Reading: Linizio Lungo Caffeine
Cutwater White Russianabv: 14%
To all of those whove wondered what the Dudes favorite cocktail would taste like in canned form, the wait is over. Cutwaters canned White Russian is more cocktail hybrid than full-on hard coffee , but it offers a wonderful RTD option for when you want something more luscious than a canned or Mojito. Along with the cocktails signature vodka, coffee, and cream notes , this White Russian delivers a delectable kiss of milk chocolate.
What Does A Pbr Hard Coffee Taste Like
Tasters on the popular site, Untappd have tried out the unusual drink and the reviews of the Pabst hard coffee are pretty positive. Most testers have compared it to chocolate milk and one even shared, “This stuff is just silly good.” So, for your next Sunday brunch, no need to get a mimosa and a coffee, just drink some PBR hard coffee! The coffee flavor plus the taste of PBR and vanilla is just too good to pass up.
When it came out, PBR rolled out this tasty beverage to only a few states: Pennsylvania, Maine, New Jersey, Florida, and Georgia. However, you can now get it anywhere in the states. To try it for yourself, hop on over to the PBR website to check out specifically where you can find a can using their product finder. Then, try their hard tea or hard cold brew!
You May Like: Naturally Low Caffeine Coffee
The Familiar Blue Ribbon Seal Has Been Hitting A Lot Of New Products Lately
The familiar Blue Ribbon seal has been hitting a lot of new products lately. Earlier in 2019, it was revealed that PBR is working on a whiskey. Then there was news that it’s releasing a PBR with a higher alcohol content, a non-alcoholic version of your favorite $2 beer, Stronger Seltzer, and in July 2020, a Hard Tea.
The company is clearly looking for ways to attract new drinkers and revenue. In July 2019, its launched Hard Coffee into the world. No, it’s not diving into the hard seltzer market like loads of other breweries or even looking back to make a hard soda or other fad drinks on life support. Hard Coffee. And, yes, it contains caffeine, a representative has confirmed.
The announcement touted the elevated Four Loko as being “among the first of its kind in the industry.” It’s made with Arabica and Robusta coffee beans and “rich, creamy American milk.” It’s also infused with vanilla, making it sounds a bit like a boozy Frappuccino. It’s surprisingly good, and has won over a lot of fans as it’s been slowly released across the country.
“Pabst Blue Ribbon has always been a brand that pushes boundaries and celebrates those who experiment and try new things,” said John Newhouse, brand manager for PBR. “Hard Coffee is an opportunity for us to pioneer a delicious and fun new drink, and give America something unique.”
for our daily Thrillist email and for our YouTube channel to get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.