Punk rocker Eddie Stevens polishes off his third can of Pabst Blue Ribbon in the smoke- infested, small confines of south Scottsdale dive bar The Rogue.

The Tempe man stacks his empty red, white and blue aluminum can on top of a row of cans he has consumed and begins to construct a pyramid in the dimly lit bar, which has become a hang out for the anti-club crowd.

“By the end of the night, this (pyramid) will rock,’’ Stevens, 24, promises as he runs a hand over his small blonde mohawk. “I guarantee this is going to be a work of art.’’

With cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon — or P.B.R. as the young and hip refer to the light and sweet-tasting beer — on special for 50 cents during this weekly Monday night promotion, there is no doubt that Stevens will accomplish his goal.

But the blue-collar, 144-calorie favorite is more than a building block — it's practically a fashion accessory in some East Valley bars. And according to Pabst Brewing Company senior brand manager Neal Stewart, P.B.R. is on the rise.

“Arizona is one of our top growing states,’’ Stewart says. “The sales in Arizona have doubled from July ’03 to July ’04. Nationwide, (sales) are up above 20 percent during that same time period.’’

Considering that Pabst does little radio and print advertising, Stewart credits the upswing to word-of-mouth buzz and a “Rolling Stone” magazine cover where Kid Rock flashed a P.B.R. belt buckle a few years
ago.

“It generated a lot of awareness and helped put us back on the map,’’ he says. “It's been going on for about three years now where the brand has rebounded. For 23 straight years it was in constant decline. (Sales) were down about 10 percent every year and were declining heavily.

‘‘In 2001, we started to see the brand rebound again. We found that consumers are just looking for a brand that doesn't really have any big, glamorous marketing campaign. They like the no-frills approach. A lot of what we do is really grassroots oriented. People appreciate the no-promises approach.’’

Axis-Radius general manager Jeff O'Neil says he started a P.B.R. night at the swanky downtown Scottsdale dance club three months ago after he came across an article on the Internet.

“The article said something about the retro-chic P.B.R. craze that was hitting Chicago,” he says. “So I talked to my sales people and found out that they were selling all kinds of it and decided to do a night.’’

O'Neil says that he usually goes through about half a keg of draft P.B.R. on Saturdays when the beer is on special for $1 a glass.

“It is really funny to be pouring P.B.R. at Axis,’’ he says. “But it does well here.’’

P.B.R. also does well at Tempe rock venue Ziggy's Bar & Grill, says co- owner Jake Shelton.

“We'll go through about 30 cases on a Friday or Saturday,’’ he says.
Rogue patron and ASU student Alana Jorgeson says P.B.R. probably will be around for years to come.

“It's dirt cheap,’’ says Jorgeson, 21, of Tempe. “And it's become very trendy and very ‘in’ to drink. Why would anyone want to pay $3, $4 for a Bud Light or Coors when you can pay less than half the price of that for a P.B.R.?”

Stevens, who has now completed a large P.B.R. pyramid, much to his delight, concurs.

“It may not be the best-tasting beer but it's cold and it's really, really cheap,’’ he says. “I love that I can get drunk for less than $10. Name one other beer you can say that about!’’