Pabst Blue Ribbon: the breakfast of Chicago hipsters. Old Style: beer of the Chicago Cubs. Schlitz: "The beer that made Milwaukee famous."

In Los Angeles?

It would be difficult to find a more quintessentially Midwestern pack of brews than those owned by Woodridge-based Pabst Brewing Co., whose announcement Wednesday that it would move its headquarters to LA took state officials and branding experts by surprise.

"I do kind of want to grab these guys by the ears and say, 'Hey, do you not know what this (group of beers) is?' This is a Midwest portfolio of beers, and it makes no sense to plop them in, of all places, LA," said Kelly O'Keefe, professor of brand strategy at the Virginia Commonwealth University Brandcenter.

A lot has changed since food industry magnate C. Dean Metropoulos bought the company in June and granted control to his LA-based sons Daren and Evan Metropoulos. The change in power resulted in the departures of its CEO and other executives.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television last month, the Metropoulos brothers, the youngest of whom lives in Hugh Hefner's former LA mansion, touted a new turn for the company that would include a star-studded cast of movie stars and pro football players backing everything from Schlitz to Colt 45.

Branding experts say such tactics could backfire.

The flagship brand, Pabst Blue Ribbon, or PBR, has a cult following of young, hip urbanites in Chicago and elsewhere who say they enjoy the beer because it is unsexy, unpretentious and blue-collar Midwest.

"I like PBR because it doesn't taste like beer," said Brenna Ehrlich, 26, co-author of the blog "Stuff Hipsters Hate" and book by the same name. "It tastes like water. Dirty water."

Hipsters, she said, are "people who define who they are by who they aren't," and they wouldn't drink PBR if it "looked like Urban Outfitters," she said. "PBR is like the nectar of the hipster gods."

The company hasn't done a lot of advertising in recent years, O'Keefe said, because it hasn't needed to. And with such a band of cult followers, advertising could have the opposite effect as intended.

"It's a brand people like to feel they've discovered," he said. "If it's countercultural, you don't want to make it cultural."

As long as Pabst's new management doesn't attempt to become trendy or change the look of the product, he said, they should survive a move to Los Angeles, but the city wouldn't be his first choice.

"I picture movie stars and sunglasses and people in not-too-much clothing. It's sort of the opposite of blue collar," he said.

At The Boiler Room in Logan Square, general manager Andy Gould, 27, said brands like Old Style, Schlitz and PBR run in the veins of patrons in a way that can't be matched.

The cash-only bar and pizza restaurant runs a popular $7.50 special called PB&J (pizza, beer and Jameson) that comes with a tall can of PBR. Locals call it the hipster special.

Hipsters weren't the only ones disappointed by Pabst's announced departure.

Pabst's move to Woodridge from San Antonio in 2006 was backed by $1 million in state tax incentives and training funds. In exchange, the company pledged to create 31 full-time jobs within two years and make an investment of $2.4 million in its facilities.

The company started receiving the tax credits in 2008, state documents show. The agreement required the company to remain in Illinois and retain those jobs for 10 years.

Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity spokeswoman Marcelyn Love said the state could go after the company for those taxes.

"It is unfortunate that Pabst chose to make this decision without consulting with the state," she said.

A Pabst spokesman said the company's owners would not provide interviews Friday.

PBR's comeback began about 10 years ago, but as recently as 2005 the company was on the brink of bankruptcy, said former Pabst CEO Kevin Kotecki, who resigned in November.

"We created a new vision, new strategies, built a new team and started reinventing the brands," he said.

Data from Symphony IRI Group shows the company outpaced the rest of the beer category over the last three years, averaging 4.3 percent growth, compared with 0.81 percent year-over-year for all beer.

C. Dean Metropoulos bought the company for about $250 million last year.

Recent data from Symphony IRI shows growth has slowed to 3.2 percent over the last 12 months.

Pabst doesn't actually brew PBR. The beer is made in six breweries around the U.S. in facilities owned by Miller Brewing Co.

Tribune reporter Alejandra Cancino contributed to this report.

jwernau@tribune.com

Pabst brands

Schaefer Beer

Carling's Black Label Beer

Blatz Beer

Champale Malt Beverage

Colt 45 Malt Liquor

Coqui 900 Premium Malt Liquor

Kingsbury Beer

National Bohemian Beer

Old Style Beer

Schmidt Beer

Special Export Beer

Stag Beer

Old Milwaukee Beer

Schlitz Beer

Lone Star Beer

McSorley's Ale

Jacob's Best Beer

Olympia Genuine Draft Style Beer

Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer

Ballantine Beer

Country Club Malt Liquor

Falstaff Beer

Pearl Beer

Piels Light Beer

Primo Island Lager Beer

Rainier Beer

Southampton Ales and Lagers

Ice Man Malt Liquor

St. Ides High Gravity Malt Liquor

Schlitz Malt Liquor

Silver Thunder Malt Liquor

Stroh's Beer

Source: Pabst Brewing Co.