Pabst Blue Ribbon Offers $20,000 Reward for Return of Stolen Beer

Pabst Blue Ribbon is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information that leads to the recovery of 1,602 cases of its beer and non-alcoholic Old Milwaukee that were stolen in Southern California.

Greig DeBow, CEO of Pabst Brewing Co., announced the reward on Wednesday, stating that the company wants the beer returned by Sept. 9. The beer went missing on Aug. 17.

Montclair, California, police reported that the theft occurred in two separate incidents at an Anheuser-Busch distribution center approximately 40 miles east of Los Angeles. In the first incident, about $45,000 worth of beer destined for Tucson, Arizona, was taken. Roughly an hour later, a "purported subcontracting company" used fake documents to pick up an additional $25,000 worth of beer.

In total, approximately 40,000 pounds of beer were stolen, which police estimated to be worth $70,000. Anyone with information regarding the theft is encouraged to contact Pabst by emailing [email protected].

This incident is part of a trend of high-profile food thefts. In late 2025, separate thefts in New England resulted in the loss of 40,000 oysters, $400,000 worth of lobster, and a quantity of crabmeat. Additionally, in March, Nestlé reported the theft of 413,793 KitKat chocolate bars that were stolen after leaving a production site in Italy.