Company offering reward for safe return of truckload of beer
Police say a thief presented false documentation at a California distribution centre before driving off with the shipment.
Pabst Brewing Company is utilizing social media in its search for thousands of cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer that were stolen from a California distribution center.
The company announced the theft of "40,000lbs (18,144kg) of beer," stating, "To the thief: we don't fault you for wanting to brag to your friends how much PBR you have, we just wish you obtained it the honorable way."
According to police, the alleged thief presented fraudulent paperwork at an Anheuser-Busch distribution center in Montclair and absconded with a $25,000 (£18,500) shipment intended for San Diego.
Pabst has declared the "ridiculous" incident to be "deadly serious" and is offering a reward for assistance in locating the beer.
Montclair Police reported that this was the second theft from the same distribution center on the same day. Authorities are investigating whether "they were committed as part of the same fraudulent cargo-theft operation."
In the initial incident, a $45,000 (£33,000) shipment bound for Tucson, Arizona, was picked up on August 17 but had not reached its destination two weeks later. Approximately an hour after that, police say thieves used fraudulent documents to collect the Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
Police noted, "Investigators identified similarities between the two incidents. Information provided regarding the trucking company, driver, and vehicles involved contained discrepancies and is currently being investigated."
While separate entities, Anheuser-Busch has a contract to brew Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. It remains unclear if the Arizona-bound shipment also contained PBR beer.
A spokesperson informed CBS News, the BBC's US partner, that "What we discovered was it was just a bad actor essentially who came in and pretended to be the person who was supposed to pick up the beer. It wasn't the person who was supposed to pick up the beer, and then they drove off with it."
In its social media communications, the company emphasized the gravity of the crime. "We realise how ridiculous that sounds, but it's the truth," the company posted. "This is real and we are deadly serious."
Pabst also issued a direct message to the thief: "Pabst is officially starting the clock now - you have exactly 18 days and 44 minutes to return our truckload of beer, no questions asked." This specific timeframe is a reference to the company's founding year, 1844.
The company is offering an unspecified reward for the return of the stolen shipment.