Pabst Bought by Russian Brewer

A beer of choice among the hipster set now has a Russian owner. Pabst Brewing, makers of Pabst Blue Ribbon and other brands, has been bought by Oasis Beverages, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The word "iconic" is getting used a lot in coverage given that Pabst can trace its origins back to 1844. The company will continue to be headquartered out of Los Angeles, but its new CEO is Eugene Kashper, who runs Oasis, Russia's biggest brewer. In a statement, he called PBR "the quintessential American brand." Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal put the price at more than $700 million, making a nice return for food and beverages magnate Dean Metropoulos, who picked up Pabst for $250 million in 2010. (More Pabst Blue Ribbon stories.)