Pabst Brewing has discontinued its Pabst Blue Ribbon Hard Coffee product and is depleting existing inventory, two distributors told BD. One of the distributors said the core SKU is now unavailable to them. The distributors cited a recent email from Pabst VP of Marketing Nick Reely. When reached by BD, a Pabst spokesman said “PBR is holding off on commenting and has nothing further to add.” The spokesman did not dispute the information provided to BD by the distributor sources.

MARKET LEADER. Pabst Hard Coffee is by far the market leader at US retail with a 55.0 dollar share of the hard coffee segment within the “beer, flavored malt beverages, and cider” category. Dollar sales for the brand had declined almost -40% in 2022 as of Sept. 17, according to Nielsen data cited by Bump Williams Consulting. The total hard coffee segment within beer fell by -33%. No. 2 Guinness Nitro Cold Brew Coffee, also beer-based, had declined -15% and held almost a 27.0 share of the brewed hard coffee segment. No. 3 Rebel declined -34% and held a 17.0 share. The nascent beer-based hard coffee category generated $28 million at retail in 52 weeks ended Sept. 17. The segment’s decline comes as consumers migrate to spirit-based canned cocktails. Anheuser-Busch-owned Cutwater White Russian, made with vodka and coffee cream liqueur, is expected to reach $6 million this year after generating about $3.1 million in 2021, according to Bump Williams Consulting. Malt-based versions like Pabst contain about 5% ABV, while spirits-based hard coffees like Cutwater White Russian are closer to 14% ABV.

OPPORTUNITY. The Pabst retreat opens shelf space not only for Anheuser-Busch and Guinness, but also for non-alcoholic companies looking to expand coffee brands into alcohol in the same way they have extended sparkling water and carbonated soft drink brands into RTD alcohol products. Monster Beverage, for example, is rumored to be considering a hard coffee entry. Longtime beverage entrepreneur Larry Trachtenbroit, who launched a line of spiked coffees last year called Alc-A-Chino, said that while he was surprised by Pabst’s decision, he’s been working to fill the void and has gained traction with distributors in 11 states so far. In keeping with the shift to spirits-based canned cocktails, Alc-A-Chino blends vodka with “real coffee,” Trachtenbroit said.