Pabst Blue Ribbon, or simply PBR, is enjoying an unlikely comeback across the country. After a steady decline since the 1970s, sales rose about 5 percent in 2002 and 15 percent in 2003.

Russian jokes aside, some Pabst fans might like this deal simply because it keeps the 170-year-old company out of the hands of beer brewing giants Anheuser-Busch InBev (who own Goose Island) and ...