Company offering reward for safe return of truckload of beer

Pabst Brewing Firm has turned to social media for assist locating thousands of cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer taken from a distribution centre in California.

Key points

• "STOLEN", the firm unveiled – 40, 000lbs (18, 144kg) of beer.
• Although they are separate firms, Anheuser-Busch has a contract to brew Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
• An hour afterwards, police say thieves employed fraudulent documents to pick up the Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
• It was the second theft on the same day from the same distribution centre, Montclair Police remarked in an official note.
• Pabst notes it is being "deadly serious" concerning the "ridiculous" incident, and is offering a reward for support finding the beer.

"STOLEN", the firm unveiled – 40, 000lbs (18, 144kg) of beer. "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."

Notably, the alleged thief presented false documentation at an Anheuser-Busch distribution centre in Montclair, police remarked, and produced off with a shipment worth $25, 000 (£18, 500) that had been destined for San Diego.

It was the second theft on the same day from the same distribution centre, Montclair Police remarked in an official note. Police are investigating if "they were committed as part of the same fraudulent cargo-theft operation".

In the first incident, a shipment worth $45, 000 (£33, 000) headed for Tucson, Arizona, was picked up on 17 August but had not arrived at its destination two weeks on. An hour afterwards, police say thieves employed fraudulent documents to pick up the Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

"Investigators identified similarities between the two incidents, " police remarked. "Information provided regarding the trucking company, driver, and vehicles involved contained discrepancies and is currently being investigated."

Although they are separate firms, Anheuser-Busch has a contract to brew Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. It is unclear if the Arizona-bound shipment additionally contained PBR beer.

"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, " a spokesperson informed CBS News, the BBC's US partner. "It wasn't the person who was supposed to pick up the beer, and then they drove off with it."

In social media posts, the firm sought to underscore the seriousness of the crime. "We realise how ridiculous that sounds, but it's the truth, " the firm stated. "This is real and we are deadly serious."

Pabst additionally had a message for 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." The number is a nod to the company's year of founding: 1844.

Meanwhile, the firm is additionally offering an unspecified reward for the return of the shipment.

For now, company offering reward for safe return of truckload of beer remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.