Baltimore is a city with an identity crisis. Unwilling to sell itself on humble charms like crabcakes and Camden Yards, Baltimore insists on trying to be quirky and cosmopolitan. Most cities think out-of-towners speak with funny accents. Baltimore residents insist that they speak with funny accents, and make a big deal out of Baltimore-speak, when they really sound like Philadelphians who binge-watched a season of Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo. Baltimore is the baby sibling of Washington, Philly, and New York, always trying too hard to assert itself by harping on Brooks Robinson and the War of 1812.
So when "hipster beers" like Pabst Blue Ribbon became a thing, Baltimore rediscovered Natty Bo, trumpeted it as the city's very own retro-chic cheap suds, and made sure the bilge was available at every bar from the Inner Harbor to Canton. Natty Bo is now made by Pabst and brewed at Miller-Coors joint-owned facilities in North Carolina and Georgia. So not only is it not a Baltimore product anymore, but it isn't funky or local in any way, just an afterthought blasted out by a trio of conglomerates. Natty Bo makes drinkers ironic and hip the way Hot Topic makes teenage mall-crawlers edgy and tough. All of which would be forgiven if Natty Bo did not taste like stale Budweiser.
