The 33 Room
A Sad PBR Tale
In 1949, the Pabst Brewing Company built a modern brewery in Peoria Heights, Illinois. The brewing site consisted of a large brewery with all supporting operations. Furthermore, there was a corporate office building and a hospitality suite. At its peak, the brewery employed over 1,000 employees and annually produced 3,500,000 barrels of PBR (that’s about a billion 12 oz. cans). Additionally, the hospitality suite, known as the 33 Room, entertained about 50,000 guests per year with complimentary PBR. Then in 1982, it all went down the drain. The entire location was shut down. Everyone lost there job. The plant caught fire shortly thereafter. Consequently, they tore down the plant. The office building remained. But, the offices were rented out and the hospitality suite was closed.
On the left photo, the green circle is the only portion of the site that still remains. The right photo is current times with the Room circled in green.
The Rise of the 33 Room
So, for 40 years (i.e. 1982 to 2022) the beloved hospitality suite remained shut down. But then, something wonderful happened. On March 3, 2022, The 33 Room was resurrected. The hospitality suite opened to the public and the PBR flowed again. The tasting bar is exactly as it was in 1949 and most of the memorabilia remains in place. Ever since I got word of the rebirth of the 33 Room, it has been an intended, high priority blog mission. Well, with the aid of Goosebuster, my security and designated driver, I finally made it the 33 Room in Peoria Heights, Illinois.
For the record, the 33 Room got its name from PBR’s 1940’s marketing slogan…“33 Fine Brews Blended into One Great Beer”.
A Kid at Christmas
To be honest, it was almost to much for me to handle. It was euphoria overload. There was PBR everywhere…in every flavor, shape and size. There was PBR on tap…PBR in cans 16oz. and 12oz…PBR in bottle…PBR Extra (higher alcohol option)…and even PBR hard coffee…
I even had a Blatz, a beloved cousin of PBR. Blatz was actually part of the Pabst Brewing Company until 1969 when Pabst was forced to sell as part of a federal anti-trust suit. And, I tried their 33 Room Old Fashioned. The 33 Room actually had an impressive list of signature cocktails as well. I was literally a kid on Christmas morning.
PBR Ambiance
Beyond extensive sampling of all the PBR products, it was just fun to sit back and bask in the PBR ambiance. The walls were loaded with old black and whites of the brewery and production operation. My favorite was all the old cans and bottles from the past as you go through the history of production.
Surprisingly, there was even live entertainment that night. She was a talented and pleasant young artist. However, I found the music to be a little distracting to my all absorbing PBR experience.
A Fine Night in Peoria Heights
I would like to brag about how we closed the place. But, it was open until 11pm. What kind of super human could stay up to that late hour. Anyway, I had my fill and quietly left this special place. Goosebuster was there to ensure we made it back to our converted garage/Airbnb that was about 2 blocks away. I will never forget my special PBR night at the 33 Room. I hope to return to the 33 Room sometime in the future. Have a wonderful PBR day. PT
I hope you have enjoyed reading “The 33 Room” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.
Here is another one of my favorite bar related memories https://travelingwithpt.com/chicken-sht-bingo/
If you want to plan your visit to the 33 Room, here you go https://www.the33room.com/
