COLUMBUS, Ohio - Software developer Matt Dixon sips beer from a red, white and blue aluminum can in a smoky corner of Betty's Food and Spirits, a dimly lighted hangout for local artists, college students and restaurant workers. Framed prints of 1950s pinup girls hang on the walls, and ceramic dog figurines line a shelf above the bar, where bartenders pour 13 different microbrews for $3.75 a pint.

But the best-selling beer is the $1.50-a-pint Pabst Blue Ribbon, a former blue-collar favorite decades removed from its heyday. Pabst Blue Ribbon, or simply "P-B-R" if you're in a hurry to order, is mounting an unlikely comeback in cities across the country.

After a steady decline since the 1970s, sales rose about 5 percent in 2002 and 15 percent in 2003. "It's just cold and refreshing," Dixon says between gulps. "It's not a bad beer. You just have to get beyond the fact that it's what your dad drinks."