We Can All Die Happy

Many of us know that when it comes to beers, nothing is more refreshing, nor more classy, than an ice cold Pabst Blue Ribbon tall-boy. Some of us might even love it so much that we want to drink it forever and ever. And if we really, really love those PBR pounders--like I know we do--we'll want to keep chugging them even after we're dead.

One such Chicago man took his love of the exceptional brew to unprecedented heights, ensuring that he can still enjoy a frosty PBR from the grave:


SOUTH CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. — Bill Bramanti will love Pabst Blue Ribbon eternally, and he's got the custom-made beer-can casket to prove it. "I actually fit, because I got in here," said Bramanti of South Chicago Heights.

The 67-year-old Glenwood village administrator doesn't plan on needing it anytime soon, though.

He threw a party Saturday for friends and filled his silver coffin — designed in Pabst's colors of red, white and blue — with ice and his favorite brew.

"Why put such a great novelty piece up on a shelf in storage when you could use it only the way Bill Bramanti would use it?" said Bramanti's daughter, Cathy Bramanti, 42.

Bramanti ordered the casket from Panozzo Bros. Funeral Home in Chicago Heights, and Scott Sign Co. of Chicago Heights designed the beer can.







All I can say is, when I die, I hope I meet Bill at the bar in heaven so I can buy him a round.


PBR Fun Facts:
-Pabst was the first brewery to put beer in cans back in 1935.
-Pabst was originally called "Select," but people started asking for that "Blue Ribbon" beer in 1882 when the Pabst Brewing Company started tying silk ribbons to the bottles.
-The words "Blue Ribbon" were officially added to the bottle in 1895.
-The first cans had a picture of a can opener on the side with instructions on how to open the can of beer.