40,000 Pounds of Beer Missing After Heist, ‘You Have Exactly 18 Days and 44 Minutes to Return Our Truckload of Beer’
The heist of the century and it doesn’t even involve jewels or artwork.
Most people, when they hear about a heist, picture jewels or artwork being stolen from a museum. Something incredibly fancy and expensive, at least. However, one recent heist saw 40,000 pounds of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer go missing.
According to People, the Montclair Police Department in California shared a release detailing not one, but two heists occurring on August 17, 2026, at the local Anheuser-Busch distribution center.
The second incident occurred around 11:00 a.m. when $25,000 worth of Anheuser-Busch/Pabst Blue Ribbon product disappeared after a purported subcontractor allegedly submitted fraudulent documentation for the pickup. The earlier — and potentially related — theft resulted in approximately $45,000 worth of product going missing when the truck left as it should have but never arrived at its destination. (According to the police, only the beer went missing; no trucks were taken.)
This could mark the largest beer heist ever to take place.
Anheuser-Busch Isn’t Taking the Theft Lying Down
The Wisconsin-based beer company began posting on social media after news of the stolen beer was reported, asking the thieves to come forward. The company even offered an award.
On August 21, 2026, the PBR Instagram account posted a photo of one of its distribution trucks with the word “Stolen” stamped over it in red and all caps. The caption read, “STOLEN – 40,000lbs of beer.”
The caption then continued, “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. Pabst is officially starting the clock now – you have exactly 18 days and 44 minutes to return our truckload of beer, no questions asked. Leading up to that time, we will be offering a reward to anyone who can help us solve this mystery.”
PBR ended the post with, “P.s. this is real and we are deadly serious.”
The company has continued to post about the missing cargo since then.
No Beer Yet but the Investigation Continues
PBR posted an Instagram update around August 25, 2026, with the caption, “Beer is getting warmer, trail is getting colder. Clock’s still ticking.” As of August 30, 2026, the heisted beer still had not been found.
Police continue to investigate the incident and believe both thefts that occurred that day could be part of a larger criminal ring.
The Montclair Police Department reportedly explained, “Investigators identified similarities between the two incidents and are investigating whether they were committed as part of the same fraudulent cargo-theft operation. Information provided regarding the trucking company, driver, and vehicles involved contained discrepancies and is currently being investigated.”
The police have also requested that anyone knowing anything about the incident contact them.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for PBR purportedly said PBR is “working with the local authorities to try and recover the stolen truck and are grateful for all their hard work.”
They continued, “We hope that whoever managed to steal our truck also knows the importance of keeping beer cold.”
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