Pabst Blue Ribbon goes to China: magically turns into a $44 brew

When female stars in films try to get over a breakup or suddenly harness superpowers, they'll drastically change their hair. When brands go abroad, they'll change their market position.
So too does Pabst Blue Ribbon, or PBR as those hipster kids call it. Coveted by the ironic crowd for being the cheapest beer available, it has gained cult status in the states. In China however, it's marketed with the line "Heritage classic breakthrough" as seen on a banner on their site, and Danwei says that the bottle will sell for 300 RMB - that's a whopping 44 US dollars, guys.

"China's beer market has an annual sales volume of 40 million tons. So why is the price of beer always around 5 or 10 yuan?"
...
Ni Chunlin said that the release of Blue Ribbon 1844 is aimed at changing consumers' ideas about beer. "The high-end market is occupied by baijiu and wine. Chinese people can afford to drink baijiu that costs tens of thousands, and I believe that a 300-yuan beer won't be a problem either."

It's a far cry from the all-american seventies ads, where beer longing men would sing a song about horses.
Pabst Blue Ribbon - Horse races / Blue Ribbon on my mind - (1979) :30 (USA)
Update there's more info on the 1844 Pabst here: Modern Brewery Age (PDF).

“We just produced China’s first real specialty beer, an all-malt, reddish brown strong (15.7 plato) ale, dry hopped with Cascade (38 IBU) and aged in new uncharred American whiskey barrels,” Mr. Kornhauser reports. “It's being bottled in a nice looking 720-ml brown bottle with an enamel label and it is called Blue Ribbon 1844, a reference to Pabst’s founding date. It will only be sold in China, and it’s going to sell for over $20 a bottle!”