Looks like the quintessential hipster beer skews down party lines. According to a new study by Public Policy Polling, Dems are more likely to think PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon, for newbies) is a "good beer" than their Republican counterparts (probably 'cuz they're used to Dom Perignon and shit).
The poll also took a look at the American voter's attitude towards hipsters. Turns out, they don't like 'em much. Only 16 percent have a favorable opinion of everyone's favorite four-eyed, scarf-wearing irony-junkies.
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The poll shows that one in five voters (21%) said they thought PBR (aka hipster swill) was a good beer. Democrats (29%) were more likely than Republicans (23%) to think so, while independents (11%) were least likely.
"It started when we were actually doing a poll on music. I started thinking about different music opinions and how people can get haughty about it, so we thought it would be a good corollary to put some hipster questions on there too," said Jim Williams of PPP.
But why ask about PBR, in all its cheap, watery glory?
"It's funny because people ask, did you tell people the definition of hipster? And no, we didn't because everyone has their own definition of hipster. But I felt like PBR was the one thing where people were like, oh yeah, that's a hipster beer. It's the one thing that united people's perception of hipster so we threw that one in there," Williams added.
As far as surprises when the results rolled in, Williams said he was a little floored at the huge age factor when it comes to the hipster genre.
"It was striking how many voters ... just 10% say they're a hipster, but from 18-29 it was 50/50. For everyone over age 29 it was 5% or less. Everyone who says they're a hipster is under 30 -- I guess that's the way it usually is."
In addition, they asked voters whether they thought hipsters made a positive cultural contribution to society or whether they were just "soullessly appropriate cultural tropes from the past for their own ironic amusement." 23% of voters said they made positive cultural contributions while 46% went with the latter.
Independents (31%) were most likely to say hipsters make a positive cultural contribution, while Republicans were least likely (15%) with Democrats in the middle (23%).
Sounds like hipsters have jumped the shark. But I, for one, will always love my PBR. Hipster beer or not.
You can check out more results from the poll here.
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