We Tried Campbell's Chunky X PBR Collaboration And The Beer Cheese Soup Is Blue Ribbon-Worthy

Some people love beer, and some people love soup, and the intersection of that Venn diagram that perhaps nourishes fans of both camps is a soup swimming in barley malt and hops. The Germans have been enjoying bowls of biersuppe since the 16th century, and Wisconsinites helped to popularize the soup on our shores by adding cheese to the mix. While its origins aren't as clear, adding beer to chili has continued to add a robust and nuanced flavor to the pot. While these beer-bellied dishes aren't exactly household names or perhaps favorites, the fine folks at Campbell's Chunky soup are looking to change that notion this fall by pouring in a helping of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer from one can to another. The results are two Campbell's Chunky x Pabst Blue Ribbon collaborative products — Beef, Bacon & Beer Chili with Beans, and Beer Cheese with Potatoes & Chorizo Soup — and they'll only be available to purchase at Walmart.

In a joint statement, Ryan Pawling, Senior Brand Manager, Campbell's Chunky noted, "Our fans love bold, unexpected taste experiences, and pairing Chunky's hearty recipes with the iconic, malty flavor of PBR brings something totally unique to the soup aisle." Rachel Keeton, Senior Brand Director, Pabst added that the collaboration "celebrates flavor, fun, and the spirit of both brands, and we're excited to stir things up."

Before you dash off to Walmart to stock up, lets examine if these canned goods are actually any good, or is there something perhaps rotten beyond Denmark? The Takeout took out a spoon to slurp it up, see where the truth lies, and reveal all in this chew & review.

Recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

A Milwaukee, Wisconsin brewery was established in 1844, and after its suds won many awards by the 1880s, it went by its more commonly-known name, which incorporated the owner's surname — Pabst Blue Ribbon, aka PBR. The brand had a huge resurgence in the 21st century as the adopted drink of choice of hipsters, and has remained an American classic beer to this day. The Campbell Soup Company dates back to 1869, and in 1967 it introduced Stout Hearted Soups. This hearty line included Hot Dog Bean flavor – a discontinued Campbell's soup we wish would return. In 1970, Campbell's introduced a like-minded line of soups that went by the name Chunky, which warned its girthy contents may require a fork to eat. This line is still on shelves today.

For a long time, a Campbell's beer-based soup only existed for those who added the suds themselves, like revelers at the original Woodstock in 1969 who didn't have any water on hand. Campbell's did eventually get in the game, and by 2015 had one flavor called Beer-n-Cheese with Beef & Bacon Soup. The results were mixed, with Jeff Edlestein reviewing in The Trentonian that it tasted as it smelled — like "dog food."

For decades, Campbell's Chunky Soup and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer co-existed, but mainly in separate aisles at the grocery store, where back in the early '70s a six-pack of bottles could be had as little as 96 cents, and the soup set a buyer back only 51 cents. Pabst has branched out in recent years, launching a PBR whiskey, and even PBR hard coffee. In 2025, it's pouring some of its frothy golden brew into Campbell's roux to create perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime eating opportunity with two products: Campbell's Chunky x Pabst Blue Ribbon Beef, Bacon and Beer Chili with Beans, and Campbell's Chunky x Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Cheese with Potatoes and Chorizo Soup.

Campbell's Chunky and Pabst Blue Ribbon soup and chili collaboration will land exclusively at Walmart starting on September 1, although cans have already been spotted on shelves in advance of its official release date. They are limited time offerings, sold by the single can, and will remain available for an unspecified amount of time on shelves, while supplies last.

The soup and chili can be purchased directly at any participating Walmart location, in the same aisles or thereabouts that other Campbell's Chunky flavors call home. For those who cannot make it into a Walmart, advanced ordering for pick-up, delivery in certain areas, or nationwide shipping will be available. Check with Walmart's website or app for availability near you. It may also be possible to order the soups through third party delivery sites and apps. Price may vary per location, but on the Walmart app, the Campbell's Chunky x Pabst Blue Ribbon Beef, Bacon and Beer Chili with Beans that comes in a 16.5-ounce can, sells for $2.62, and the Campbell's Chunky x Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Cheese with Potatoes and Chorizo Soup that resides in a 18.8-ounce can, sells for $2.48.

For those who happen to be in New York City on Thursday, August 21, you can get a sneak peek taste at the new chili and soup at Ray's Bar, where there will naturally be cans of PBR at the ready. Starting September 3, for a whole month, the two brands will crisscross the country handing out samples in a food truck.

Campbell's Chunky x Pabst Blue Ribbon Beef, Bacon and Beer Chili with Beans is made up of such elements as beef stock, kidney beans, tomato puree, seasoned cooked beef and pork crumble, cured bacon, and green peppers. It also contains less than 2% of brown sugar, dried onions, salt, distilled vinegar, beer, spices, paprika, mustard flour, dried garlic, and flavoring. It contains the allergen soy. The serving size for this chili is the entire can, and that nets an eater 530 calories, 19 grams of total fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, ½ gram of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,430 grams of sodium, 61 grams of total carbohydrates, 13 grams of dietary fiber, 13 grams of total sugars, 6 grams of added sugars, and 28 grams of protein. It also contains 130 milligrams of calcium, just over 6 milligrams of iron, and 1,330 milligrams of potassium.

The Campbell's Chunky x Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Cheese with Potatoes and Chorizo Soup is made up of such ingredients as water, potatoes, a pork chorizo sausage consisting of poblano peppers, spices, paprika, salt, water, sugar, dried vinegar, and dried garlic, plus celery. There's also less than 2% of dried onions, cheddar cheese paste salt, cheddar cheese, actual beer mustard flour, flavoring, carrots, dried pork stock, sugar, lard, potato flour, spice, onions, vinegar, soy lecithin, and dried carrots. It contains the allergens wheat, milk, and soy. The serving size is one cup, and there are two per can. Those two cups net 26 grams of total fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,720 milligrams sodium, 47 grams of total carbohydrates, 5 grams of dietary fiber, 4 grams of trial sugars, 1 gram of added sugars, and 12 grams of protein. It also contains 100 milligrams of calcium, 2.6 milligrams of iron, and 740 milligrams of potassium.

Pulling back the can's lid, Campbell's Chunky x Pabst Blue Ribbon Beef, Bacon & Beer Chili with Beans looked like a pretty standard chili, a sea of brownish-burgundy hosting a sea of ingredients, with the smooth oval beans sticking out the most. A quick whiff revealed an unspiced chili, with the peppers and beans emitting most of the leading smells. What it didn't smell like whatsoever was beer. Go figure.

After briefly hearing it up on the stovetop, and seeing the chili bubble up, I proceeded to dig right in. I was immediately struck at how bland the chili was. I mean, it tasted like you'd expect any chili to taste, but it lacked any sense of seasoning or spice, which I quickly surmised would have helped to forge something more memorable. What was also missing from the flavor was any sense of hops or barley in the mix, but perhaps it was for the best. Beer should only be there to enhance the flavor, not dominate it.

The beef was very minced and barely registered beyond a bumpy texture. While I saw small cuts of bacon in the chili with my eyes, my mouth was unable to detect the taste of it. Perhaps the beer nullified it, or perhaps the bacon had no flavor to begin with. I grabbed my bottle of Frank's RedHot sauce from the fridge, sprinkled a handful of drops into my cup, stirred, and dug in for another road of taste. This dash of heat confirmed what was missing — the oomph the chili desperately needed. It took an okay chili and turned it into a good one.

While the chili turned out to be a rather blasé affair, I had a better feeling about the Campbell's Chunky x Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Cheese with Potatoes & Chorizo Soup from the get go. The contents looked like sunburnt nacho cheese, which oddly was a welcoming sight. It had a richly unique smell, almost like a cheesy Chef Boyardee ravioli, with an added sweet essence, like there was a dash of cinnamon swimming about. Again, no aroma of beer ever penetrated my nostrils. While this is technically a soup, it didn't really have that sort of standard liquid fluidity to it. As I poured it into the pot, it was like an oozy goo that cozily slid itself right in, with the cubed potatoes adding a bit of plop to thicken the plot.

The first spoonful of this beer cheese soup turned out to be love at first sip. I could tell there was a lot going on in this soup, as each subsequent sip highlighted different aspects of its winning attributes. The thicker consistency of the beer cheese soup created a sense of warmness, and a taste that was very full and filling. The chorizo was present, mainly for the spiciness it was pitching, and less so as a meat to gobble up. It added a nice touch of heat that helped form this soup's signature flavor. To me, chewy potatoes in a soup are usually wasted space, but here they added a nice switch up in textures, to take a brief break from the gloopy cheesiness that primarily dominates this soup. Nothing additional needed to be added to this soup. It was perfect as is.

The thought of a collaboration between Campbell's Chunky x Pabst Blue Ribbon had my head swimming with ideas of a chili and soup punctuated by the crispness of an American lager. That didn't turn out to be the case here, but again, perhaps we don't want things to actually taste like beer, besides beer itself.

The results in this collaboration were scored as one hit and one mild miss. The miss was the chili, which was totally edible, but was also totally not in line to win any colored ribbon. It needed an extra pep in its step, and it shouldn't really be the responsibility of the eater to provide that missing link. The standout star was easily the Campbell's Chunky x Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer Cheese with Potatoes & Chorizo Soup. Maybe most beer cheese soups are like this, and this is all just new and exciting to me, but it indeed delivered a novel spoonful, and I am still excited to share the details of its wonders, and even try it again.

Before I called it quits, I decided to pour a bit of both into one shared cup, to essentially create Campbell's Chunky x Pabst Blue Ribbon Beef, Bacon, Beer Chili with Beans, Beer Cheese with Potatoes, Chorizo Soup. The spice of the soup here helped to prick up the ho-hum nature of chili. In turn, the lean beefiness and bountiful amount of beans added nice additional layers to the already complex nature of the beer cheese soup. Long story short — I never really warmed up to the chili, but here to salute the beer cheese soup with three hearty cheers.