Bear with us while explain the concept for this series of articles: we take two seemingly unrelated Milwaukee icons, then pit them against each other in 10 categories. In each category, we'll assign them points, one through 10, then add them up and name the winner.

No, it's not scientific, but yes, it's fun. How does the beautiful Pabst Theater stack up against the cheap and delicious Pabst Beer? Read on to find out ...

Affordability:

Pabst Theater, 6
The least expensive shows at the theater run just $10, and the most expensive about $70. Overall, it's a great value for quality shows, but it's not the kind of cheap date night you can plan weekly. It should be noted that The Pabst Theater also sells tall boys of Pabst Blue Ribbon for $3. And that is an amazing deal for beer at a concert venue.

Pabst Beer, 8
Pabst Blue Ribbon isn't the cheapest beer on the market, but it might be the cheapest beer you'd want to drink. At Discount Liquor on Milwaukee's South Side, a 30-pack of PBR cans costs $13.89. There are plenty of bars around town who sell bottles for less than $2, too.

Value to city:

Pabst Theater, 10
A city is only as good as its arts, and along with the Riverside and Turner Hall Ballroom (both also operated by The Pabst Theater), this is one of the best venues in town, both in terms of facilities and bookings. With a capacity of 1,345 seats, The Pabst Theater hosts about 100 events a year.

Pabst Beer, 3
Pabst once had a tremendous value to Milwaukee. It employed thousands of workers and helped define Brew City. But after years of steady decline and mismanagement, the company packed its bags in 1997 and closed all of its Milwaukee facilities. It moved to San Antonio, and in 2001, closed its remaining breweries. Production is now handled by Miller, but aficionados (and fired employees) claim it's just not the same.

Popularity:

Pabst Theater, 6
The theater doesn't sell out all the time, but it does on occasion. For smaller shows, they open up just the lower levels. At times, the crowd feels sparse; at other events, it's packed. And the theater deserves kudos for booking niche and indie concerts, in addition to their big sell outs like Lucinda Williams, Rufus Wainright and The Decemberists.

Pabst Beer, 4
It's back on the upswing, but sales of PBR dropped to fewer than a million barrels in 2001. That's about 1/10 of its peak in 1975. Now that the company has revived its marketing efforts, and things are looking up for the product. But it's nowhere as popular as it once was.

National name recognition:

Pabst Theater, 2
Music and theater aficionados know The Pabst, for sure, and many musicians take the stage and shout something to the extent of, "I've always wanted to play here!" But others say, "I never knew what a great venue this is." And believe it or not, there are tons of Milwaukeeans, particularly suburbanites, who've never set foot inside this historic room. While awareness is at an all-time high, the theater still flies slightly below the radar regionally and nationally.

Pabst Beer, 8
Three decades ago, this might've scored a perfect 10. With the "What'll ya have" commercials omnipresent, Pabst was once a major national player. And while it's always been top of mind in Milwaukee, PBR's hipster revival has brought the old beer back in to the limelight. Still, it represents a tiny percentage of beer sold in the United States, newfangled popularity or not.

Design:

Pabst Theater, 10
The Pabst was designed by architect Otto Strack in the tradition of European opera houses and the German Renaissance Revival style. Thanks to the fact that its predecessor was destroyed by fire, he made it the one of the most fire-proof theaters of its day, as well as one of the most opulent. The Pabst played an important role in the German-American culture of early 20th century Milwaukee. It was home to the German theater company for many years, but later began including performances from of other nationalities. The Pabst has undergone several renovations, the first of which was in 1928. In 1976, it was restored to its original style. In 1989, a colonnade was added to connect the theater to the Milwaukee Center. The latest renovations took place in 2000; elevators were added, the ventilation system was modernized, more bathrooms were added, and some seats were replaced. The theater also added Cudahy's Irish Pub to the lobby.

Pabst Beer, 5
It's hard to quantify a beer's design. But the logos of both PBR and Pabst Brewing Company are elegant in their simplicity, and the recipe has stood the test of time. The defunct and partially demolished Pabst Brewery was once a proud Downtown icon. Now it's a sad reminder of a business that fled town, and future plans for the facility are far from complete.

Uniqueness:

Pabst Theater, 8
It is the fourth-oldest continuously operating theater in the United States, and has presented such notables as pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff, actor Laurence Olivier, and ballerina Anna Pavlova, as well as the majority of current big-name musical acts. Strack employed many technological innovations when designing the theater, including one of the country's first fire curtains, all-electrical illumination, and a very early air conditioning system which employed fans and large amounts of ice. The theater also contained an electric organ, an innovation at that time. The theater is believed the first to employ a counterweight system for hoisting scenery, which was installed after World War I and remains in use today.

Pabst Beer, 2
It used to be a major brewery. Now, when you get right down to it, Pabst is just another cheap beer. Maybe it's better than others, but there's nothing terribly unique about this lager-style brew.

Economic value:

Pabst Theater, 3
Certainly, restaurants near the theater benefit from popular shows. For some of the bigger events, so do hotels. But since the Pabst Theater is a non-profit entity, and because the City of Milwaukee sold it to Michael Cudahy for $1 (provided he would renovate and restore it), the economic value to the area is negligible compared to the cultural value of The Pabst Theater.

Pabst Beer, 1
Since Pabst is now brewed by Miller in Milwaukee, it's not a huge stretch to say that Miller's employees and the local economy derive some value from Pabst. But it's a tiny percentage of what it used to be -- just ask the retired (and forced out) Pabst Brewery employees where their healthcare and pensions went. And don't even get us started on Pabst City ...

Convenience factor:

Pabst Theater, 4
Centrally-located but not extremely close to highway access, the biggest challenge at the Pabst Theater is parking. There are garages nearby, but free street parking takes patience and a little luck. Of course, considering it's a Downtown music venue, none of this is terribly surprising.

Pabst Beer, 7
Locally, you can find Pabst in every liquor store and gas station that sells beer. Once you get out of state, it's not as easy to find. Most bars in Milwaukee sell it by the can or bottle, and some offer it on tap. Again, outside Wisconsin, it's nearly unheard of to get PBR on draft, but thanks to its retro quality, it's not hard to find a bottle at your finer watering holes across the country.

History:

Pabst Theater, 10
Capt. Frederick Pabst had built Das Neue Deutsche Stadt-Theater (The New German City Theater) in 1890, but it was destroyed in a fire. Pabst ordered it rebuilt at once, and The Pabst Theater opened in 1895. That means the current building is in its 113th year of operation.

Pabst Beer, 10
Pabst's roots stretch back to 1844, when it was known as Best Brewery. Founded by the immigrant German brewer, Jacob Best, he began his operation in Milwaukee with a capacity of 18 barrels. In 1863, Pabst bought a share in Best and Company. Best Select became a popular and award-winning beer, which is where the "blue ribbon" moniker is derived. In 1889 the name of the brewery was changed to Pabst Brewing Company. In 1893 Pabst's beer won a hotly contested competition at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Since then, it's been officially named Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Quality of product:

Pabst Theater, 9
The theater's music doesn't appeal to everyone, but among fans of quality music, it brings in some outstanding acts. It's only limitation is size, insofar that it could never accommodate a gigantic act that would be restricted to humungous venues like the Bradley Center or the Marcus Amphitheater.

Pabst Beer, 7
You won't find a ton of people who say PBR is their favorite tasting beer in the world, but lots of people do like it. And surprisingly, the classic recipe still wins awards. In 2006, took home gold medals in "American Style Lagers" in both the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup.

Total:
Pabst Theater, 68
Pabst Beer, 55

Winner: Pabst Theater

Next up: the Marquette Interchange vs. Bayshore Town Center