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One of America’s once-dominant beer brands is being discontinued after more than 175 years.
Schlitz Premium, a beer brand that traces its roots to Milwaukee in the 1840s and was once among the largest breweries in the country, is being put “on hiatus,” parent company Pabst Brewing Co. confirmed Friday after Wisconsin Brewing Company announced it would brew the brand’s final batch later this month.
“Unfortunately, we have seen continued increases in our costs to store and ship certain products and have had to make the tough choice to place Schlitz Premium on hiatus,” Zac Nadile, Pabst head of brand strategy, said in a statement to Milwaukee Magazine.
“Any brand or packaging configuration that is put on hiatus is still a cherished part of our history and hopefully our future. We continually look for opportunities to bring back beloved brands, and customer feedback is important in shaping those discussions.”
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The brand was founded in 1849 as the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Getty Images)
The Schlitz brand became famous for its longtime slogan, “the beer that made Milwaukee famous,” and was once the nation’s largest brewery before Anheuser-Busch overtook it in the late 1950s.
The company was originally founded in 1849 after August Krug opened a tavern brewery in Milwaukee. Joseph Schlitz later took over the business after marrying Krug’s widow and helped transform it into one of the world’s largest beer brands.
Schlitz rose to prominence after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, when the brewery shipped beer to Chicago as residents struggled to access clean drinking water.
“It’s a nostalgia factor,” Joseph Conforti, general manager of Milwaukee Brat House, told ABC7 Chicago. “People from out of town are surprised that they still make it.”
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Cars on Woodhaven Boulevard drive past a Schlitz beer billboard in Queens, New York, on Oct. 1, 1960. (Walter Leporati/Getty Images)
Schlitz began losing popularity in the 1970s after cost-cutting recipe changes altered the beer’s flavor. The brand was later sold to Stroh Brewing in 1982 before Pabst acquired it in 1999.
Kirby Nelson, brewmaster at Wisconsin Brewing Company, said the company wanted to give the historic beer brand a proper farewell after learning production was ending.
“We decided that, Schlitz being what Schlitz was, it deserved a proper sendoff. One with dignity and respect,” Nelson said.
A can of Schlitz beer, produced by Pabst Brewing Company. (Getty Images)
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Wisconsin Brewing Company said it plans to brew “the last Schlitz” at its Verona, Wisconsin, brewery on May 23, with a limited release scheduled for June 27. Milwaukee-area bars and breweries are also planning farewell events tied to the final batches.
Representatives for Schlitz and Pabst Brewing Co. did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
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