The Beer 'That Made Milwaukee Famous' is Being Discontinued

The beer that "made Milwaukee famous" is about to be discontinued after a history that has endured for 175 years.

Pabst Brewing Co. announced that production of Schlitz beer will be ceased before the end of May, per Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Schlitz started as a Milwaukee-area tavern/brewery and was parlayed into the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, founded back in 1849. Its history as indispensable to the state of Wisconsin as cheese itself, as far as I'm concerned.

Schlitz Will Be Ending Production in the Coming Days:

Per Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin Brewing Co. will brew a final, 80-barrel batch of Schlitz on Saturday, May 23rd in Verona, WI to send the beer out in style. Kirby Nelson of Wisconsin Brewing Co. will be handling the brewing responsibilities as well as a subsequent "talk" about the brand at 1pm that day. He'll even be brewing with the company's specifications from 1948 in place.

Pre-orders for the final batch of Schlitz will open on May 23rd on Wisconsin Brewing Co.'s website before being made available on June 27th. Schlitz will also be served at the Old World Wisconsin's 50th anniversary celebration in Eagle on July 4.

Schlitz Leaves Behind an Incredible History in Milwaukee:

Once the largest brewer in the United States, Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company began as a tavern/brewery in 1849. Joseph Schlitz was the company bookkeeper, who renamed the company following the death of its founder, August Krug. By the end of Prohibition, Schlitz was America's biggest beer company and amongst Milwaukee's largest employers.

In the 1970s, Schlitz effected bankrolled Milwaukee's Fourth of July lakefront fireworks as well as Old Milwaukee Days, which would become known contemporaneously as "Summerfest." Overtime, however, Schlitz struggled with market share alongside fellow Milwaukee competitors, Miller and Pabst.

When the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company shut down in 1982, the brand was sold to Stroh Brewing Co., and Schlitz was made outside of Milwaukee, the city that made it famous. After being dramatically reduced in production, and thus relegated to a "cheap, bargain beer," to speak, Schlitz was acquired by Pabst and relaunched in 2008. I can still remember my dad bringing home a 12-pack from the liquor store he ran at the time with excitement that a staple from his childhood was back, prominently featured on store shelves.