By Kashmira Konduparty
One of America’s oldest beer brands, Schlitz Beer is being discontinued after 177 years as parent company Pabst Brewing Company puts Schlitz Premium “on hiatus.” The company cited rising storage and shipping costs along with declining demand for the decision, according to a report by Fox Business.
Schlitz was founded in Milwaukee in 1849 and became Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company after Joseph Schlitz took over the business. The beer became famous through the slogan: “The beer that made Milwaukee famous.” At its peak, Schlitz was once the largest brewery in the United States before being overtaken by Anheuser-Busch in the late 1950s.
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Schlitz reportedly began losing popularity in the 1970s after cost-cutting recipe changes altered the beer’s flavor and quality. Beer historians often cite those changes as one of the most damaging mistakes in American brewing history. The company was later sold to Stroh Brewing in 1982 before Pabst acquired the brand in 1999.
Pabst said increasing transportation and storage expenses made production difficult to sustain. Wisconsin Brewing Company said sales volumes had fallen below the minimum production levels required for largescale brewing operations. Industry analysts say many legacy beer brands are struggling as consumer drinking habits continue to change.
Wisconsin Brewing Company plans to brew the final batch of Schlitz later this month in Verona, Wisconsin. Brewmaster Kirby Nelson said the final version would use a classic 1948-era recipe as a tribute to the brand’s “glory days.” Milwaukee area bars and breweries are reportedly planning farewell events tied to the final production run.
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Schlitz played a major role in Milwaukee’s brewing identity and American beer culture for generations. The company gained national prominence after supplying beer to Chicago following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Many customers associate the brand with Midwestern working-class culture and post-war American beer history.
The end of Schlitz reflects broader challenges the traditional beer brands are facing as younger consumers increasingly shift toward spirits, seltzers and nonalcoholic beverages. Even as production ends, Schlitz remains one of the most recognizable names in the American brewing history and a symbol of Milwaukee’s beer legacy.