Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Schlitz was one of the biggest beer brands in America. But in an effort to cut costs and speed production, the company changed brewing methods and ingredients. That hurt the beer’s quality and reputation. Many beer historians call it “the Schlitz mistake.” Sales collapsed, competitors like Budweiser and Miller took over, and the original company effectively died in the early 1980s.
It may have made Milwaukee famous, but after Pabst Brewing Company acquired Schlitz in 1999, the beer was contract brewed primarily by Miller breweries under a long-term agreement with MillerCoors. More recently, production shifted around as Pabst changed brewing partners: For many years, Schlitz was brewed at Miller/Molson Coors facilities and by 2026, reports said Schlitz was being brewed at an Anheuser-Busch plant in Texas under contract.
Schlitz moved between contract brewing partners because Pabst itself has not owned major brewing facilities for decades.
There will apparently be one final commemorative batch brewed in Wisconsin using the old 1948 recipe as a sendoff. But who knows how close to the original, without the original folks and equipment having hands on, that will be.
Link: Various interwebs
