Interesting. Kirby's a great brewer, but I'm not sure I want to drink more Schlitz -- even a 40s recipe. Also revealing is a confirmation that Pabst is discontinuing Schlitz. Hadn't heard that. https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/wisconsin-brewing-company-schlitz @jesskidden @grantcty
In my malt liquor days in the 80s, I drank Mickey's Bigmouth. When my friends and I wanted to go high class, we would get Schlitz Malt Liquor.
On hot summer days back in the 70's, we'd have Schlitz twists; ice, Schlitz Malt Liquor, and a twist of real lemon. They were great, back when I'd drink anything and everything.
It's funny but the two beers that gave me a headache in my teenage years/early 20's, were Schlitz and Michelob. I don't know why but I just couldn't drink them.
I assume we're talking about "The Bull?" I got to say, I can't ever recall feeling high class when drinking the bull. Not even in comparison to Mickey's (which I'll happily acknowledge, was pretty dreadful).
So, sort of the end of the Uihlein for the Schlitz brand. (OK, bad pun, esp. considering the Uihlein/Schlitz period ended in the early 80s). I don't know, I think the headlines should read something like "The end of the Schlitz brand until Pabst or successor revives it again". From the above: Well, August Krug founded a brewery in Milwaukee in 1849. Krug died in 1856 and his bookkeeper, Joseph Schlitz (who immigrated to the US in 1855). took over running the brewery, later marrying Krug's widow. In local Milwaukee papers, there are references to "Schlitz's beer hall" and "Schlitz's beer wagons" in the late 1860s but the name of brewing company would not be changed to Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co until 1874. Schlitz himself drowned in a shipwreck the next year . So, there was no "Schlitz Beer" in 1849 or for a couple of decades after. Actual barrelage figure for Schlitz in the pre-Pro era aren't commonly available (unlike AB and Pabst - the other of the Big 3 nationals). in 1902, Schlitz advertising claimed their production was "over 1 million barrels" while AB's was 1,090,834 (Pabst, which had reached 1 million bbl. in the 1890s, had fallen below that figure). But through the rest of the approx. 2 decades of pre-Prohibition period, AB continued to climb while Schlitz stuck with their "over" claim. In 1907, AB had a barrelage of just about 1.6M, which Schlitz's advertising was stating it's Milwaukee brewery had a 2 million barrel capacity (much different than actual production). 1911-1915, AB was again in the 1.5M bbl. range, while Schlitz claimed a barrelage that "exceeded 1 million". Post-Repeal, Anheuser-Busch appears to have been the largest US brewer coming out of Prohibition (again, those early years' stats aren't available) - first to reach the 2M bbl mark (1938) and 3M bbl (1941). In the early 40s (including the war years w/grain rationing and shortages ), Pabst was #2 and Schlitz falling to #3. In 1946, Pabst was #1*. Schlitz's periods of being #1 were post-WWII - 1947, 1948-1949*, 1950-1952, 1955-1956. * The years 1948-1949 are curiously in dispute. In 1948 Pabst had purchased the Los Angeles Brewing Co., with a barrelage of around 600-700k - enough to put that Milwaukee brewery above Schlitz in some years, but since LABC was not operating as a Pabst brewery or subsidiary (that would not happen until 1953), some industry sources do not add it to Pabst's total. As seen above right, in the immediate post-War late 40s period, the Top 4 US brewers were neck and neck. Schlitz final year at #1, they brewed only about 1% more beer than #2 AB. There's no indication in any of the linked articles that Pabst is dropping Schlitz Malt Liquor.
Musta been the "new classic" bottle & label design Schlitz was using for the flagship and their Malt Liquor. (Only works if your "teenage years/early 20's" were in the 1970s...but, whatever. )
I`m probably the only one here that feels really bad over this. I didn`t buy regularly , but I did pick up a 12pack of bottles or some 16OZ Tall Boys through out the year. I always enjoyed it. Especially when they changed the formula a few years back. But I guess you can just add Schlitz to a lot things that are no longer with us. Real Schwinn bikes made in Chicago Great music by the best bands Oldsmobiles Pontiacs Ash Trays Sideburns Milkmen
Of course what those early mega brewers--AB, Pabst, Schlitz--did was pretty amazing. Well before 1900 they were turning out at industrial scale a consistent fresh brewed product, shipping it in refrigerated cars all over the US, and marketing it through sophisticated ad campaigns. Some idea of the industrial plant required can be seen in the photos in this article https://www.wuwm.com/podcast/lake-e...old-schlitz-brew-house-other-abandoned-spaces Unlike the Pabst brewhouse (today a hotel) the Schlitz brewhouse, a glory of 19th century brewery architecture, was torn down in 2013. A great loss.
"Around the Horn." So, do you suppose they hopped the hell out of those beers to travel by ship through the Great Lakes, around both coasts of both American continents, to survive fresh in San Francisco? Judging by the article, I guess not.
You don't think they'd have shipped by rail to somewhere along the Mississippi down to NOLA, then by ship "around the horn"? Of course, why not just ship by rail to SF? Notice that it is "325 barrels of ... bottled beer "? First time I saw that in ads from the 19th century it confused me. Turns out it was common to ship bottled beer in casks/barrels. Just easier to handle - they could be rolled down gangplanks and the barrel-shape made it easy to turn to the left or right, etc. Wooden boxes of beer would be heavier, require more manpower for the same amount of bottles, harder to carry/maneuver, etc. Apparently, a lot of goods were packed in barrels.
I wondered about rail too, but maybe there was no way to keep it cold yet (didn't AB originate that?). As to the barrels, I thought maybe they transported in barrels and filled bottles at the final destination.
I used to buy Schlitz and Schaefer pretty regularly during summer yardwork months. I haven't seen either in ages. I figured Schlitz was already gone. Schlitz wasn't really that bad. It was a serviceable lawnmower beer, although I think I preferred Schaefer, but it's been ages since I had either. Most of the "Grandpa's" beers are disappearing as years go by, sadly.
