Schlitz Premium Beer Brand Placed on Hiatus by Pabst Brewing

Pabst Brewing Co. announced Friday that Schlitz Premium, a beer brand with roots in Milwaukee dating to the 1840s, will be placed on hiatus after Wisconsin Brewing Company brews the final batch later this month. The parent company said continued increases in storage and shipping costs prompted the decision.

"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.

The Schlitz brand originated when August Krug opened a tavern brewery in Milwaukee in 1849. Joseph Schlitz later took over the business after marrying Krug’s widow and expanded it into one of the nation’s largest breweries. The brand gained prominence after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 when it shipped beer to Chicago residents facing shortages of clean drinking water.

It later became known for the slogan “the beer that made Milwaukee famous” and was the country’s largest brewery until Anheuser-Busch overtook it in the late 1950s.

Schlitz began losing market share in the 1970s after cost-cutting recipe changes altered the beer’s flavor. The brand was sold to Stroh Brewing in 1982 and acquired by Pabst in 1999. Wisconsin Brewing Company plans to brew the final Schlitz batch at its Verona, Wisconsin facility on May 23, with a limited release scheduled for June 27.

Milwaukee-area bars and breweries are organizing farewell events tied to the final batches. "We decided that, Schlitz being what Schlitz was, it deserved a proper sendoff. One with dignity and respect," Kirby Nelson, brewmaster at Wisconsin Brewing Company, said.