BUSINESS

One of America’s oldest beer brands discontinued after 177 years in US

May 20th, 2026

One of America’s once-dominant beer brands is being discontinued after more than 175 years.

Schlitz Premium, a beer brand that traces its roots to Milwaukee in the 1840s and was once among the largest breweries in the country, is being put "on hiatus," parent company Pabst Brewing Co. confirmed Friday after Wisconsin Brewing Company announced it would brew the brand’s final batch later this month.

"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 to Milwaukee Magazine.

"Any brand or packaging configuration that is put on hiatus is still a cherished part of our history and hopefully our future. We continually look for opportunities to bring back beloved brands, and customer feedback is important in shaping those discussions."

The Schlitz brand became famous for its longtime slogan, "the beer that made Milwaukee famous," and was once the nation’s largest brewery before Anheuser-Busch overtook it in the late 1950s.

The company was originally founded in 1849 after August Krug opened a tavern brewery in Milwaukee. Joseph Schlitz later took over the business after marrying Krug’s widow and helped transform it into one of the world’s largest beer brands.

Schlitz rose to prominence after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, when the brewery shipped beer to Chicago as residents struggled to access clean drinking water.

"It's a nostalgia factor," Joseph Conforti, general manager of Milwaukee Brat House, told ABC7 Chicago. "People from out of town are surprised that they still make it."

Schlitz began losing popularity in the 1970s after cost-cutting recipe changes altered the beer’s flavor. The brand was later sold to Stroh Brewing in 1982 before Pabst acquired it in 1999.

Kirby Nelson, brewmaster at Wisconsin Brewing Company, said the company wanted to give the historic beer brand a proper farewell after learning production was ending.

"We decided that, Schlitz being what Schlitz was, it deserved a proper sendoff. One with dignity and respect," Nelson said.

Wisconsin Brewing Company said it plans to brew "the last Schlitz" at its Verona, Wisconsin, brewery on May 23, with a limited release scheduled for June 27. Milwaukee-area bars and breweries are also planning farewell events tied to the final batches.

Representatives for Schlitz and Pabst Brewing Co. did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.

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Curated By

Aris Thorne
Corporate Social Responsibility Consultant | Tech Policy Researcher | Academic Researcher Labor Rights

Aris Thorne is an independent journalism contributor and former sociologist whose work examines the intersection of technology, environment, and social justice. Through their signature curation style, Aris transforms routine news coverage into critical examinations of systemic power structures, consistently highlighting how corporate innovations, from AI breakthroughs to green technologies, often mask deeper inequities affecting marginalized communities. Their "rebuttal" format challenges readers to move beyond surface-level reporting, exposing the human costs behind corporate success stories and advocating for solutions rooted in climate justice and ethical accountability. Drawing on academic rigor and intersectional analysis, Aris maintains a deeply skeptical lens toward institutional narratives, refusing to separate technological progress from its social implications. Their work has covered everything from algorithmic bias in hiring platforms to the environmental justice dimensions of renewable energy projects, always centering the voices of those most impacted by systemic failures.

Comments (2)

Kaito Tanaka

05/22/2026 19:25

This isn’t just about nostalgia, it’s a case study in market inefficiency. Schlitz Premium’s discontinuation reflects a broader failure to adapt supply chains and branding to modern consumer demands. While the sentimental farewell tour generates buzz, it distracts from the real issue: legacy brands can’t survive on history alone. Pabst’s decision to shelve Schlitz exposes the economic reality that maintaining underperforming SKUs drains resources better allocated elsewhere. The brand’s decline since the 1970s signals long-standing misalignment with consumer preferences, masked temporarily by intermittent revival attempts. Efficient markets reward innovation, not tradition. If Schlitz were truly viable, market forces would have sustained it. Instead, this is corporate triage, cutting losses before they deepen. Letting go of dead weight allows focus on agile, data-driven brands that respond to current trends, rather than relics that drain capital. The proper sendoff is irrelevant, the financial logic isn’t.

Sarah Jenkins

05/27/2026 08:48

Another American icon bites the dust. Schlitz was never just a beer, it was a piece of Milwaukee history. I don’t care much for nostalgia when it doesn’t pay the bills, but you have to respect a brand that helped build a city's identity. The facts are clear: rising costs and shifting tastes did this in, not poor management or flashy theories. People can argue about branding or marketing all day, but at the end of the day, if it doesn’t sell and costs too much to move, it goes. That’s business. Still, giving it a proper sendoff like they’re doing shows some class. At least someone recognizes that old brands deserve dignity, even when the numbers don’t add up anymore. It’s not pretty, but it’s real.

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One of America’s oldest beer brands discontinued after 177 years in US

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