Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company

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The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The beer it produced, Schlitz, was often considered the archetype of working-class beers. It has one of the best-known slogans in the American brewing industry: "The beer that made Milwaukee famous". The Schlitz container also boasts "Just the kiss of the hops." The company was founded by Joseph Schlitz, who came to America from Mainz, Germany in 1850 at the age of 20.^[1]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Leader in the Industry: 1900 - 1982 1.2 Decline in Status: 1982 - 2008 1.3 Revival: 2008 - Present 1.4 Interesting Facts 2 References 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] History

In Milwaukee, Schlitz was hired as a bookkeeper in a tavern brewery owned by August Krug. In 1856, he took over management of the brewery following the death of Krug. Two years later he married Krug's widow and changed the name of the brewery to the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co.

The company began to succeed after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, when Schlitz donated thousands of barrels of beer to that city, which had lost most of its breweries. He quickly opened a distribution point there, beginning a national expansion. Schlitz built dozens of tied houses in Chicago, most with a concrete relief of the company logo embedded in the brickwork; several of these buildings survive today, including Schuba's Tavern at the corner of Belmont and Southport.

Schlitz died May 7, 1875, when on a return visit to Germany; his ship hit a rock near Land's End, Cornwall, and sank.

[edit] Leader in the Industry: 1900 - 1982

The company flourished through much of the 1900s, starting in 1902 when the production of 1 million barrels of beer surpassed Pabst's claim as the largest brewery in the world. Schlitz would continuously be in competition as one of the top breweries in America for the next 70 years. While prohibition would force the suspension of alcoholic brewing, the company changed its name from brewing to beverage company, and adapted its slogan to "The drink that made Milwaukee Famous."

Popularity of its namesake beer, along with the introduction of the more value priced Old Milwaukee in 1955 kept the brewery on a strong financial footing. However, changes implemented in the early 1970s would lead to its eventual fall.

Faced with the problem of attempting to meet large volume demands while also cutting the cost of production, the brewing process on its flagship Schlitz beer was changed in the early 1970s. The primary formula change occurred by using a high-temperature fermentation instead of the traditional method. This product lost public appeal by creating a beer that lost much of the bite and taste of the old formula, but also spoiled sooner when not consumed soon enough after production.

Schlitz was still credited as the No. 2 brewery in America as late as 1976, but continuing problems with formula changes continued the downfall. The ultimate death blow to the company was a crippling strike in 1981 by workers at the Milwaukee plant, which led to serious financial difficulties and the brewery to be acquired by Stroh Brewery Company of Detroit, Michigan on June 10, 1982 after a lengthy legal battle.

What remains of the historic Schlitz Brewery complex has been transformed into a business park called "Schlitz Park." The buildings, including the Keg House, Bottle House and Malt House, have been turned to other uses, including office space, a school, and a restaurant. ^[2].

[edit] Decline in Status: 1982 - 2008

Following the sale to Stroh, coupled with the rise of light beers such as Miller Lite and Bud Light during the 1980s, the popularity of Schlitz declined significantly. The once strong brand was relegated to a cheap beer status that became increasingly difficult to find in bars and restaurants, especially after 2001 when it was produced only in cans. Four malt liquors (Schlitz Malt Liquor, Schlitz Red Bull, Schlitz Bull Ice and Schlitz Very Smooth Lager) are still produced.

[edit] Revival: 2008 - Present

The reformulated 1970's beer is still produced, though in relatively small quantities, by the Pabst Brewing Company who now owns the rights to Schlitz after buying out the Stroh Company during the 1990s. This beer is currently available nationally, but only in the traditional white can.

During the reformulating period of the late 1960s and early 70's, the original Schlitz formula was lost and never included in any of the subsequent sales of the company. Through research of documents, interviews with former Schlitz brewmasters and taste-testers, the 1960s formula, along with a new television advertising campaign were officially revealed in 2008. The first markets for relaunching included Chicago, Florida, Boston, Minneapolis-Saint Paul and more recently Milwaukee and New York.^[3][4] The beer has also become available in Ontario, Canada brewed by Stroh's Brewing, a subsidiary of Sleeman Breweries. On October 1, 2008 the original Schlitz was introduced into liquor stores and taverns in Madison, WI.^[5], and most recently the St. Louis, MO area in April 2009.

While most of the country is still without this reintroduced formula, an interesting phenomenon has been created, with the Schlitz name being applied to two beers at the same time with different formulas. The company insists on its website that the classic "gusto" version will eventually be introduced into remaining markets, but this will be over the next few years. The popularity of the relaunched beer has reached far beyond what some had estimated, with many markets seeing a firm revival of the brand. It remains unclear as to what will happen with the 1970s formula, but indications are that it will be totally phased out and eliminated completely as it has been in markets where the classic formula has been reintroduced.

[edit] Interesting Facts

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (June 2009)

U.S. Rep. John G. Schmitz paraphrased the famous advertising slogan in his quixotic 1972 presidential campaign by declaring, "When you're out of Schmitz, you're out of gear!"^[6]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Union Refrigerator Transit Line, a private refrigerator car line established by Schlitz in 1895.

[edit] External links

• Official website Contains history, merchandise, and an archive of classic advertising.
• Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company history by Michael R. Reilly
• History from realbeer.com
• Listing on ratebeer.com