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Schlitz was once the largest US brewer in the 50s, and a 24-mil-bbl brewer at its peak in 1976, when flagship Schlitz Premium lager was still the 2d largest brand in the country behind only Bud. But we may not see Schlitz Premium again after this year as Pabst is "ending production of Schlitz," Milwaukee Magazine reported among others and co confirmed with INSIGHTS. "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's head of brand strategy told us. Tho Schlitz Malt Liquor is still being produced in relatively small quantities, we understand. Schlitz's decline remains an amazing reminder of how much can change in just a coupla generations. It started as a small Milwaukee brewery in 1858 and became known as "the beer that made Milwaukee famous," articles remind. So to give it a proper send-off, longtime brewing vet and current Wisconsin Brewing brewmaster Kirby Nelson got permission from Pabst to brew "the final batch" of Schlitz lager on Saturday, May 23. Kirby will also host a "short talk" about Schlitz at Wisconsin Brewing's taproom at 1pm that day and customers will be able to pre-order 4pk 16oz cans online or at the taproom. Final batch is expected to be ready Jun 27, and Wisconsin Brewing will host a celebration including live music and another talk from Kirby about the brew.The brand "needs to go out with dignity and respect," Kirby told Milwaukee Mag. He heard about it being discontinued from Jerry Glunz, gm of Louis Glunz Beer in Chicago, which recall was one of the largest Schlitz distribs in the country at the peak of its powers. Jerry was reportedly "in tears" as he shared the news with Kirby. Wisconsin Brewing had produced some smaller-batch Pabst products in the past, so Kirby reached out on a whim and got the ok from Pabst to give Schlitz lager one last hurrah. And with the help of "a breweriana collector friend," Kirby dug up Schlitz recipe log records "from the mid-20th century," and "built a composite recipe, primarily from 1948, when Schlitz was the best-selling beer in the world," mag wrote. Kirby wants to "emulate a golden era of Schlitz," he stated.Schlitz brand family sales dropped precipitously since the late 70s amid the rise of AB, Miller and Coors, selling to Stroh in 1981 and slipping below 2 mil bbls by 1999 when Pabst picked it up as part of Stroh's sale to Pabst and Miller. At that point, sales primarily shifted to its malt liquor brand. Sales continued to decline from there across the board, falling under 1 mil bbls by 2002 and below 100K bbls in 2025, with malt liquor the vast majority of the remaining volume, INSIGHTS estimates.So Pabst ultimately made the call to pull the plug on Schlitz Premium. At the same time, Pabst is coming off a solid quarter with volume off just slightly in Q1, as parent pub Beer Marketer's INSIGHTS reported earlier this afternoon. Net-net, it's been a long time since Schlitz held significance in the US beer mkt but it clearly still holds a special place in the hearts of certain Wisconsinites and beer industry vets.

Sayonara Schlitz Premium Lager: Pabst Pulling the Plug; Last Batch Brewed by Wisconsin Brewing May 23

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