For more on Schlitz’s infamous 1977 ad campaign, tune in to the Taplines Podcast episode: Schlitz’s Epic Self-Inflicted Downfall.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the Milwaukee-based Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company held the gold crown as America’s largest brewer. Its flagship beer, Schlitz, known as “the beer that made Milwaukee famous,” was a beloved and iconic American-style lager.
Then a series of business decisions, including a disastrous ad campaign, dubbed the “Drink Schlitz or I’ll kill you” campaign, precipitated the downfall of America’s biggest beer brand. It became known as the “Schlitz mistake.”
Don't Miss A DropGet the latest in beer, wine, and co*cktail culture sent straight to your inbox.
By the late 1950s, Schlitz lost its top title to another quintessential American beer brand: Anheuser-Busch. Although it still held its own as the nation’s second-largest-producing brewery, its drop in ranking would be a sign of things to come.
During the 1970s, in an attempt to cut production costs and keep up with growing demands, Schlitz’s owners decided to shorten the beer’s brewing time by implementing a process called “accelerated batch fermentation.” They also opted to replace its malted barley with a cheaper ingredient, corn syrup, and began experimenting with the use of a silica gel to prevent haze once the beer was chilled. (It was obviously a very different time.)
Soon Schlitz’s slogan as the “most carefully brewed beer in the world” was no longer applicable. Sales dropped as Schlitz’s customers grew frustrated with the brand and started returning cases of beer. In 1976, Schlitz recalled more than 10 million cans and bottles of beer, costing the company over $1.4 million in losses. In 2020, that’s the equivalent of $6.3 million.
Bad Brewing Decisions Followed By Bizarre Commercials
In an effort to stem its declining sales and improve its spiraling reputation, the company hired an ad agency, Leo Burnett & Co., to launch four television spots. The commercials featured actors portraying fierce Schlitz loyalists, including a fictional boxer and a lumberjack with a “pet” cougar.
In the ads, an off-screen voice asks if they’d like to try a different beer than Schlitz, and the macho men respond with vaguely menacing comments. (“I’m gonna play Picasso and put you on the canvas!”) The ads’ tagline was, “If you don’t have Schlitz, you don’t have gusto.”
It was weird. The ads were an immediate failure, leaving viewers uneasy and wondering if they had just been threatened by their favorite (or formerly favorite) beer brand. Ten weeks after they first aired, Schlitz pulled the commercials off the air and fired their ad men.
But the ads would achieve a lasting infamy. Their failure during such a critical time for the brand proved to be detrimental to its already-crumbling reputation.
Schlitz closed its Milwaukee brewery in 1981. It would eventually be redeveloped into an office park known as “Schlitz Park.” In 1982, the company was purchased by the Stroh Brewery Company and later, in 1999, sold to the Pabst Brewing Company, which produces the Schlitz brand today.
Although it has fallen from grace as one of America’s most popular beers, Schlitz is still alive today and remains a sentimental favorite in the Midwest.
This story is a part of VP Pro, our free platform and newsletter for drinks industry professionals, covering wine, beer, liquor, and beyond. Sign up for VP Pro now!
Published: February 17, 2020
FAQs
Sales dropped as Schlitz's customers grew frustrated with the brand and started returning cases of beer. In 1976, Schlitz recalled more than 10 million cans and bottles of beer, costing the company over $1.4 million in losses.
Does Schlitz beer still exist? ›
Although it has fallen from its former title as one of America's most popular beers, the Schlitz brand is still alive today and remains a sentimental favorite in the Midwest.
Is Schlitz the beer that made Milwaukee famous? ›
The Schlitz Brewing Company (1849-1982) was one of Milwaukee's industrial brewing giants. Marketed as “the beer that made Milwaukee famous,” Schlitz was an important innovator in the national brewing industry and the largest brewery in the United States for a significant part of the twentieth century.
Which beer made Milwaukee famous but is no longer brewed there? ›
Jos.
Famous slogans: “The beer that made Milwaukee famous”; “When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer.” Last chapter: After Schlitz shut the doors of its sprawling Milwaukee brewery following a 1981 strike, the company was sold in 1982 to Stroh Brewery Co., which shut it down.
What is the oldest beer company still in business? ›
Weihenstephan was a Benedictine monastery in Weihenstephan, now part of the district of Freising, in Bavaria, Germany. This Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan is located at the monastery site since at least 1040. It is the world's oldest continuously operating brewery.
What is the largest Brewing Company in the US? ›
Largest Beer Producer by Volume:
Anheuser-Busch InBev Sa/NV (NYSE:BUD) is the largest beer producer by volume in the world.
Is Hamms beer still made? ›
Subsequently, SABMiller formed a joint venture combining their US and Puerto Rican assets with those of MolsonCoors to form MillerCoors, the current owner and brewer of the Hamm's Brand. MillerCoors now produces three Hamm's Beers, Premium, Golden Draft, and Special Light.
Is Falstaff beer still made? ›
Once the third largest brewery in the United States, the Falstaff Brewing Corporation now exists only in memory. The brewery's final plant in St. Louis, on Gravois, has been closed since 1977.
What beer is made and sold only in Wisconsin? ›
The New Glarus Brewing Company is an American brewery founded in 1993. Located in New Glarus, Wisconsin, it is an independently owned craft brewery, whose products can only be found in Wisconsin.
What is America's oldest brewed beer? ›
About Yuengling Brewery
D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc. is a family owned and operated brewery located in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1829, the brewery is currently operated by the 5th generation of the Yuengling family. Yuengling is officially recognized as America's Oldest Brewery.
Lone Star Original. Some states claim to have a state beer, but Texas made it official by naming Lone Star the national beer of Texas.
Is Stroh's beer still made? ›
The company was taken over and broken up in 2000, but some of its brands continued to be made by the new owners. The Stroh's brand is currently owned and marketed by Pabst Brewing Company, except in Canada where the Stroh brands are owned by Sleeman Breweries.
Does Pabst Brewing Company still exist? ›
It is currently a holding company which contracts the brewing of over two dozen brands of beer and malt liquor: these include its own flagship Pabst Blue Ribbon, as well as brands from many now-defunct breweries.
Why did Pabst leave Milwaukee? ›
The Captain Pabst Pilot House will permanently close its doors in downtown Milwaukee's Brewery District on Dec. 21. Pabst Brewing Co. announced the news Tuesday, citing business challenges due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Is Rolling Rock still brewed in glass-lined tanks? ›
Once the bottling line at Newark is idled toward the end of the first quarter of 2015, single-serving containers of Rolling Rock finished in glass-lined tanks will only be available in cans, the company says; Rolling Rock in 12- and 7-ounce bottles will still be produced at Anheuser-Busch's Baldwinsville, New York; ...
Is Hamm's beer still made? ›
Subsequently, SABMiller formed a joint venture combining their US and Puerto Rican assets with those of MolsonCoors to form MillerCoors, the current owner and brewer of the Hamm's Brand. MillerCoors now produces three Hamm's Beers, Premium, Golden Draft, and Special Light.
