The Schlitz Mistake: The Rise and Fall of Schlitz Brewing Co. (Featuring Primo)

[@allareasindex7984]

Prior to the bad commercials Schlitz had great radio jingles. “When you’re out of Schlitz…you’re out of beer.” Simple, set to bouncy music.

[@AmadeusUndead]

That was sung by Steely Dan, Donald Fegan (lead singer) did the English talking parts before the song starts

[@silverstem2964]

"You can travel the world over and never find a better beer"

[@sparky6086]

The "You only go around once in life..." TV campaign from the early '70's was good. It's why & where the infamous "Buy our beer or we'll kill you" campaign, references "gusto".

[@petersnelling9047]

Schlitz, one beautiful beer!

[@coryburris8211]

The Steely Dan Schlitz commercial: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gH2Tnntta719aaMsi=MQRFRpCFZmshfVPi

[@myronlarimer1943]

A classic example of letting the bean counters destroy your quality product. Same thing happened to most of the US automobile industry, especially GM.

[@BaronEvola123]

The Unions destroyed the US auto manufacturing. When did foreign cars first start making headway in America? GM alone had to keep paying 70k union workers NOT to work through the 1990's by contract. Those old contracts ran out when? In the 1990's when all auto manufacturing went to Mexico...nafta.

[@warweasel2832]

Almost like CEOs have some sort of... legal obligation to present bigger and bigger revenues and profit margins to investors that directly incentivizes underhanded practices and stifles innovation...

[@myronlarimer1943]

@@warweasel2832 and ruin the long-term sustainability of the corporation for the sake of short term profits

[@chipcook5346]

In a union environment in a dirt city, you can expect some sort of collusion/extortion arrangement as well. "We'll behave as long as you behave." Which side said that? Doesn't matter. Heads nodded all around, and everyone went on to hose the customer who finally asked: "Hey, what's that running down my back?" Same with cars. Same with steel. Same with farm equipment....

[@2ndfloorsongs]

​@@myronlarimer1943Boeing

[@markvonwisco7369]

The resurrected Schiltz is actually a very good quality American style lager. The brew master in charge worked with former Schlitz brewhouse workers to reverse engineer the original formula. I've had the beer several times over the years. I recommend trying the beer if you can find it.

[@JohnDavis-yz9nq]

Liar. Shlitz became a rot gut beer when it switched to cheaper ingredients. The beer killed a lot of people who drank regularly. Many people developed cancer of the liver or cirrhosis of the liver. If you have some pour it down the drain.

[@dcongdon2294]

Burn me once your fault burn me twice my fault.PBR is back it is a good beer at good for todays prices.

[@rws357]

The stuff sold as schlitz now is not Schlitz. Schlitz used corn as a filler, as Bud uses rice. Real Schlitz always had a corn flavor. Current Schlitz does not.

[@gordonmeeks2447]

This should be a case study taught in every business school to impress upon students the fundamental importance of customer satisfaction and the disastrous consequences of the cost-cutting mantra [Boeing?].

[@ProctorSilex]

Should be but won't. This isn't a dream world.

[@johnhess351]

I agree, and THEY do, but I suggest it be taught in every Political Science school. Business schools already teach that over taxation and over regulation costs the consumer 30% in higher prices on everything and that doesn't do any good.

[@mikesullivan6422]

Im 71 now but when i was just coming of age Schlitz was my first beer.

[@urbanurchin5930]

I was about 13 when i first drank Schlitz with the "older guys" (some of my friends older brothers) . We used to combine pocket change and the older guys would go buy a couple of cases . A group of about 10 or 12 of us would go out to the "beer path" (this was a path between farmer's fields that were in the hedge row) . Rode my bicycle home - but was very drunk !

[@steveh4114]

I'm 8 years younger. Schlitz was my Dad's favorite American beer circa 50's to '70's ... then he changed to Coors. We lived in AZ, VA and UT. I tried this in about 2010 in WA state, and I liked it ! It seemed to have a touch of hop bitterness more that other beers. Now we can't get Schlitz in WA state. 😞

[@mikesullivan6422]

My dad's favorite beer when I was a young kid was oertals 92

[@cluny]

2002 we did a family reunion in Taos NM. Ariz and Colo kids, it was equally out of the way. I grew up in Phoenix and Prescott, living in Denver, stopped to buy a suitcase of beer. They had Schlitz which I hadn't seen in ages. Nephews brought these artisan beers I never heard of. At least I had something I could drink. Guess what, everyone dog piled on the Schlitz. Oh well. With this accent, I realize I've been saying Anheuser wrong... like Freud and Reuters,,should be Ahn Hoi zayr. Now that it is owned by Brazil/Belguim InBev, who cares.

[@scronx]

Me too exactly! Mother would ask me to bring her one from the basement fridge and I'd sometimes get a taste.

[@Mike-z6v]

In the 1950's, my dad worked at Schlitz each summer -- as a "taster", he said. He brought me to work one time (I was about 5 or 6) and introduced me to his colleagues, all men wearing white lab coats. One taught me new expressions like "See ya later, alligator. After a while, crocodile. Toodloo kangaru." Another filled up a sink with water and gave me a plastic boat to play with. I had tours, and fun all morning. Side note: when the machinery was off calibration, cans would be "short-filled" and couldn't be sold. They were given away to my dad and the guys in white coats. My dad took his cases to my grandpa, who distributed them around the large extended family. Lot's of Schlitz cans are in those family reunion pictures. Great memories, and thanks for the whole history of the company.

[@thingserik7269]

Steel cans with a pull tab

[@andyburk4825]

@@thingserik7269 and before tabs you had to use a 'church key'.

[@thingserik7269]

@@andyburk4825 How about flingin' the ring with the tab. Don't know if Schlitz had those

[@sparkey4293]

My father drowned in the beer vat there he came out twice to pee but was too drunk to climb out the third time.

[@johnhess351]

In the early 80s, there was plenty of 'damaged' beer being drunk at my Coors Masterbrewer Uncle's house in Golden Colorado, too. He had three beautiful daughters and free beer. The house was always filled with at least 6 boyfriends, each holding a dented tallboy, since they were a better deal at $3 a case.

[@ADHJkvsNgsMBbTQe]

Moral of the story is consumers are smarter than the executives give them credit for. Thank you for providing the references at the end. That’s always a mark of quality.

[@ourv9603]

Schlitz? Man! I aint had a Schlitz since I was in grade school. !

[@drbuckley1]

😄

[@cbroz7492]

..when you and your 3rd grade teacher went on a bender???

[@Bdamazyn]

I have some in the fridge. You can still buy it in MKE.

[@neonjoe6180]

😂😂😂

[@Hillers62]

Never change the recipe...If it ain't broke, don't fix it...I loved Schlitz in the day...but beer drinkers will ALWAYS know the difference in flavor...ALWAYS...

[@burmiester1]

Have you tried Schlitz recently? A few years ago they attempted to re-create the original formula

[@kumarg3598]

Same with hoegaarden and inbev. They ruined my favorite beer. Now I'm sober

[@dleechristy]

I drank it, fav beer when going out, but then noticed something really WRONG with the beer. I made the quick switch out of it, never giving it a shot again. The ads meant nothing to me as I hardly watched TV those busy years (for me). I'm now curious if the revived Schlitz (by PBR) would be something I'd like again. --- My normal go to lager now is "Hamms" (from Milwaukee. Did Miller and Yuengling some years in between but Hamms now for about 15 years straight.

[@kellywright540]

@@burmiester1they did and it doesn't taste that bad.

[@johnpripusich2876]

Just like Coca Cola! They changed their original formula and never got ot back! "Coke Classic"? Nope. Not the same, not as good.

[@rosevillerod]

Accountants, chasing larger profits, have a demonstrated history of brand failure.

[@Texas40years]

Hmmmm Accountants decide that lowering costs is more important than retaining the quality of the product. Sounds like a certain aircraft company (starts with a B) that brought in MBA types focused on profit and had disdain for the people making their product.

[@jeffwilson3527]

Accountants, don’t make decisions, presidents, CEO’s, and board members do. Accountants just keep track and report the numbers.

[@kevinbarry71]

Not accountants, it's finance guys

[@bradcrosier1332]

⁠​⁠@@jeffwilson3527- Until you make accountants the president, CEO, etc. Then their myopia causes them to consistently run companies into the ground.

[@warweasel2832]

The efficiency of capitalism guys! Everything gets worse and worse until it all collapses and billions of dollars of assets and resources are scattered to the wind! What a beautiful system.

[@robertmyers5269]

Schlitz was enormous in Chicago. All around the city are taverns that featured the Schlitz globe as an architectural detail, rather than simply signage. My family had a strong Schlitz connection. I had two uncles that worked for them, one as a driver, the other as a bookkeeper. I still have a photo of me as an infant of myself in a local park, with my father and other men, with a bottle of Schlitz firmly in hand. Sad fate.

[@jeremiahchamberlin4499]

I’m glad you mentioned the architectural feature on so many buildings in Chicago; many of them no longer taverns. I lived in Chicago during the ‘Old Style’ craze which was after the Budweiser craze, and the Hamm’s craze which preceded it.

[@johnchambers8528]

Thanks for the video. My parents used to drink a regional beer here in Philadelphia called Ballantine Beer. They must have done something similar to Schlitz. One day my dad said the beer tasted different and not in a good way. Needless to say my dad changed beer brands. Ballantine also eventually also closed their brewery in Newark, NJ. The brand was bought by some other brewery but never was able to recover and I never see it anymore.

[@drbuckley1]

The cheap beer in my neck of the woods was Lone Star. Really bad. Coors dominated my market.

[@EndingSimple]

Brewing it in Newark was their first mistake.

[@johnchambers8528]

@@EndingSimple I don’t think so. The brewery was located in Newark, Nj. Since its founding and was one of the largest breweries on the east cost. It was just the management cost cutting and changing the brewing method that killed the brand.

[@UncaDave]

Ballantine Ale was great and they had “they had the three ring sign”!

[@cbroz7492]

Ballantine was once the sponsor of the NY Yankees...that huge beer bottle in top of the brewery was a landmark for drivers on the Garden State Parkway

[@kurtpena5462]

"When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer!" Stroh's rhymes with nose. Great video on American beer!

[@arthurrandall981]

Thanks

[@michaelmartz8426]

An-hizer-Bush.

[@James-hd4ms]

There was a wyoosyoob bumper sticker at the time.

[@UrkCMH]

​@@arthurrandall981When I'm not certain of the pronunciation of a company or product, I've found it helpful to search for their commercials.

[@rdaltry777]

Came here to say something similar. Both pronunciation and good video.

[@johndonlon1611]

This was a needless disaster, all done in-house and Coca-Cola should have learned from this but didn't. 40 years later the "new Schlitz" concern painstakingly recreated as close as possible to brew a beer made with the 1960 formula; even combing surviving paperwork and surviving brewmasters to make the beer that's available today. I like it and they worked hard to get it right. Damn shame it had to come to that.

[@garymckee63]

I wish I could find some Schlitz in the bottle it would be the only beer 🍺 l would purchase.

[@paullikesmusic]

I like it too. Can’t buy it outside of the Midwest though. Funny to be longing for it when they have sooooo many great beers available everywhere, especially at Total Wine, which has much more than just a great wine selection.

[@startledmilk6670]

I say, “Schlitz for the shits” because I’ve drank it twice and the next morning, I was on the toilet 6+ times

[@startledmilk6670]

As someone who lives right near Milwaukee, Schlitz still exists and I can get it on tap at multiple bars in my town

[@donbell8187]

I grew up in Milwaukee and watched the whole thing play out. You just can't cut corners and expect the beer to taste good. Micro breweries continue the tradition of local breweries run by people who enjoy beer. "Drinking should be a pleasure, not an occupation" as a friend of my father used to say.

[@wbsteck5072]

I wish it had not gone like that!

[@adamchurvis1]

My father was a Creative Director for Leo Burnett in Chicago back in the sixties until he died in 1974. One of the campaigns he worked on was Stroh's Beer and he did great on it. During his spin-up research he met someone who told him the very true story of the corporate line "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer." Turns out it was a fluke of circumstance, Let me explain... After work one night a guy working on the Schlitz campaign for whomever was handling their advertising stopped by a bar for a well-deserved drink. Eventually some other guy of no importance comes into the bar and asks for a Budweiser. The bartender tells him they're out of Bud. So the guy says, "When you're out of Bud, you're out of beer." The guy working on the campaign ran back to work and wrote it down so he could see it and spoke it over and over in different ways. The next morning he gave his pitch for "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer." It stuck. Ironically, a few years after my father died, Stroh's bought Schlitz.

[@jimringomartin]

Thats an amazing story. My Father was. MAD MAN. I worked in the Loop as a gopher delivering to Leo Burnett (free apples) and J Walter Thompson at 16.

[@adamchurvis1]

@@jimringomartin Yep, my old stomping ground! Remember the river ferry? I took it every day while I was a gopher for my (then late) father's best friend's law firm. It was a better place then. We lived in Highland Park, 4 miles from where the man after whom they patterned Mad Men's Don Draper lived. His name was Draper Daniels.

[@jimringomartin]

@@adamchurvis1 thats amazing.I couldn't afford the ferry. I worked summers of 73 and 74. My brother and I would walk to the Wrigley building to eat lunch as they sold 2 cent lemonade. Hot summer drink from God himself.

[@adamchurvis1]

@@jimringomartin I was gophering the summer of '74, immediately after my father died. Remember the gold-topped Union Carbide building? That's where the law firm was. I'll bet we crossed paths.

[@jimringomartin]

@adamchurvis1 yes, so many cool buildings, Tribune Tower, The Equitable, and my dream apartment, Marina City. I dreamt driving my Jaguar XKE parking inside. Never Happened. Ended up in Glen Ellyn.

[@jeffthebluesinem2280]

Interesting assessment. The take away lesson is that when the focus of a business morphs from producing a good product into sustaining its livelihood, it begins it's journey into a downward spiral. A shift of priority from your client to oneself can't be hidden and your clients will naturally respond accordingly.

[@jeremiahchamberlin4499]

Very true words. A company is responsible for producing a product, not ‘value for the shareholders.’ Product first and foremost, then sharing the profits. It just seems so elemental to me, yet modern CEOs seem oblivious to it.

[@GermanShepherd1983]

I quit drinking Schlitz because of the taste. I never thought the ad campaign was that bad.

[@jonhelmer8591]

"What made Milwaukee Famous, has made a big fool out of me" There's a County music line for every situation.

[@scudfarcus4343]

The actual line is: "what made Milwaukee famous, has made a loser out of me" -- Jerry Lee Lewis, aka "The Killer".

[@xxcelr8rs]

@@scudfarcus4343 "Baby said love and happiness can't live behind those swinging doors, now shes gone and I'm alone, And I'm to blame, And I finally see, what made Milwaukee......

[@ghtaboma]

I left Hawaii in 1962, but not before befriending the Primo Brewmaster. Our group took the Primo tour every week for the free beer at the end. We got to know the main guy, and he said” forget the tour, just come to the tap room”. He liked us, and when he went on vacation he gave us the key. What a guy.

[@marcseclecticstuff9497]

The 70's sitcom Laverne and Shirley brewery scenes were shot in the old Schlitz brewery in Milwaukee. Growing up in the Chicago area in the 70's, Schlitz, Old Style, Strohs, Old Milwaukee were all cheaper beers and the staple of six packs and kegger parties. Making chains out of the old style of pull-off tabs were a fond memory and an easy way of keeping track of how many beers you had and bragging rights for the one with the longest at the end of the night. Great times!

[@TonyTruth-s9z]

Did you ever have Walter's our of Eau Claire? It was on tap in many northern Wisconsin bars.

[@jcdisci]

I couldn't have said it better. "...cheaper beers..." Tasted like it, too.

[@peacepeople9895]

You forgot red white and blue...for sure a cheaper lager. Back then, 70's you could buy a case of returnables for $3 or $4...the deposit on the bottles was $1.20...those were the gold old days

[@peacepeople9895]

@@TonyTruth-s9z Just about every town in Wisconsin had a brewery at one time. As transportation became easier the smaller towns breweries got bought out by the bigger ones.

[@TonyTruth-s9z]

@@peacepeople9895 A friend was a RWB fan. In Minnesota in the 70s, Cold Spring from a brewer near St. Cloud and Buckhorn from Olympia were cheap brews and alts to Old Mil if you didn't care what you drank. I lived in Wisconsin in the early 80s and was a beer mule, hauling Blatz and Bud back to northern Minnesota.

[@j.patrickmoore9137]

In college, my friends and I would buy pitchers of Schlitz Dark. The closest thing I can find to it is Dos Equis Amber.

[@beerybill]

I remember that. Good dark beer.

[@timmcquerry6068]

There was a Bar in Boulder,(not the beginning of a joke) pool tables &fooze ball. I could drink there without getting carded. Drank lots of Schlitz dark there 😅 (air hockey, also)

[@MrSteveb80]

we used to go to Lums restaurants, and get Schlitz dark on draught. it was so good. no one even remembers it when I mention it. don't know if it was ever bottled. we did buy Schlitz draught in bottles this was better than Bud. it was the early to mid 70's. but that Schlitz Dark was so good in those frosted mugs. glad to see someone else remembers it. cheers.

[@mrpoizun]

@@MrSteveb80 Pizza joints used to have dark beer on tap, mostly Schlitz. I loved it, but almost no one else I knew would drink it.

[@peacepeople9895]

I can speak from experience on this. Back in the late 70's a neighbor was rebuilding an engine for a 70 Olds Cutlass and offered us a beer. I don't know too many 15 year old farm kids that would turn that down so I took 1. It was a Schlitz and it was the worst can of, I guess you could call it beer, I've ever had in my life. This was about 40 miles north of Milwaukee and I did actually know what american Lager is supposed to taste like. About the only thing that I could compare it to was Rhinelander, and that crap was awful. Fun fact, at that time Kingsbury, which was actually a decent cheap Lager was about $4 for a case of returnables. It was far and away more drinkable than Schlitz and Rhinelander. Here is another little tidbit from my youth. As a farm kid I could buy beer by the keg when I was 16, no questions asked. I worked fields 5 or 10 miles away from home and since it would take 30 minutes to drive a tractor that far I would just go to the local taverns and eat lunch there. So after a few years of that they must've just felt I was old enough and served me without thinking about it. At football practice, I was a sophomore at the time, the seniors were talking about having a party but none of them could buy beer. I told them I could get them beer, no problem. They didn't believe me, obviously, but I did talk one of them into picking me up after milking cows, about 7pm and I'd get the beer and he could make the couple calls he needed to make to let everyone know the party was on. I was invited to all the parties after that, and only needed to be the guy that got the beer about 6 more times. Yup, I was cool with all of them after that. At that time, Miller was the popular beer with the teen crowd and that's what we bought until I was a senior in High School. At that point I noticed the quality was going down so at a smaller party I picked up Pabst and mentioned it only to the guy that was throwing the party. He asked because the tapper was different. He was cool with it as a 1/2 barrel of Pabst was $24 and Miller was $28. (something like that price wise) The only give away was the tapper was different, but nobody paid attention to that as the barrel was in a tub of ice with a blanket over the top to keep it cold. About 1/2 way thru the party my buddy mentioned to me that everyone was asking him "is this Miller, it's great". He just told them yes and we were laughing about it. My theory is Miller was just too popular and quality control went down or wasn't aged enough, either way Pabst was better at the time. We told our closer friends about it and the cat slowly left the bag. It took about 2 months before most people figured out Pabst was the way to go back then and that was all we bought.

[@rapman5791]

Here’s a little story from my youth. When I was 16 I used to take cans of Schlitz from my parents fridge and meet Jen B in the courtyard. After a couple of those she and I would be doing what came natural in the caretakers shed. It didn’t cost me a dime and we didn’t even return the bottles for our nickels either.

[@thomasmcmahon400]

When I became legal 25 cent bottles called Lil' Joe's were my regular accoutrements to the red dyed imported Iranian pistachios that always stained my fingers. I really miss those days.

[@garykooienga9990]

First, Schlitz was so big in the '70s that they were the corporate sponsors of a tour by The Who. Next, what the heck happened to Strohs?

[@MichaelKurse]

They were Fired Brewed.🤔🤔🤔

[@finnmcginn9931]

They sponsored The Who's 1982 tour. I've had that poster in my workshop for 42 years now.

[@finnmcginn9931]

Stroh's was sold in Canada back in the 90s but it was produced locally by Sleemans Brewery. It was cheap and tasty, not sure if it tasted the same as in the States.

[@garykooienga9990]

​@@finnmcginn9931Bravo! Did you see them that time around? I did, in Pontiac. Their first show after the mass fatality in Cleveland. Pete, deep in his own mind over that. Soloing like I'd never heard from him before or since.

[@stanpatterson5033]

I used to deliver often in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Used to see a lot of neon signs in the restaurant and bar windows advertising Blatz Beer. Sadly, never had time to try one. Thought that it was some local brand that was produced (and popular) up that way, but have since learned that it's just another brand that is now produced by bigger names in the brewing game. I don't think there's much out there anymore that is still being produced by the OG.

[@paullikesmusic]

Same thing happened to Winchester, when they disastrously degraded their iconic Model 70 rifle, in 1964, trying to cut costs. Winchester is now foreign owned, and a high quality Model 70 is available again. Hopefully business execs know to stick to their core product and don’t compromise its quality.

[@bswins9648]

My dad always seemed to have a 6-pack of Schlitz bottles or Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) cans in the fridge. By the time I started drinking beer, both were on the decline. Thanks for putting together your video. It's one of those topics that I wasn't aware that I wanted to know more about. Hope you decide to create more in the future.

[@mnoliberal7335]

Same here. Dad always had a couple PBR cases in the basement. Long necks. Schlitz. PBR and others were being bought up by the Big Suds Industry just to put them out of business, jobs be damned.

[@brokenrecord3523]

We had long-necks of Olde Dutch and Iron City. I've got PBR in the fridge right now (alongside local craft beers)

[@scarharting5577]

PBR declined in sales, but never in quality. It's always tasted the same. How they pissed away their number one sales position in most midwestern states, I'll never understand. It used to be on tap in every bar back then.

[@scarharting5577]

@@mnoliberal7335 PBR has had different owners, but has always been independent. They're a conglomerate of their own now, owning many old time brands.

[@theswampfox9584]

Loved the real deal Schlitz same as Strohs that was fire brewed in Detroit both classics in the day

[@Playsinvain]

Strops was rated best value beer by consumer reports and I started drinking it.. it was excellent

[@duke927]

I used to smuggle Stroh’s from my trips to Michigan to Maryland )the home of National Bohemiam-Natty Bo). There were a couple of Carling breweries in MD which was a terrible beer.

[@George-tz1cv]

Strops was a great beer until they started to brew it all over the place. Then the taste changed.

[@markcain460]

Strohs had a premium beer called Signature. It was the best beer they made. Being from Detroit I really miss that now.

[@Teelirious]

Nothing could skunk out like warm Schlitz.

[@kuvasz5252]

I would say Iron City, after you let the iron filings settle to the bottom

[@Teelirious]

@@kuvasz5252 You might be right. That was a hard swallow.

[@kuvasz5252]

@@Teelirious I used to have a six pack of Iron City in the frig in case one of my beer mooching buddies would stop by. One can of that and they would never ask for another.

[@larslarsman]

@@kuvasz5252 This should be the top comment. Good one. 🤣

[@thenryb]

The Uihlein name is pronounced "Eee-line"...which is why the chocolate they produced during prohibition was named "Eline's". There is a faction of the family that pronounces it "U-line"...which happens to be the family that started the office supply company "ULINE" based in Pleasant Prairie, WI. As well as another family that produces refrigeration units in Milwaukee named "U-Line".

[@ptorq]

While we're discussing pronunciations, it's "ann-hi-zer", not "ann-hoo-ser." (It was probably originally ahn-hoy-zer, but we've Americaned it up.)

[@myronfrobisher]

apparently some of the members of the Uihlein died of alcoholism.

[@cokesquirrel]

Yes I went to school with duke, the uihlEin family in Lake forest Illinois pronounces it Uline

[@ROGER2095]

Also Stroh's rhymes with "throws."

[@numby1667]

Today the Uihlein family keeps themselves busy by bringing Christian fundamentalist fascism to the USA. Here's hoping that goes as well as Schlitz in the 1980's.

[@davetenney5800]

I don't think anyone in the 70's was threatened by something on the TV

[@bryede]

I think it's more that they were just unappealing and not the kind of "good times" ads that work for beer.

[@1439315]

People were still camping, hiking, swiming, pic nicing in the (gasp) outdoors.

[@theangryholmesian4556]

The writers of Star Trek got sent death threats for Kirk and Uhuras interracial kiss. So not sure about that.

[@russellst.martin4255]

Whenever I hear the word 'Schlitz' I instantly see cigarette butts and smell the stale empty cans littering my grandparent's kitchen table. Ah memories

[@SpicyTexan64]

I'm so happy my grandparents weren't dusgusting

[@nco_gets_it]

Funny how no CEO ever sees their market share shrink and thinks, "you know, higher quality will restore our fortunes and make us more competitive". B school graduates, accountants, and others of similar education only have one answer to all problems--lower cost through lowering quality.

[@robertkennedy1737]

Thanks for taking the time to do these Lake, really appreciate it.

[@bigbadjohn7053]

I remember that Schlitz was all my dad and my uncles drank until the early '80s.

[@tootired76]

Interesting. Kept me entertained for almost 19 minutes.

[@TonyGarrett-p1c]

Schlitz of course is still brewed. The nice thing about Schlitz beer is that you can't tell when it goes bad.

[@jacklydon845]

I worked construction at the Schlitz brewery back in 75-76 while it was being built in Baldwinsville NY. It's now a Bud brewery.

[@Pw6872]

Remember the tv commercials: "The beer that made Milwaukee famous-- simply because it tastes so good!"

[@jocko_]

Nothing kills a beer faster than a “snot like consistency”

[@Couchflyer-NY]

I own a vintage neon Schlitz sign. It hung in the window of my parent’s bar. I was under the impression Primo always used dry wort. I worked for a brewery in Alaska that copied their processes. The problem was that after a while, a case of Olympia from the mainland cost the same as a case of Primo. Primo was still popular with vacationers. So somebody decided to send it to the mainland. That didn’t last long.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

I drank a couple of Primo's during my navy time on Oahu. I can't remember exactly why I didn't like it. Too bitter, maybe? But I'd still take a Primo over a Budweiser.

[@joefaber1381]

Schlitz is back with their classic formula and is becoming popular again.

[@herzogsbuick]

in the 1970's, alaska was in an oil boom, and enticed a german beer company to open up a brewery here in anchorage. the plan was for it to use grain from another government subsidized project, the delta junction grain project. Prinz Brau opened in 1976, and closed in 1979, without ever having used any grain from delta junction. fascinating story (i think), so consider this an official submission for a video idea hehehe. enjoyed this video very much, subscribed. looking forward to more!

[@IMBrute-ir7gz]

Very interesting and entertaining! I'm 73 years old and remember most of those old-time beer brands from back in the day!

[@Brett101792]

That Gusto commercial was infinitely better than any Manscaped commercial ive ever seen

[@jamie.777]

My child photos, late 70s. Adult men all had a can of schlitz

[@Iowaclass65]

Great video, it would be awesome if you did a video about Schlitz's rebirth and return to the classic recipe in the last decade. It is quite good these days!

[@arthurrandall981]

I would be up for it but unfortunatly a lot of the sources I looked up are anecdotal and mostly conflicting.

[@matthewgabbard6415]

There is no rebirth. It’s now just a brand name produced by Pabst

[@xlerb2286]

Schlitz was huge in its day. Their name was everywhere. Even in school we watched a series of movies on automotive engine maintenance and repair that were sponsored by Schlitz. So they even had their name in schools. When I was a kid Dad always drank Schlitz. He wasn't a big beer drinker but that's the only brand I ever saw him drink. I remember him and some of his buddies talking about how the beer just wasn't good anymore. Long before they went out of business Dad had switched to Pabst. He never liked it as well as Schlitz in its day.

[@PaleoWithFries]

Hey Arthur! Algorithm got me here! The legalization of home brewing in the USA was almost as massive of an impact on beer companies in America as Prohibition. America’s taste in beer started to shift. Plus, the rise of “malt liquor” and other higher alcohol meant beer companies in America had regularly make new products or lose out to huge market shares.

[@TJohnsonLLC]

You missed the keg distribution revolution of 1976. The typical tap & fridge unit would hold four of those old style lumpy shaped two port kegs, but five of the new style slender kegs with handles and a single twist lock port that even a blind drunk frat pledge could change out. Miller quickly converted large distributors and you can't go back. And the response to their new slogan was "Drink Schlitz, it will give you the Shitz."

[@jednick]

The family was "EE-lein". Robert Uihlein, Jr. died within a few weeks of being hospitalized for leukemia when the debacle really got bad. That was the end of his family's operational control of the brewery.

[@pamelamays4186]

My older brother loved Schlitz malt liquor, AKA The Bull.

[@dinahnicest6525]

Me too.

[@michaelward9880]

Not the same.

[@gregveeder640]

Drank it for years in Kalamazoo mi, can’t find it anymore, rip .

[@scarharting5577]

Yuck!

[@ternwatcher22]

I always wondered what happed to Schlitz, so thanks for the story! My mother's family immigrated from Germany around 1850, and eventually wound up in Milwaukee. My Mother took me on a tour of the Schlitz Brewery in the late 50's, and it was one of the memorable experiences of my childhood - probably because I got my first taste of beer!

[@stevhoff]

Great story. Thanks. I so remember those commercials from the 60's when I was a little kid.

[@AHLUser]

Schlitz & Old Milwaukee were classic cheap beers when i was young... My grandpa drank Schlitz, probably my first sip of beer ever...!! I'm from Michigan, so we were very loyal to Stroh's.... "Cold Filtered" and an excellent beer..!!

[@SacredSleeper]

My local bar still sells draft pints of Schlitz in Chicago

[@ericawollmuth5055]

Lottie's?

[@doughurst4311]

Billy Goat Tavern

[@69JONESYrugby]

Imagine all the Schlitz hangovers since 1849.

[@ChimeraActual]

While never a big beer drinker, I was there for this. In the 1960's, and underage, drinking was a rare was a rare and mysterious thing, then some old geezer told me that Schlitz was the best because it was "most consistent", and I had no reason to doubt him. Sometime in the 70's I heard about the change in formula, and I was sad, but only for nostalgic reasons, I had gone on to American ales, both regular and India. Then, suddenly, there were no more beers, or ales! Just Budweiser, Miller, and piss water. In my mind the collapse of Schlitz was the Harbinger of the beer industry apocalypse. Same thing happened in the commercial radio industry. In the sixties local independant alternative FM stations popped up. The DJ's were given free reign to choose any song in the library, and used their knowledge of music to make "sets". That is, three or more songs, that when heard in order, told a story, a meta story if you will. The last instance of an independent DJ that I heard was Larry Munro in Austin Texas, he could make you laugh, or cry, or just marvel. Then some marketing genius figured that if a corporation bought up all these little stations, assigned them a limited genre, only played from a list determined by those marketers, they could pay the DJ's less, and still have a market of serfs who had never paid much attention to the music. Bingo! Profit! The only thing that matters after all.

[@stevegand]

My High School beer of choice. Wow! What a blast from the past.

[@UrbanGardeningWithD.A.Hanks14]

My grandmother's brother was the head brew meister at Schlitz. The recipe was in his head. They tried the whole new Coke thing and told him they didn't need him anymore. When they realized their mistake, he wouldn't come back, and the original Schlitz malt liquor recipe died with him.

[@wbsteck5072]

I am sorry that happened!! Big problem for many! I Thank You for sharing, and their service and work!

[@mrpoizun]

Malt liquor is horrible no matter what the recipe is. It's the lager recipe being changed that killed Schlitz.

[@UrbanGardeningWithD.A.Hanks14]

@@mrpoizun Whichever one it was, it was Uncle Bob's recipe, and it was in his head. The point of all of this, is that Karens usually get what they deserve. Fix something that ain't broke. The problem is that they mover to another company and do the same dumb shyte.

[@albascruta3603]

Thanks for the video, I currently work in Schlitz Park, an office park using the original Schlitz buildings (I'm in the Keg House, next door to the Bottle House). It would have been great if you had checked pronunciation of names (Uehlein, Stroh, Anheiser-Busch). ;)

[@steveh4114]

Schlitz was my Dad's favorite American beer circa 50's to '70's ... then he changed to Coors. We lived in AZ, VA and UT. I tried this in about 2010 in WA state, and I liked it ! It seemed to have a touch of hop bitterness more that other beers. Now we can't get Schlitz in WA state. 😞

[@andrewfurst5711]

Schlitz: We had the stupidest beer marketing campaign in history, we lost so many customers. Bud Light: Hold my beer.

[@d.e.b.b5788]

Bud should have just created a new brand directed to the LGBTQ crowd; there are tens of millions of them. That product would do just fine. Instead they destroyed Bud Light, abandoning the light beer market back to Miller's Lite brand.

[@OddJobFix]

@@d.e.b.b5788 Sorry, bud Light is now #2 and Miller is #6. Modello Light for the win.

[@rdaltry777]

@@OddJobFix Uhh, Michelob Ultra is #2. BL dropped to #3...Still an AB InBev product at #2, but BL is #3

[@thehylianloach9473]

Yeah that “boycott” thing didn’t last lol, if anything this shows why you NEVER fix something that ain’t broken, if the product is the same it’s only a matter of time before they come back. Enshitification in a nutshell really

[@ew1usnr]

Good one! You made me laugh. :)

[@fredderf3152]

Drinking Schlitz gave me the Schitz

[@williammay2332]

That's what we called diarrhea. A case of the Schlitz.

[@fredderf3152]

We are hardened veteran Schlitz connoisseurs!!

[@johnking6252]

That's one of their less known advertising slogans ! But true. 👍

[@EndingSimple]

I was wondering if anybody ever noticed the rhyme.

[@billymule961]

Some of my friends called Budweiser........Buttwiper. I found out why one Sunday morning when I awoke in a panic and had to hightail it to the thunder mug. The entire day I was subject to shart attacks.

[@kenmiller9997]

Leave pop ups on longer please😮

[@arthurrandall981]

I'll give it a shot

[@lilajagears8317]

I would like to know whatever happened to Olympia beer. The best beer I have ever had.

[@johnchambers8528]

@@lilajagears8317 Like other local- regional beers it eventually was sold to a larger brewery. However as what usually happens they closed down the original brewery. After moving the production it never tasted the same. I guess their old advertising line, “it’s the water” was true. Since the water was different at the new brewery it most likely caused the taste change.

[@lilajagears8317]

@@johnchambers8528 Thanks for the info.

[@martinjohnson3877]

Have you tried the recent Schlitz product? It is wonderful compared to what it was in the 80s.

[@arthurrandall981]

I'm afraid I haven't tried Schlitz, One day I do need to bite the bullet and look online.

[@michaelbyrne8860]

Was stationed in the Marine Corps with a great friend from Rumford RI. Chris H. Blake and we're kinda of broke, so we decided buy some Beer and party! We went to the PX to get some beer! He grabs a case of Schlitz Beer and I say, that should be good! He looks at me and says what kinda of beer are you getting? I thought Damn! They had Old Style so I got a 12 pack and we walked over the baseball field and sat in the dugout and started to drink! Chris drank that whole 2 four before Finished 9 Old Styles and finished my last 3! That boy could knock them down! And he loved Schlitz Beer! Later we went up to Bos Mas and watched the Reds VS Bo Sox! And watch Louie win their only game! But the Boston crowd? Mostly Rhode Islanders drove back to RI, they never stopped drinking! It was the best World Series Party ever! Any time I see a Schlitz sign or beer I always think of C H Blake! The boy CMTFU!

[@jameskirchner]

At the time when Stroh bought Schlitz, over 80% of American beer was brewed by just three mega-breweries, and if you were smaller, you had a choice between being acquired, driven out of business or getting really big really fast. Stroh chose the third option and acquired Schlitz. They thought it made no sense to maintain their Detroit production facilities, so they moved everything to Milwaukee, and uprooted from their home in Detroit, things started deteriorating. If you read the book "Beer Money" by one of the Stroh heiresses, you'll find that Stroh's failure wasn't just due to Schlitz, but also partly due to a decline in the family that owned it.

[@johnchambers8528]

@@jameskirchner As usual don’t close your original brewery if you want to keep the taste the same. About the only brewery that has been successful in that effort is Anhiser Bush which brews Budweiser and other brands in several breweries across the country. They must take extra care to see Budweiser tasks the same regardless from what brewery it came from. Near its end Shaffer beer a regional east coast brewery had three breweries that produced their beer: the original in Brooklyn, Ny., Baltimore, Md. and finally their newest brewery near Allentown, Pa. While all three breweries were operating I could tell there was a slight taste difference depending on which brewery made the beer. Eventually they closed down the original and Baltimore breweries and then even though they had a large modern brewery in PA went out of business. Shaffer beer can still be found in some areas but like others is brewed by a larger brewery and is just another brand for them.

[@roberth3094]

I had one friend who drank Schlitz. No one else I knew drank it. It is the one beer anyone could pick from a blind test. It had a very unique taste.

[@dcongdon2294]

It also had a very good mouth feel to not plain watery like must beers.

[@ericmikuta]

I love my Old Milwaukee beer! The advertising campaign was great too, despite it not working well. Great story.

[@lrich8181]

Old Milwaukee always gave me the schlitz the next day.

[@ericmikuta]

@@lrich8181 you son of a biscuit!!!

[@dcongdon2294]

I liked OLD MIL but the head hurt the next morning was bad.Stop your head hurt before you get them.One teaspoon of salt in a small glass of beer or water after your done drinking.

[@ericmikuta]

@@dcongdon2294 the first time I switched and got drunk on Old Milwaukee, I had a headache the next day. I was used to drinking High Life for years.

[@markhamstra1083]

Using “fining agents”, as you describe in your “Step-4”, does not inherently degrade a beer’s flavor or quality. Rather, the use of any of several fining agents is a time-honored brewing method for improving clarity in many beers, including some very high quality beers. On the other hand, fining a flawed beer will, at most, produce a brilliantly clear but still flawed beer.

[@charleshaggard4341]

Interesting about the workers pay being low. That must be a regional issue because the Schlitz plant in Longview, Texas paid better than any employer in East Texas. I know a guy back in that time had job offers from Texas Eastman, Lone Star Steel, RG LeTourneau and Schlitz and he chose the latter because it paid the best. The only one still left after 50 years is now Eastman Chemical which is doing very well and expanding. My Dad had been a Schlitz drinker until the late 60s and started drinking Miller because of the taste, he said. Thanks for the video because I never knew this.

[@senior_ranger]

In 1968, we sat on pallets of Schlitz beer while we drank gallons of Bud in Vietnam. No GI would drink the stuff.

[@mrpoizun]

Like Bud wasn't as bad.

[@MrBlinkee]

Schlitz was my favorite beer when I began drinking beer but the taste and quality did change drastically for the worse. I always blamed the Strohs takeover for it because Strohs was an awful beer. Thanks for explaining what really happened

[@crankychris2]

Brewed in sight with just a kiss of the hops, to put real gusto into every drop...

[@Quacks0]

0:39 That slogan was invented by James Langford Stack, father of "your favorite host" as Lifetime TV described him in one of their midday top-of-the-hour lady's-voice announcements: "Coming up next --- your Lifetime afternoon continues with another hour of Unsolved Mysteries with your favorite host, Robert Stack! Then at two, don't miss our brand-new episode of..." :D

[@TonyLemWoodsPhillips]

I appreciate the video for its historical value, but, the information overlays (*___) went by too fast to read and absorb the information. That caused me to have to stop, click back, read, and continue so many times as to not really be at ease viewing the video. I appreciate the effort. I learned a lot. I remember being 15 years old in 1974 in rural North Carolina and sneaking in and buying Schlitz in the quart bottles for $1 plus about .04 cents tax. An hour later, each of us would be ill with diarrhea. So, my friends and I learned at an early age that drinking was bad, drinking Schlitz was very bad. I don't drink at all now at age 65.5 years old. Thanks again for the video!🍺🍻

[@sakibear4478]

No mention of Andecker, a premium version of Schlitz. Designed to compete with Michelob, the AB premium beer. Andecker’s bottle even closely resembled Michelob’s bottles shape.

[@gregsells8549]

Andecker was from Pabst. Schlitz came out with Erlanger as a "super premium" competitor to Michelob and Miller's Lowenbrau.

[@redare7]

In marketing class the professor pointed out that most consumers couldn't taste the difference, but, the super tasters could and advised everyone that it was terrible.

[@philhubb5885]

The super tasters proly accounted for 90% of sales.

[@fernandoalegria4240]

While sitting in a dentist's office during the time Schlitz and Bud were going head to head in L.A., I picked up a Business magazine and read interviews with the heads of both Schlitz and Bud. Bud announced that they were going to dismantle Busch Gardens, which was a successful Beer and exotic birds park at their Van Nuys brewery, and during construction all beer needed in the Southern California market will be trucked in from St. Louis, in refrigerated trucks until construction was done. The head of Schlitz said they would pump out the beer as fast as they could, and the customers wouldn't notice the difference. Now I know the complete story. Here's one. There used to be Beer Bars all over L.A. What happened?

[@regular-joe]

I sometimes wondered if I'd just imagined visiting Busch Gardens as a kid...thanks for confirming it actually existed.

[@tomcusack884]

I used to work at the Van Nuys Brewery. I didn't work for AB, I worked at their facility. They didn't have enough room, the old side as it was called was built in 1954 and was a 750 barrel system that produced 690 barrels. They made around 16 batches/day. They built the new side in 1982--it was twice as big and more efficient. Bud ran 2 brew houses, the old technology old side and the new technology new side. They had to remove Busch Gardens since they needed the room for the expansion. The Northridge Earthquake in 1994 caused a rebuilding, a combining of the old side restored using modern technology and the new side. Their efficiency increased. That brewery is one of the largest on Planet Earth. They brew more than 1 million barrels/month and a barrel is 31 gallons.

[@regular-joe]

Thanks for the "rest of the story" (as Paul Harvey would say)!

[@fernandoalegria4240]

@@regular-joe Used to love Paul Harvey.

[@MrBullethead63]

I still buy it and drink it when I can find it!

[@carlstenger5893]

Fascinating story. Well done! Thanks.

[@larshowen3319]

I remember the Schlitz Light commercials with James Coburn acting all rough and tough.

[@ew1usnr]

I like the advertisement at 0:44. Schlitz at one time made Extra-Stout and "Schlitz Porter." I remember when Schlitz reintroduced Erlanger back around 1980. It was an all-barley malt beer that was pretty good.

[@dcongdon2294]

I loved the Porter on tap.The old Hotel bars would have it on tap in St.Mary,Pa

[@ew1usnr]

@@dcongdon2294 When would that have been?

[@poppajretired410]

I remember this well. I was a Schlitz drinker and the difference in taste was immediate and disgusting. First thought was it’s just a bad batch which didn’t make sense because they supposedly constantly test. We finally realized they radically changed something in the process and said eff them, we’ll drink something else.

[@jimringomartin]

I was raised on Schlitz at 16 years old. I eventually had the 2nd largest Schlitz memoabilia collection. Thanks for this. Not sure who you are but I will find you!😮

[@chipcook5346]

I watched this happen when I was growing up in Memphis. From the biggest brewery in Memphis to no brewery in Memphis. I always wondered what caused the decline and demise. Now I know.

[@randypuestow8439]

This was a family business with the stock held across numerous family members . The family could not feeling agree how to manage things, and not enough of the family was involved in the daily management. The family did not develop their next generations to run it or look for professional managers to run it. generations to run

[@johnhess351]

That final 'New' Schlitz recipe at the very end was actually pretty good. Very smooth and malty, not too hoppy like Stag Beer. Here in Missouri we pronounce Anheuser "An HIGH ZER" not An HOWSER and Strohs is pronounced STROZE, not STRAWS. Why can't we return to a time where people made a quality product and were paid enough to be prosperous while the companies made enough money to be profitable? Answer: excess taxation and over regulation. The government busts up low hanging fruit with little companies for antitrust violations, but allows the true giants to hold a de facto monopoly through common interests.

[@Starphot]

Another commercial had a football quarterback say "I'll take you out for a pass and you'll come back incomplete". They paid James Colburn a million dollars to just say "Schlitz Lite" in one commercial.

[@wbsteck5072]

Terrible! Ugg

[@kyrenthang8633]

Henry Weinhardt's started as premium beer but after establishing a reputation they lowered the quality. Find one of their beers today.

[@j.patrickmoore9137]

Henry's is now brewed by craft brewer Hop Valley, which is owned by Molson Coors.

[@johnchambers8528]

@@kyrenthang8633 As usual this was another fine regional beer that was sold to a larger brewery and they closed the original brewery.So the brew from the larger brewery never tasted like the original.

[@ggkaufman]

There was a brief Schlitz renaissance in the 1990s-2000s with top quality product. My understanding is that the effort was abandoned when Pabst was bought by a European conglomerate. Want to do a sequel to this video?

[@jeremiahchamberlin4499]

Your video covered the greater part of my younger, beer-drinking days (graduated H.S. in 1971). I wasn’t aware of all the formula manipulations, or corporate takeovers; all I know is that Schlitz was never very good beer, despite as campaigns to ‘Go for the Gusto.’ Their Schlitz Malt Liquor did pretty well against Colt 45. I do remember drinking Stroh’s and Pabst Blue Ribbon, as well as Carling Black Label. The light beer wars between Budweiser & Miller did them in, I think. I was never a fan of light beer and sought ‘off brand’ beers with more flavor like Augsburger, and Ballantine Ale for my drinking pleasure.

[@michaellong6336]

Well done. Most Britts suck with American history perhaps for obvious reasons. Well done lad.

[@browngreen933]

Around 1960 my grandfather (an old German guy) ordered me a Schlitz 7 oz "Little Joe" after a hard day of fishing at Burlington, Wisconsin. My dad look disturbed but didn't stop him, and my mother was horrified when she later found out. I was just 7 years old. It tasted really good. Must have been before they cheapened the formula. 😂

[@scottmatson4816]

Grew up in Milwaukee. Schlitz was my first beer. When the workers foolishly went on strike, I had a truck driving job and had to cross the picket lines. They would threaten me and pound on my truck. I stopped going in there- and a few weeks later, that company closed its doors and they never reopened. A real shame. Schlitz had a beautiful tasting room. The beer wasn’t very good though. The first of many tragic Milwaukee businesses wrecked for one reason or another.

[@richarddietzen3137]

That sort of thing was giving organized labor a bad name.

[@r.f.pennington746]

As one almost 70yo, of course when we were youngsters we'd drink what we could get our hands on. Schlitz was among the lineup. I can remember getting a hold of some of the snot/floaties Schlitz beers. All this time I thought it was something we had done to the beer (cold to warm back to cold/trying to cool it down in a stream/etc) that had ruined it. Now I know!

[@michaelward9880]

This story rings true for many, if not all, western businesses. Bring back original Schlitz!