Photo via Milwaukee Downtown
Schlitz Park Mural
A mural at Schlitz Park celebrates the beer's history in Milwaukee
In a beer market already saturated with breweries and brands, an old favorite has reappeared thanks to a brewery and brewer dedicated not only to the craft, but also the brand’s enduring legacy in the Badger State. And, frankly, they are amazed at the enthusiastic response.
Schlitz, “The Beer that Made Milwaukee Famous,” was all but dead in the barrel when Verona-based Wisconsin Brewing Co. and its cofounder/brewmaster Kirby Nelson, learned that current brand owner Pabst Brewing Co., another former Milwaukee giant now based in San Antonio, Texas, had decided to turn off the tap on Schlitz, first founded in Milwaukee in 1849 by August Krug. The company felt Schlitz no longer carried its weight in today’s challenging beer market and retired the brand
Pabst had acquired the Schlitz assets as part of the purchase of Detroit-based Stoh’s Brewery, which also held the assets of the former G. Heilemen’s Old Style Beer, formerly brewed in La Crosse, as well as those of other breweries.
Final Batch
Photo via Wisconsin Brewing Company - Facebook
It's Schlitz O'Clock! sign
When Nelson learned about the discontinuation of Schlitz, once one of the top two beers in America along with Budweiser, he knew the brand shouldn’t face such an ignominious end. “We have a great relationship with Pabst and have done various projects with them,” Nelson says. “Pabst gave us the nod to go ahead and brew a final batch, and away we went.”
A native of Racine, Nelson has top-tier brewmaster chops, starting his brewing career at G. Heilemen in 1978, pulling a stint with an Asian brewery in the Philippines, and eventually returning to Wisconsin. He became an investor and brewmaster in Capital Brewing Co. in Middleton, ultimately leaving and, with fellow Capital alumnus Carl Nolen and his brother Mark Nolen, founding Wisconsin Brewing Co. in 2012.
The brewery has gone on to establish its own successful brand, as well as acquiring the Lake Louie brand formerly brewed by Tom Porter in a large shed on his property in Arena, Wis. Wisconsin Brewery has gone on to guest-brew multiple other brands, including a partnership with Harley-Davidson to create Road King NA beer.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Classic Recipe
With the Pabst arrangement set and no charge to use the brand name, Nelson went ahead to recreate the Schlitz of the 1950s, when the beer was in its heyday and before it took the controversial to change its recipe, which lowered its quality. Through an industry friend in Chicago, he acquired some Schlitz brewing logs from 1948 and was able to recreate what he believes is very close to the Schlitz recipe.
“We used six-row malt and actual corn grits, along with Yakima Cluster and Hallertau Mittelfruh hops,” Nelson says. “Schlitz was a little stronger for its time.”
Saturday, May 23, was selected as brewing day, and Nelson and his crew worked while about 300 people gathered at the brewery, which also includes retail and hospitality functions. In the end, 80 barrels of Schlitz were produced and stored for aging. Of that amount, 700 cases were set aside for prepurchase, and the rest for draft sales.
The cases were offered on Wisconsin Brewery’s website starting at midnight on that Saturday, and by 9 a.m. Sunday the lot had sold out, with a 300-name waiting list in case any pre-purchasers changed their mind.
The Future?
The beer still has a month in the keg and will be ready for sale and consumption on June 27. The brewery will host a launch party on that day with Schlitz on tap. In addition, a limited supply will be sent to Old World Wisconsin, the state’s official historical park, to be served at the park’s historic woodfired brewery on July 4 in conjunction with the nation’s 250th birthday and Old World Wisconsin’s 50th year.
Is here another batch of Schlitz in the future? Nelson would like to think so.
“We’d love to brew another batch,” he explains. “We’ll have to see what our friends at Pabst say.”
