Schlitz Beer, 1849 – 2026

Pabst Brewing Company announced the end of the line for the 177-year-old Schlitz Beer, “the beer that made Milwaukee famous.” The beer company was started by August Krug in 1849, but bought out by Joseph Schlitz in 1858 when he married Krug's widow (!). Schlitz weathered Prohibition—barely—by switching to candy production, and fought with rival Anheuser-Busch as the country’s most popular beer by the mid-20^th century. I am the original “Papa, what is beer?” girl—I have never tasted beer, as the smell of my father’s beers were so horrendous (no, I can’t remember what brand he drank).