Is Schlitz Discontinued? What Happened?

Schlitz wasn’t just another beer. For a long time, it was the beer. The one people meant when they said “the beer that made Milwaukee famous.” It started in 1849 at a small Milwaukee brewery and grew into a giant that once sold more beer than anyone else in the world.

The brand had some huge early wins. After the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, Schlitz shipped beer directly into the city when clean water was hard to find. The brand exploded in popularity thanks to that move. By 1902, Schlitz was the top-selling beer in the world.

Schlitz’s early popularity helped shape the industry. In 1912, it introduced the brown glass bottle, which protected beer from light damage and became a brewing standard.

But the brand’s biggest turning point came in the 1970s - and not for the better. That’s when management changed the brewing process to cut costs. The new formula tasted different, and customers noticed immediately. It didn’t help that a later fix caused more problems, introducing a hazy beer with “floaters,” or sediment. This misstep damaged trust even more. Sales collapsed, and Schlitz never fully recovered.

Ownership changed hands several times. Stroh bought the brand in 1982 before Pabst acquired it in 1999. Pabst tried to revive Schlitz in 2008 with a return-to-the-1960s recipe, but the comeback stalled.

In May 2026, Pabst announced that Schlitz would be discontinued. Rising storage and shipping costs made it too expensive to keep producing, especially as beer consumption in the U.S. continued to fall.

Wisconsin Brewing Company brewed a final farewell batch using historic brewing logs from the 1940s as a tribute to the beer’s golden era. The last release was set for June 27, 2026.

Even though production has ended, Schlitz remains a symbol of American beer history. It was the brand that shaped an industry, and despite some stumbles, still earned a loyal following to the very end.