MILWAUKEE — The keg taps for the “Beer that made Milwaukee famous” are going dry on Saturday.
The Pabst Brewing Co. is ending production of Schlitz, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The beer debuted as a Milwaukee tavern brew during the 19th century and was once America’s largest brewer, according to WKOW.
The company, founded in Milwaukee in 1849, was bought by Pabst in 1999, the Journal Sentinel reported.
To send the Milwaukee icon off, Kirby Nelson, brewmaster at Wisconsin Brewing Company, will brew a final 80-barrel batch of Schlitz on Saturday at its Verona brewery, according to the newspaper.
Schlitz beer, a Milwaukee icon and once the largest brewer in America, is being retired after 177 years as Pabst Brewing Company has ceased production. https://t.co/MUvMpsQFUG
— WKOW 27 News (@WKOW) May 19, 2026
Pabst stopped brewing Schlitz months ago. The decision came down to production minimums.
“Schlitz volume had dropped to the point where Pabst has a Busch plant in Texas do their brewing for them,” Nelson told WKOW. “The minimum quantities that Budweiser required, the brand fell way below that, so they had to retire it.”
Nelson told the Journal Sentinel that Schlitz deserves to go out with “dignity and respect.”
He added that the Wisconsin Brewing Company received permission from Pabst to brew Schlitz one last time, WISN reported.
He will be brewing with the company’s specifications from 1948, when it was on top of the U.S. brewing industry.
“This is back to Schlitz’s glory days,” Nelson told the Journal Sentinel, adding that the brew “is Wisconsin Brewing Company’s love letter to our state.”
Nelson will also serve the Schlitz at Old World Wisconsin’s 50th anniversary celebration in Eagle on July 4, according to the newspaper.
And after that, well, as the jingle went, “When you’re out of Schlitz, you’re out of beer.”
Well, at least out of Schlitz.
© 2026 Cox Media Group
