Wolski’s Tavern will be out of Schlitz (though not out of beer) tonight.
The historic bar at 1836 N. Pulaski St. announced on Facebook that it’s pouring the final keg of Schlitz beer in its possession at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 6. Once America’s largest brewer and one of Milwaukee’s biggest employers, Schlitz has been discontinued by parent company Pabst Brewing after more than 175 years.
Wolski’s co-owner Sean McCarthy told WISN-12 that before the tap runs dry, the tavern hopes “to have a bunch of people who have known the brand, or are familiar with it, to come and tell some stories and have a couple more beers.”
The company began as a Milwaukee tavern brewery in 1849, before being taken over by Joseph Schlitz and renamed as “Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co.” It then passed to the Uihlein family following Schlitz’s death at sea in 1875.
By the end of Prohibition, Schlitz was the largest brewer in the U.S., operating a sprawling brewery at what is now King Drive and Galena Street in Milwaukee. Through the 1970s Schlitz supported a series of Milwaukee festival staples, including the Fourth of July lakefront fireworks, Circus Parade and Old Milwaukee Days.
But around that time, the brewer had fallen behind Milwaukee competitors Miller and Pabst. The company changed its formula in an attempt to cut costs, but the move only alienated longtime customers and hastened its decline.
The company closed the Milwaukee brewery in 1981 following a strike and was sold to Stroh Brewing Co. the following year. Stroh shut down all remaining Milwaukee operations shortly thereafter.
Pabst bought Schlitz in 1999 and relaunched in 2008, but the once-massive presence it once had in Milwaukee remained greatly diminished.
Still, the brand received an outpouring of support when news spread in May that production was ending. Milwaukee liquor stores had their remaining stock cleaned out in a matter of days. Pre-orders for the specialty batch brewed by Wisconsin Brewing Co. on May 23 sold out in just nine hours.
Francesca Pica can be reached at fpica@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Last call: Wolski’s Tavern to serve its final keg of Schlitz on June 6
Reporting by Francesca Pica, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Francesca Pica, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
