Holy Schlitz!

According to the Dec. 10, 1970, issue of the Syracuse New Times,
an advertisement for Brad’s Brews Victuals and Stews, once located at
713 S. Crouse Ave., announced a six-pack of 16-ounce Schlitz beer
specially priced at a mere $1.30. Ah, those were the days. And now
they’re coming back: Onondaga Beverage Corporation is currently
rereleasing the wrath of Schlitz on the general public, and they
recently sponsored an official unveiling party at Hafner’s Restaurant
in North Syracuse just to prove it’s not another flashback.

Sitting quite spiffy at Hafner’s parking
lot was a 1964 Chevrolet El Camino adorned with a giant Schlitz logo on
both doors and inscribed with the phrase “Powered By Gusto.” The
gleaming white car looked like a dream, but after walking inside and
witnessing the entire happy hour crowd downing Schlitz, not to mention
that the OnBev reps also brought along two sexy Go-Go Gusto girls who
evoked the sock-it-to-me era, it quickly became apparent that the
evening was not a hallucination. The crowd was really digging it.

Go for the retro gusto: Many hoppy returns for the classic Schlitz brew. MATT MUMAU PHOTOS

As a matter of fact, several
good-ol’-boys that used to work at Baldwinsville’s former Schlitz
Brewery (which now pumps out suds of Budweiser) showed up to get a
taste of the good ol’ days. “It was quite a few years ago, but it
tastes pretty close to what I remember,” said Ray Florczyk, former
brewer at the B’ville Schlitz. “But they changed the recipe so many
times that it’s hard to tell which one it tastes like.”

What Florczyk is referring to is that
the Schlitz Brewery, which opened in Baldwinsville in 1977, faced
direct competition from the nearby Miller Brewing Company plant in
Volney and kept tinkering with the beer’s formula to try and outpace
the sale of Miller. Schlitz lost that battle and closed the
Baldwinsville brewery doors in 1980, but there is some irony in the
current Schlitz situation. SABMiller, the company that produces Miller
Lite, Miller High Life and several others, is the one that is now
producting Schlitz.

“Miller is what ultimately put us out of
business back in the day,” continued Florczyk. “But now Miller is the
one producing Schlitz again. I guess everything comes full circle.” 

The roots of the beer go back to 1856, when German
immigrant Joseph Schlitz took over a tavern brewery in Milwaukee, Wis.,
following the death of its previous owner, August Krug. In two years’
time, the widow of Mr. Krug became Mrs. Schlitz, and her hubby
officially raised the curtain of the newly minted Joseph Schlitz
Brewing Co. 

With unyielding success over the next
century, Schlitz earned the nickname “the beer that made Milwaukee
famous” and continued to flourish throughout the 1970s, until financial
difficulties led to the cheaper change in recipe that the public deemed
undrinkable. Capping it off, a 1981 strike by workers at the Milwaukee
Schlitz plant ultimately led to the purchase of Schlitz by the Stroh
Brewing Company in Detroit. Schlitz Brewing Company is now a division
of the Pabst Brewing Co., which is owned by SAB Miller. 

But the new Schlitzers are promoting
happier times, as the current advertising campaign suggests the lager
is using the “classic 1960s formula.” They’ve even gone so far as to
feature an ad with Playboy’s Miss December 1968, Cynthia Meyers, pictured next to the phrase, “Things had better body back then. . . especially the beer.”

One of Florczyk’s fellow brewers at the
old Schlitz Baldwinsville brewery also thought this was a good way to
bring a little bit of history back to Syracuse, while at the same time
keeping the tradition alive. “Schlitz once had similar global
recognition that Budweiser enjoys today,” said Rob Hermann. “A great
American beer with strong history right here in Central New York
that’ll hopefully stick around a while this time.”

If you’re interested in seeing if Schlitz tastes just
like you remember—if you had nights that you remember drinking it—or
want to feel it for the first time, it is served locally at Lake Effect
Tavern, 7 Syracuse St., Baldwinsville; Cobble Stone Ale House, 400
First St., Liverpool; and Rosie O’Gradys, 103 Hamilton St. It is also
available for domestic purchase at all area Wegmans and Price Choppers.