Schlitz Beer Can

In the shape of a beer can, with a Schlitz label. White text on a red rectangle and red text on a white background.

Schlitz dates back to 1849, when German immigrant, August Krug, began brewing beer in his Milwaukee restaurant’s basement. In 1850, twenty-year-old Joseph Schlitz immigrated to Milwaukee from Germany and was hired by Krug to handle his restaurant and brewery’s bookkeeping. After Krug passed away in 1856, Joseph Schlitz took over the brewery, renaming it the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. “The Beer that Made Milwaukee Famous” was introduced as an official slogan in 1893 at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago.