Schlitz Classic 1960s Formula
Experience Timeless Taste. Brewed in the USA since 1849, Schlitz defines timeless taste. Crisp and light with a faint sweetness, the beer that made Milwaukee famous is finished with a prime blend of Cascade, Mt. Hood and Williamette hops. This refreshing icon is for those who appreciate heritage and premium craftsmanship.
2.6
186 reviews
Irwindale, United States
Community reviews
Poured from a 12 OZ bottle into a pint glass.
Aroma- A hint of hay and grass, a much cleaner smell than many other adjunct lagers
Appearance- golden yellow hue, had a one inch white head.
Taste- A much preferred taste for me, I could taste hay, corn and hops
Palate- Pretty heavily carbonated but it works with this beer. I would consider this a full bodied beer on the palate for a lager
Overall- A really good adjunct lager.
Good pale lager, probably my favorite domestic macro. Better than PBR. My wife loves to use it to make radlers.
En fût. Verre de 6 oz dégusté chez Prohibition Pig (Waterbury, VT) au coût de 2,25$. Arôme: Légère odeur de céréale. Apparence: La couleur est dorée. Présence d’un mince col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Légère présence de céréale avec une pointe de foin. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement onctueuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Arrière goût légèrement fruité. (Rating #5516)
Bottle. Pale yellow color with a weak white head. Malt and grain aroma. Grain and bread flavor with a light malt backbone. Solid old school beer.
My Bottom Line:
Light bubblegum, honey-laden corn and doughy yeast are streamlined in this drinkable lager.
Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam circles the clear blond.
-Hops are an afterthought (way under what a German Pils has, for example).
-This is quite reminiscent of industrial Lithuanian brews in that it is very clean, shares only a touch of adjuncts and has a few well-placed esters.
On tap at The Prohibition Pig.
After its hiatus that lasted much of my adult lifetime, Schlitz reappeared in 2012 after its rumored restoration to its 1960s original swagger. After being subjected to this beer in the late 1980s during its horrible existence as stank swamp water, as a teenager, I considered it one of the worst beers available. I was so enthused by its renaissance, I labeled it the perfect example of the "bohemian style beer" that was consumed on the rooftop in "The Shawshank Redemption"....I gave it an "almost 3" because of that..it deserves a swig.
on tap at pro-pig, waterbury. served in a priceless schlitz glass. clear pale yellow pour with a very small and disappearing forever white cap, no lacing. grainy malts, pale cereals, white grape juice, pepper, metal, herbal-grassy blandness, plasticine. moderate to low carbonation, light body - oily and surprisingly not watery, smooth, relatively dry and bland herbal-grassy finish. drinkable.
Beautifully clear medium straw color. Fluffy off-white head that dissipates quickly. Smell is hoppy and clean. Taste is light and hops are just right. I can really get some hops in this beer, without it being too hoppy. A little herbal. Crisp, clean palate. A nice all around beer for the style. I highly recommend.
On draft, I believe it was at the Saz State House. How can I come to Milwaukee and NOT have a Schlitz original recipe? That’s like going into Philly and passing on a cheesesteak, or leaving Boston without having a bowl of chowder! Anyway, this came to me in a shaker glass dripping with condensation, which will make any plain yellow lager look pretty delectable (in a world filled with craft beer supermodels this is an obvious attempt to eroticize the fat sister of the group). You know I’ve read the other reviews here, and I gotta be honest. This doesn’t carry even a whiff of hops for me. Sorry. Sweet grains yes, with maybe a soapy quality, but I’m not going to be the Emperor’s Clothes dude and say "Oh yeah, there really ARE hops here! How ’bout that?" No. If this really and truly is any better, or even any different from the Millers and the Buds and the Coors, I would need to taste them all lined up side by side. Because one of these things is JUST LIKE the others, "classic formula" and all. Oh, and I love the claim to being "the world’s second best selling beer of the 1960’s". Hahahaha! RRREEEAAACCCHHHH!
Talk about a whale. Pours a basically clear pale golden with some fine floating sediment and a fair rocky off-white head that settles to a thin film and actually leaves a few splotches of soapy lace. Nose involves soft pale malt, light hop spice, and clean dough. Not a trace of anything offensive. Fairly sweet, fairly bitter, definitely has some flavor. Light side of medium bodied, pretty active, a touch oily, with a nice crisp and clean finish. So happy I found some. There is no reason on earth why anyone should spend 50 cents to a dollar more a 6-pack to drink fucking Budweiser. This is the real shit.
Bottle. Revived formula. Taste is the old timey lager taste from years ago. Aroma is hay, straw and weak. Appearance is golden with a good head.
Schlitz is my favorite "lawn mower beer". To me this beer is much tastier than the BMC alternatives.
This is delicious. It has a nice earthy smell off the bottle. Great out of the bottle too , no glass or mug needed for this one. It is nice and smooth. Kind of sweet but balanced well with hops and malt harmony on the palate. This is preferred over the current domestic lagers in America , trust me I’m a professional guy. I welcome Schlitz back happily. Great beer, thanks Wisconsin.
16 oz. can. Pours a medium, well retained white head, ovre a clear yellow (SRM 3) body.....nose is cereal, pils malts, perhaps hint of hop spice.....taste is slightly sweet, with pils malts, leading to a mild bitter hop finish......mouth feel light near watery, carbonation makes a mild slightly acid finish. This is a fairly typical Pale Lager being light in aroma and flavor, with a watery mouth feel. It meets the style, but why bother? This is not a Pilsner. BJCP 6/3/10/3/5
Too many of you are confused as a pothead as to the difference between the Schlitz formulas!! I had originally rated the old "cheap" formula Schlitz as the best cheap beer in America. Since that version doesn’t exist I have since bestowed that honor upon STAG. This version of Schlitz is very fine. A unique flavor of high value. It has a unique flavor that no other adjunct lager in the USA has. It’s still full of corn, but with a unique flavor.
This is very flavorful and very good. I paid $5.00 for 6 cans of pints. Not bad, not bad. For the price this is very nice! B+
The new/old Schlitz is, to me, the epitome of an American adjunct lager, and what an American macro is supposed to taste like. It won’t be mistaken for an all-malt beer, but it is tasty and smooth. Nice head that dissipates too quickly but leaves some lacing on the glass, faint adjunct aroma is a weak point. Taste is slightly sweet hay with, believe it or not, a hint of hops. No metallic tastes and it doesn’t scream corn or cereal, which is a major accomplishment for the style and price. Virtually no aftertaste. Overall this is a solid beer that would run foreign-owned Budweiser off the continent if the gap in marketing budgets wasn’t so vast.
Pale straw color like any macro. The bright white head lingered more than expected and produced lacing. Smell is of corn/grain. Taste is very malty with a hint of floral hops. The finish is a bit off with a sour note and a soapy mouth feel. Not bad for a Macro Lager. It’s as though most of the elements are there, it’s just kinda weak. The 1960’s formula was certainly closer to what a beer should be than is say a Bud.
I believe this tops the list of macro american adjunct lagers. Perfect for a hot summer day. Very sessionable and non-offensive to new beer drinkers and those who just want something refreshing. There isn’t much hop character or other flavor other than corn and grain, but it is presented well. I’d pick up a sixer of Schlitz over Bud or any other american macro any day.
Clear Light Yellow, Small Foamy Head, Light Lacing. Sweet Corn, Light Bitter, Light Malt Mouth Feel. Light Body, thicker than expected, medium carbonation, makes it an easy drinker on a hot summer day. Pleasantly .surprised, better than expected. Slightly better, actually tastes like a beer, light beer, than most of macro swirls.
Can at a Brewers game - seemed fitting - as much as I hate to admit this, it was definitely and surprisingly much better than I expected - big head, medium straw color, nice full bodied and balanced aroma and flavor, malt was not too sweet, had a decent hop balance - I would definitely drink this again
For a bottled beer at a reasonable price this is a good medium beer. It is not a dark beer, but definately more body to it than your averge bottled beer. My current favorite bottled beer.
This magnificent creature was born on December 24, 2012. A Christmas Eve beer, what a delight!! 12 oz bottle into a SA perfect pint.
A - Pours a dark yellow/light golden body. Crystal clear with rising carbonation. Half a finger of white head sticks around for a bit eventually residing in a thin cap. Decent lacing.
S - Sweet corn, grain, and a touch of something pleasant. Smells nice and inviting.
T - Sweet corn and some chewy malts. Borderline cereal grain but with some toastiness. Faint floral hops. Ya, this is damn tasty stuff. Crisp and lively carbonation.
O - Full discretion, I actually LIKE AAL’s. This one is right up there in the top of the tops. Probably better than ’gansett. The light toasted element gives it a nice splash of flavor while remaining light and drinkable.
12oz bottle, at a friend’s house. Pours a pale, clear yellow with a thin white head. Aroma is lightly malt, bready, corn. Medium on the palate with average carbonation. Flavor is lightly sweet, bread, light grassy hops, not much else, with a bland, bready finish. Meh.
This is one of the more hoppy lagers of the mass-brewed beers. I like it!
Pours clear gold with a persistent large white head. Aroma of grainy corn and cereal. Flavors of grainy corn, very dry, with a very slight bitterness in the finish. Slight carbonic bite and medium carbonation feel. I enjoyed it on tap at a country bar.
I spotted a 12-pack of cans of this classic 1960’s Schlitz formula, and just had to know what all the fuss in those ads in the 60’s were all about (mind you, I did try the modern Schlitz, which tasted like it had the "piss of the hops", ie, it sucked balls).
The classic formula was consumed with some gourmet olives from the old Bruno’s at the corner of hwy 31 and hwy 150, across from the Galleria.
I was indeed impressed with "the kiss of the hops"; I was able to, as the Commodores said in their Schlitz ad, "Sail on to easy taste"; but when I was done, I knew then what the old-timers knew - when you’re out of Schlitz, you’re out of beer!
12oz bottle - pours misty pale yellow with quickly diminishing white head and thin lacing. Nose is straight up pilsner aka wet cardboard with hay. Flavor adds spaghetti-O’s metallic aftertaste. Lightly sweet with a stronger bitterness. Easy to drink with a malty base. I can dig this.
Clear golden straw pour with a white head. Smells of sweet grain and corn with a hint of malt. A bit watery, some grass, straw, and very light fruit esters. Tastes lightly of bread and malt, but mostly just grain sweetness otherwise. Some light fruit esters, mild grass, and a bit of straw. Very mild metal as it gets toward room temperature.
Tall boy on October 17th, 2012. Tolerable pale lager, can’t understand why you’d just want "a kiss of the hops" in a beer. If this is the second best selling beer of the 1960’s, I’m glad I wasn’t alive then.
I have this overwhelming urge to yell "it’s Schlitz M.....F...er....." in the voice of Samuel L Jackson when I drink this. Other than that, this is actually kinda tasty piss beer. Drank from the bottle, as per style, and it is, err, drinkability! Will have to guess at appearance (the bottle looks nice). Glad someone is bringing back the 1960s... As, literaly cited on wikipedia: The 1960s was a decade that began on January 1, 1960 and ended on December 31, 1969. Going on.. " to describe the era as one of irresponsible excess and flamboyance." okay, this beer has none of that. "he new, radical, and subversive events and trends of the period" ditto. Hell, if you are this far into my review of the beer, wiki up some 1960s....I’m just filling space for this sub-par lager.