S-C-H-M-I-D-T-S
Just a clarification about today’s column on the “return” of Schmidt’s. The beer itself is extinct.
After Pabst took over the old G. Heileman brands (Old Style, Olympia, Natty Bo) via the Stroh’s deal in 1999, it was brewed briefly as a separate label with the old Schmidt’s logo. Then Pabst pulled a fast one and morphed the Philly label with the very similar Schmidt (no apostrophe “s”) from Wisconsin.
Today, it doesn’t even bother with the ruse. It’s all packaged as “Schmidt” with illustrations of wildlife on the labels, apparently a nod to Philly’s vast hunting grounds.
Some local bars claim they’re serving our Schmidt’s on draft. That’s untrue. It’s all Schmidt.
Not that it matters. You’d have to do a lot of talking to convince me that the 20 or more “old-school” brands Pabst sells these days don’t out of the same spigot.
On a related note, reader Rich Ruch passes along word that Downingtown’s Victory Brew has just released this year’s version of draft Throwback Lager. That’s the pre-Pro pale lager made with Schmidt’s yeast.
Rich also remembers the famous Inquirer taste test that ranked Schmidt’s the No. 1 beer in America. I wrote about the test and the emergence of Coors in Philadelphia in 2005 - there’s a Word Doc with the article below.
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