Saturday, April 19, 2008

What Would Be Great Is Schlitz Returnables Cases For Under A Sawbuck

The big-boy article on the front of today's Strib business section was about Schlitz and how Pabst Brewing is bringing it back in bottles in an attempt at retro marketing. Last year they started selling it in bottles in Tampa, Florida and in the Twin Cities. I saw the Schlitz bottles a couple of times last fall - at the MGM near Lake Calhoun and at McDonald's Liquors near Lake Nokomis - and bought a twelver at the MGM. The article touches on how I felt: The beer is too damn spendy for what you are getting. I believe the twelver was $10.99, hard to swallow (pun intended) when I used to buy Schlitz in cans for less than six buck a twelve-box. For $10.99, you are in the Summit and Sam Adams range plus Red Stripe or other imports when they are on sale. (Red Stripe and St. Pauli Girl regular and dark is always $9.99 a twelver at Chicago-Lake Liquors.) As for Pabst's claim that they have brought back the 1960s formula that made Schlitz the country's top-selling beer, I swear they said this years ago when I was buying it in cans at a much cheaper price.

This year business has been great. I'll stick with the Heineken eighteen-box bottle special at Chicago-Lake. The price works out to be less than a penny more per bottle than Schlitz.