This version of Schlitz is not to be confused with the regular Schlitz that has been available in stores (and still is) for the last 20-30 years. Supposedly this is a reconstructed version of the beer that made Schlitz the #2 brewery in the U.S. as late as 1976. This version, clearly labeled "Classic 1960s Formula", is a throwback, the beer many of our fathers drank, and perhaps one many of us cut our teeth on back in the day.

After being released in test markets a few years ago, then in other parts of the country, it finally made it to South Carolina this month, and I located it at a local grocery store this week.

I don't know if it was the months of anticipation, the nostalgia, or the marketing, but I found this to be a damn good American macro-brew. I drank a few Schlitz Tall Boys as a novice beer drinker myself in the 70s, and Schlitz always did have a distinct taste. I can't swear that this is the exact same formula, but it certainly is in the ball park. If you are a beer aficionado who is hung up on high gravity IPAs, then you will certainly find this lacking; but if you just want a good ice cold beer without breaking the bank, this one would do the trick nicely. I think when the nostalgia factor is considered, many of my wet-shaving brethren would appreciate it on that level as well.