Of course Stoh's being located in Detroit probably didn't help either.
From BEER: A History of Brewing in Chicago:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1569803129/sr=8-5/qid=1154004603/ref=pd_bbs_5/102-9985987-1184119?ie=UTF8
"For the first quarter of 1996, Stroh production fell by ten-percent while sales of its Heileman products slipped one-percent to 1.7 million barrels. Almost half of the Old Style production went to beer drinkers in the Chicagoland area.
Lacey Logan, spokesperson for the Stroh Brewing Company, pointed out that the brewery had actually chosen to reduce sales, in large part due to its decision to eliminate the weakest selling brands in its extensive portfolio. The continued discount pricing led by Anheuser-Busch and Miller, however, was causing unavoidable problems for Stroh. “This type of pricing strategy driven by these two large brewers does damage to all [brewers],” Logan complained. “It not only drives margins down, but in the long term, it diminishes brand equity and value.”
By 1998, it was clear that Stroh was in trouble. Not only was the brewery struggling with its continuing trend of falling sales and the incessant hammering down of profit margins due to the continuing price wars, but its debt load, increased substantially by its purchase of Heileman, was squeezing out the meager profits the brewery had actually been making due to its drastic cost-cutting actions.
The ending of an arrangement with Pabst to contract brew a number of their brands in Stroh-owned plants, which accounted for around fifteen-percent of Stroh’s total production, was the final nail in the coffin for Stroh, as Stroh board member William Howenstein conceded.
In December of 1998, the family-owned Stroh Brewing Company announced that it was closing its brewery in Tampa to further cut capacity. In addition, mid-level managers at the Detroit headquarters were getting pink-slipped.
Although spokeswomen Logan declared that “Stroh has the wherewithal to go it alone and [would] take necessary steps to remain competitive,” the industry waited for the other shoe to fall.
They didn’t have to wait long. On February 8, 1999, William L. Henry announced that the Stroh Brewing Company had signed agreements with Pabst and Miller to sell off its portfolio of brands. Pabst picked up a significant number of brands that had once helped Heileman propel itself to the number three brewing operation in the U.S., including Chicagoland favorites, Old Style and Special Export. Said John Stroh III, a fifth-generation member of the Stroh family and president and CEO of The Stroh Cos., Inc., the parent company of the brewing operation, “My family and I struggled with this decision. Emotionally, it was extremely difficult one to make, knowing that it would impact our loyal employees, and recognizing that it would mean the end of our family’s centuries-old brewing tradition that had become, in essence, an important part of our identity. Emotions aside, this was not a cavalier financial decision either. Over the years, we have had several opportunities to sell the business, but due to the family’s commitment to our brewing heritage, we felt none were compelling enough to pursue. However, in light of this attractive offer, and the long term competitive outlook of the brewing industry, we concluded that it is the appropriate time to exit the beer business and focus on the family’s other ventures,” said Stroh.
Terms of the buy-out deal were withheld but an industry estimate topped out at around $400 million. In the next few months, and with final approval from the federal government, Miller and Pabst started taking over production of Stroh’s beer portfolio.
I came to like Stroh's when I attended the Republican National Convention in Detroit in 1980. Shortly afterwards, I read that it was purchased by one of the major brewing companies, so I figured that it would eventually go downhill.
Stroh's was sold to Pabst. The brewery on Gratiot Ave. in Detroit was torn down 20 years ago.