The Long, Slow, Torturous Death of Zima (No more Zima "beer)

Slate ^ | November 26, 2008 | Brendan I. Koerner

[PJ-Comix]

Anybody out there ever drink this "beer?" I never had the "pleasure." BTW, Schlitz used to be the number one beer but then committed suicide by putting some sort of additive into its beer to save money. It also changed the taste much to the distaste of it's customers.

[NonValueAdded]

The Schlitz decision was a case study in one of the business courses I took.

[PJ-Comix]

If I remember Schlitz put in an additive to cut brewing time and costs. It also cut the taste and their customer base. It’s amazing now to think that at one time Schlitz was the TOP selling beer in the country. BTW, what happened to Ballantine? It used to be a big selling beer but is now barely noticed.

[PalmettoMason]

But Zima actually survived for more than another decade, until MillerCoors pulled the plug on Oct. 10.

I hope MORE of their product go under. I have refused to drink a single drop of Miller's swill since the infamous "Gay Last Supper" controversy.

Miller Brewing Co. is dead to me.

[incredulous joe]

If I had I would not admit to it.

I drank stuff like Schlitz, Schaffer, Pabst, Lowenbrau, Bud, Miller and Coors back when I was a kid, but would prefer water to any of these brews.

Lots of folks here at FR seem to have an affinity for that stuff ~ not my cup of tea ~ but good for them if they like it!

[PJ-Comix]

I just checked Wikipedia. It wasn't an additive but a high temp fermentation process that killed the taste:

The company flourished through the 1970s, being ranked as the No. 2 brewery in America as late as 1976. But problems with its production, specifically its attempt to cut costs in the brewing process by using a high-temperature fermentation, which produced a product that the public deemed inferior, combined with a crippling 1981 strike by workers at the Milwaukee plant, led to serious financial difficulties. On June 10, 1982, the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co. was acquired by Stroh Brewery Company of Detroit, Michigan. The regular beer is still produced, though in relatively small quantities, by the Pabst Brewing Company, along with four malt liquors (Schlitz Malt Liquor, Schlitz Red Bull, Schlitz Bull Ice and Schlitz Very Smooth Lager).

[PJ-Comix]

So what kind of brew do you drink now? One big change in American beer tastes over the past 20 years is that foreign beers are much more popular now. We used to have a place called Lum’s in Florida where you could eat steamed hot dogs along with a wide variety of foreign beers offered. This was before many foreign beers were on the market here.

[Marie Antoinette]

I tried Zima the year it launched. I thought it was a refreshing change, but beer was much cheaper. LOL. I’m a chick, so that won’t dispel its girly-man image.

[alice_in_bubbaland]

Good riddance, that “beer” was disgusting. You had to mix it with something, anything, to make it somewhat palatable.

[DieHard the Hunter]

In there was an equivalent to Zima, called “Clayton’s”.

Its actual presence in the marketplace was short; however it gained immortality in the New Zealand English Dialect.

To describe something as being “Claytons” is to describe it as being cheap and fake.

For example, Obama is your Claytons President because he has only ever been able to produce a Claytons Certificate of Live Birth.

[Pablo64]

"The Long, Slow, Torturous Death of Zima"

Fantastic news. The only question is why the heck did it take so long? That crap never should have made it to the market in the first place.

[verity]

I can still remember when Schlitz was ‘nectar’ and $1.25 per six pack. Ah,,,when I was young and healthy.

[PJ-Comix]

1993 to 1994 was the heyday of the “clear” brands. I remember drinking clear Pepsi and using clear toothpaste. Lots of clear products back then. I guess it was just a phase we went through.

[bert]

I always thought Zima tasted like Alka Seltzer

[Neidermeyer]

We used to have a place called Lum’s in Florida where you could eat steamed hot dogs along with a wide variety of foreign beers offered. This was before many foreign beers were on the market here.
*******************************************************
LUMS was a national chain (though sread pretty thin) ,, they not only had beer as a beverage choice but the dogs were steamed in beer ... not a bad idea really... could be revived by A&W or a similar chain perhaps..

[jerod]

I went from Schooner to Alpine to Moose Dry and now I drink the king of beers... Budweiser! Alexander Keiths is acceptable when Bud is unavailable, but it is rarely unavailable.

I like my beer brewed in vats the size of Rhode Island, that’s why I drink my Bud.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"I drank stuff like Schlitz, Schaffer, Pabst, Lowenbrau, Bud,"

Bud has a new brew out called American Ale. It's good, try it. I don't know if any of the major manufacturers produce an ale. Almost all lagers. They leave that up to the Sam Adams and Yuenglings of the world usually.

[PJ-Comix]

Remember California Coolers? The folks who started that company sold it for a hefty process and, in perfect timing, the product immediately lost its popularity right after the sale.

[DieHard the Hunter]

> In there was an equivalent to Zima, called “Clayton’s”.

DUHHHHHH. Should read:

In New Zealand there was an equivalent to Zima, called “Clayton’s”.

Past my bedtime!

[KosmicKitty]

I’m VERY allergic to something in beer. Every time I’ve tried to drink it, I start throwing up after a few sips. Type doesn’t matter, cheap or expensive, the same thing happens

I used to like Zima. Nice for picnics & weekend afternoons when you didn’t want wine or hard liquor. Much nicer than wine coolers that are just too sweet!!

Sigh, I’m probably the only person on the planet who drank it, but I liked it.