DETROIT – Many people know the Stroh's name, but they don't know the history. The Stroh family first started brewing at a family inn in Germany in 1775.
In 1850, Bernhard Stroh established the Lion's Head Brewery in Detroit and in 1902, the name was changed to Stroh's.
In 1978 Stroh's was available in 17 states, and by 1982, it was the third largest brewer in the U.S. But it left Detroit in 1985 and, eventually, was bought by Pabst.
Now it's back.
Detroit will experience a beer that was created using some of the old Stroh's recipes that are some 160 years old. It's a different bottle and a little different taste, but all Detroit.
"We kind of feel like we're putting the heart back in the brand by being home," brand manager Eric Phillips said.
Home is Detroit, and Stroh's, after 31 years of being brewed somewhere else, is back. But this isn't your dad's Stroh's -- the American-style lager -- it's Stroh's Bohemian style pilsner.
"Your old-school Stroh's drinker will say, 'This has a lot of flavor, but it's not too heavy,'" Phillips said. "And your craft drinker says, 'Wow, I'm surprised this has so much flavor.'"
The new Detroit-made Stroh's hits stores and bars Monday and will only be sold in Michigan, where it's been a family tradition for so long.
"The stories of families having a first beer and it being a Stroh's, or the people that worked there," Phillips said.
"I grew up on Stroh's because my mom used to do advertising for Stroh's back when it was in Detroit," said Rob Nicholl, of Brew Detroit. "So I grew up with it, so me being able to be a part of it again is huge to me."
Brew Detroit is getting a temporary Stroh's makeover, and that will be available here Monday.