Michigan Breweries History: The Stroh Brewery Company Leaving the chaos of the 1848 German Revolution, Bernhard Stroh emigrated from Kirn, Germany, to South America. He soon decided to try his fortune in another German settlement, and in 1850 he arrived in Detroit Michigan. Trained as a brewer, Stroh opened a brewery on Catherine Street that same year. He developed a market for a new light lager beer among the larger German immigrant population. Pushing a cart through the city, he sold his beer from door to door. At his death in 1882 the Lion Brewery had become a thriving business to pass on to his sons, Julius and Bernhard Jr. They expanded the company and in 1902 changed the name to the Stroh Brewery Company. In 1996, the Stroh family owned the fourth largest beer company in the United States. By 2000, they were making all their money in real estate, having dismembered and sold the brewing company off to various competitors. After its disolution in 2000, some Stroh brands were discontinued, while others were purchased by other breweries. The Pabst Brewing Company acquired the most Stroh/Heilman brands. They currently produce Colt 45 malt liquor, Lone Star, Schaefer, Schlitz, Schmidt's, Old Milwaukee, Old Style, Stroh's, and St. Ides malt liquor. The Miller Brewing Company got Mickey's Malt Liquor and Henry Weinhard's. Most other Stroh/Heilman brands disappeared after 2000. These lost brands include: Altes®, Black Label®, Blatz, Champale® Crazy Horse malt liquor, Goebel, Heilman, Kingsbury, Pfeiffer, Red Bull malt liquor, "Red, White, & Blue", and Silver Thunder malt liquor.