[3] The Stroh family began brewing beer in a family-owned inn during the 18th century in Kirn, in the Rheinland-Pfalz region of western central Germany.

Common in Europe before World War I, the fire-brewing process uses a direct flame rather than steam to heat beer-filled copper kettles.

One reason was a costly statewide strike in 1958 that halted Michigan beer production and allowed national brands to gain a foothold.

[7] When Peter Stroh took over the company in 1968, it still had not regained the market share lost in the strike ten years earlier.

The company now had a volume of over 40,000,000 US beer barrels (4,700,000 m3)[clarification needed] and 400 distributors in 28 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and other Caribbean islands.

[9] Stroh's had taken on a heavy debt burden to finance the Schlitz acquisition, but found itself unable to compete nationally with the likes of Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Coors.

Stroh's began to lose market share and profit margins, leading it to begin laying off employees.

These efforts met with little success, and Stroh's sold its ice cream operation to Dean Foods Company in 1988.

Stroh then implemented a three-pronged revitalization strategy: developing new products, brewing beer under contract for other brewers, and expanding overseas.

The following year Stroh finally landed a long-sought-after target when it acquired the G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin for about $290 million.

Sleeman, a division of Sapporo Breweries, gained Canadian rights to manufacture and distribute a folio of brands which included Stroh's, Old Milwaukee and Pabst.

[3] An attempt to rejuvenate the core Stroh's brand in the US backfired, causing the steepest decline in American brewing history.

[8] Stroh's proved unable to withstand the pressures of the larger brewers and chose to sell off its labels rather than face bankruptcy.

John Stroh III, then company president and chief executive, said of the decision to sell: "Emotionally, it was an 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.

As of that year it produced Colt .45 malt liquor, Lone Star, Schaefer, Schlitz, Schmidt's,[clarification needed] Old Milwaukee, Old Style (under contract with City Brewery, the original Heileman facility in La Crosse, WI), Stroh's, and St. Ides.

The first batch was shipped to area bars, restaurants, and liquor stores on August 22, with special events all across metropolitan Detroit on the 26th.

[1] Stroh TV commercials included the following: Locally in Michigan, the company was the longtime sponsor for the Detroit Tigers baseball team's radio broadcasts, a relationship that began in 1960.

For many years Stroh had received little television exposure because of an agreement between the major networks and Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing Company which allowed the two top brewers exclusive advertising rights.

Stroh fought the agreement and in 1983 was allotted advertising time on ABC's Monday Night Baseball, on two NBC boxing events, and on other popular U.S. television sports shows.

Confronted with nearly prohibitive network costs, the company began "The Stroh Circle of Sports" on cable television and independent stations.

For increased publicity opportunities, Stroh also turned to such sports as hockey—which had been overlooked by Anheuser and Miller—and sponsored broadcasts of National Hockey League games on the USA cable network.

The company also sponsored the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix, an event considered an important boost for Stroh's international name recognition.