Steve McQueen's Favorite Beer Brand: A Working-Class Beer For The 'King Of Cool'

Few movie stars have cultivated a cooler image than Steve McQueen. Literally nicknamed the "King of Cool," McQueen was an iconic actor who liked to race motorcycles and sports cars in his spare time, as well as perform his own stunts. But despite all his Hollywood success (or perhaps in defiance of it), McQueen's reported favorite beer was a pretty blue-collar choice: Old Milwaukee. 

The working man's beer was first introduced by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company (maker of the recently discontinued Schlitz) in 1934, and took its name from Milwaukee's reputation as one of America's great brewing cities. Back then, Brew City was also home to such giants as Pabst Brewing Company and Miller Brewing Company, which is why it's a city every beer lover should truly visit. Given that Old Milwaukee was released during the Great Depression, it was a lower-priced lager that could appeal to everyday drinkers during the lean times. The beer remains in production today, though it was bought by Pabst in 2000.

McQueen was a Midwesterner himself, born in Indiana, where he spent part of his childhood in Indianapolis. But his time there was anything but tranquil, and he endured a turbulent childhood before being sent to reform school. Although McQueen eventually became one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, he never shed that outsider persona. The opposite of a nepo baby, he gravitated toward mechanics, racers, and stunt performers — in other words, ordinary, working-class folks that might also pop open a cold can of Old Milwaukee.

A 2008 remembrance of McQueen in the Los Angeles Times reveals his fondness for the inexpensive American lager. It was the late 1970s, and McQueen was crashing in an airport hangar out in the desert while taking flying lessons. At night, he'd kick back with his flight instructors and model girlfriend, sipping on his beloved beverage. McQueen did occasionally dabble in the Hollywood bubble. He famously liked to hang out at the counter of Musso & Frank Grill, the oldest restaurant in Hollywood. In Santa Monica, he patronized Chez Jay, a steakhouse beloved by other Old Hollywood stars. But McQueen's lifestyle often revolved around garages and road trips, rather than L.A.'s fashionable dining rooms. 

Unlike celebrities like Frank Sinatra or Marilyn Monroe, McQueen's name isn't mentioned when the topic of Old Hollywood stars' favorite foods comes up, probably because the guy just wasn't all that interested. Although he certainly could afford some of the best meals in the world, it's no accident he became associated with a working-class lager instead. 

Old Milwaukee itself has retained its image as an unpretentious beer for ordinary Americans, no doubt helped by a series of quirky advertisements in the 2010s starring the comedian Will Ferrell, who apparently is also a fan. The ads, which show Ferrell merrily biking around the namesake city, also lean into the beer's image as a humble hometown favorite. While we can't see McQueen participating in a beer commercial, we think the King of Cool would still approve.