Schell's Cave-Aged Barrel-Aged Series #3
August Schell Brewing Company

A beer loaded with flavor and character. Oak, vanilla, nougat, dark fruits, light chocolate...definitely some butter....I have no idea on the ABV but drinks like a sipper. A real treat in a glass. Dunkel base worked nicely as a showcase for all the barrel influenced flavors.

Changing scores. Original was 4.28 but the more I drink this the more the buttery characteristics really detract from this....scores now reflect that.

 

 

 

This beer poured a very dark brown with a reddish tint and a dark tan head that receded rather quickly. Smells only slightly of the barrel with rich raisin and brown sugar. Fabulous flavor that follows the nose. An interesting twist on the style that I would snatch up in a heartbeat if I could find more.

 

Pours deep dark color with a quickly dissipating head.
The aroma is a harsh booziness, vanilla, dark fruit, rich sweet malts, and molasses.
It's harsh on the swallow, it's overly sweet with a spicy alcohol and some butterscotch and dark rich malts.
Overall it's not for me, I'm not really enjoying this one.

i didnt much care for this one, and im not sure "cave aged" really means anything for it in terms of flavor. its one of the sweetest beers i have ever had, even for the style, and its really dark and thick as they go too, looks more like a dark brown ale or even a porter than the usually more red toned doppelbocks. that this is even a lager in the first place is difficult to appreciate. not much head on the pour, pretty flat and thick looking, it even looks sticky like molasses. aroma is awesome though, an almost burnt sugar complexion from the grain, cola, toffee, and a little coca. the bourbon is also strong in the nose, more whiskey than wood and sort of young seeming, but very appealing. so sweet i can hardly drink half the bottle, its diabetic for sure, with a lot of sweet whiskey in it, a ton of unfermented caramelized malt sugars, and a weird almost root beer soda character to it. the flavor isnt bad, and there is some char and oak to it now, but its just so incompletely fermented that its hard to take down. this could easily have been 12% abv if the yeast could get there. interesting beer, i cant say ive ever had anything like this, but calling it a doppelbock is awfully loose, and unless you like the hard root beers and stuff, this will probably be way too sweet for you. i do think its cool these guys are even putting beer like this out there. most makers of macro lagers like grainbelt do not also make baller berliners and unique barrel aged lagers, but the effort is better than the result this time...

Found one of the last 6 packs of this beer at Woodman's Kenosha (it may have been mis-priced). There is absolutely no info about this beer on the label other than a marketing blurb about a "nod to 19th century tradition." Really? A 19th century, 9%, Whiskey barrel-aged Munich Dunkel? And the only place I see it referred to as a Munich Dunkel is here at BA. The Schell's web site and the bottle's label just call it a "lager." Hmm.

Ink-jetting on bottles neck has a date of 03.11.17. Tentatively poured into my short Becher...

L -- Deep, dark black color with a dense, deep tan colored head that is holds up well, but suddenly falls flat. Much too dark all around for a Munich Dunkel.

S -- Peppery alcohol up front followed by vanilla and some mellow dark fruit esters and a toasted bread character with warming -- even some light band-aid character fighting thru.

T -- Harsh alcohol at first swallow -- lightly reminiscent of bourbon, blends into smoother vanilla and milk chocolate notes - even some molasses, but that quickly fades into dark fruit notes and then into an earthy malt note, finishing with dry, peppery alcohol that lingers through the short aftertaste -- a very clean finishing beer, all things considered.

F -- Mouthfeel is syrupy slick with a dry, warming finish. Body is medium-robust.

O -- I scored this against the Munich Dunkel style (of which it's just not), but added overall points for being a very tasty, interesting beer. I'm not sure just what category this beer could be pigeon-holed; it's very reminiscent of a Foreign or Imperial Stout, especially with the barrel-aging character. I could even find a spot in the Eisbock realm for this, and if I were judging this blind in any of those categories I would give it higher marks, but as a Munich Dunkel it's misrepresented.*

*02/28/17 Updated numbers with new categorization. Previous: 2.75, 2.5, 2.75, 2.75, 4.25 - 2.99 OA

Midnight black. Thin brown head sticks around for a while and leaves sparse lace. If I had to describe the aroma in a word, it would be rich. It's thick and rich and alcoholic. Flavor is rich as well. Sweet bourbon barrel tones with rum cake breadiness. Molasses and nougat. Alcoholic finish. Full bodied. Solid.

 

 

 

L: typical dark black with khaki head.

S: butterscotch to me. Some molasses. Really nice. .

T: butterscotch and chocolate. Slight barrel. Really a interesting beer. I don't think I've come across something like this.

F: very creamy and smooth. Flavor hits mid tongue area and stays around for a while.

O: I'm a fan. Got this as a extra in a trade. Never heard of this brewery before. But with this as a showing of their beers I would be happy to grab some more. Interesting flavors here. It could have been a hot mess but it really came together well. Thank you @ECOBOOSTINST for the beer.

 

 

Very dark ruby, nearly black, with a ½ inch tan head, receding fairly quickly leaving little lacing. Sweet raisin / dark fruit aroma with wine and definite hints of the wood. Medium creamy feel. Initial taste follows the aroma, sweet fruits - raisins or plums, but with obvious wine flavor. Very nice. This tastes like a fine wine masquerading as a beer. The middle is mild - no hops bittering noticeable early, with some nice warming alcohol present both in the middle and the finish. A mild bittering presents in the late middle and finish. I bought the last 6 pack in the store. A shame; I would buy much more of this if it were available. I'll be carefully savoring my remaining bottles.

 

What a pleasant surprise! Picked up a 12-ounce single of this on a whim. Nice aroma of the whiskey (?) barrel upon opening, and it gets better from there. Pours a cola colored deep caramel, lots of tan head and sticky lacing. Barrel forward aroma and flavor, with some dark toffee sweetness and alcohol warmth. Creamy mouthfeel, clean finish. This is an exceptional beer, well worth seeking out.

Fucking gold. This beer pours a dark syrupy color with an aroma of Werther's original and sweet oak chips, and tastes like a mix of 1880 old timey sarsaparilla and molasses kissed with a pinch of brown sugar and angel glitter. The feel is sappy like a tree freshly tapped and it finishes with a robust rootiness only rivaled by root beer barrels from a small town hardware store. It's simply the best lager you can find.