Schell's Snowstorm 2007
August Schell Brewing Company

 

 

 

Pours a dark amber, lightly tanned thin head. Good lacing that lasted throughout the session. Very clear for the style with low carbonation as it should be. A caramel roasty malt aroma with toffee and possibly fruit? Not sure. Thick and clean in the mouth. Has a very strong alcohol taste to it, along the lines of a trappist. A hint of raisin, maybe some dark belgian sugar. A bittery finish that is also slightly sour. There has to be some sort of fruit note but I cannot figure out what it is. Not bad, but hopefully snowstorm 2008 will be a better choice for their seasonal brew.

A- Pours a thick 1 finger head, slow to recede, into an amber body with some light sedimentation.

S- Nice belgian scent although hard to detect. Some dark fruits, raison, alcohol. Smells thick.

T- Nice thick dark belgain fruits, raisin, plums with a fruity finish.

M- Low carb works well with the dubbel style.

D- This is a pretty nice dubbel style, but not the greatest. I would probably grab another besides this.

A - Light orange-brown color. Light brown head, fluffy, fades to a quarter inch. A few small dots of lacing.

S - Rich caramely cereal malts with a sweet orangey yeastiness.

T - Taste starts as warm sweet maltiness with a momentarily flat carbonation. Sugary yeast flavors come in and the carbonation kicks up mildly. A light bitterness and the finish leaves a sweet malty flavor.

M - Consistency is almost thick at times, carbonation ranges in very mild to medium.

D - Not a bad dubbel, and excellent for being a Schell's beer. Cheap, so I'll be doing this one again.

Appearance: Dark amber, thin head.

Smell: Sweet, toffee, dark fruit.

Taste: Tastes like a dubbel--muted dark fruit/raisin and toffee with a big dose of earthiness. A little breadiness comes through also.

Drinkability: If dubbels were my thing, I'd get a case at Schell's prices. But they're not, so probably won't revisit this.

I've tried probably four different dubbels, and they all taste similar to me. Toffee, dark fruit, very earthy. This is a decent beer but just not to my tastes.

A-Color on the lighter side for a dubble, red/slightly copper. Average head, did not leave much for lacing. Pretty clear, just slightly cloudy.

S-A complex, moderatly estery fruity aroma. More on the dark fruit side. It seems to mask the malt aroma. Soft alcohol character.

T-Malty sweetness more noticable in the flavor, with the same complex ester character that was noted in aroma. Alcohol is balanced in there perfectly. Little if any hop character noticed. Banana flavor in the aftertaste.

M-Good body with a perfect medium/high carbonation.

D-Not much for major complaints. Easy to drink.

Appearance - dark brown, almost black in color with a tan foamy head which leaves some lacing on the glass.

Smell - very malty with hints of chocolate.

Taste - Sweet with the definite taste of chocolate and malt present.

Mouthfeel - medium body and good.

Drinkability - quite good. Drank this at the Schells brewery in Nov 2006. Returning as Schell's stout in March 2008.

My first from Schell, unlikely to be my last. Clear, almost chestnut hued ale. Obviously filtered, and not bottle conditioned. A one finger pale tan head formed on the pour, and has decent retention, fueled in part by the fine yet somewhat active carbonation. Decent lacings, thin sheets gradually disperse to leave intricate and clingy strands that coat the inside of the glass.

Decent aroma, some toffee, raisin, and a touch of rum great the nose. A faint earthiness also present, likely from a touch of aged hops to give some balance to the brew.

Decent flavour as well, although certainly not outstanding. Toffee and caramelized sugar, a hint of rum soaked raisin, and a faint earthiness of decayed leaf are the most pronounced on my palate, as well as an underlying note of grain husk. Some yeasty nuttiness present, and hints at phenols but doesn't quite deliver, perhaps due to the filtration and lack of bottle conditioning.

In terms of mouthfeel this is a malt forward almost medium bodied ale, fitting the style. Well attenuated, finishes somewhat dry with just a kiss of hops. A solid attempt at the style, just not as rich and complex as the leading examples of the style.

A well made and drinkable dubbel. Would serve as a great introduction to belgian styled offerings, and at a buck a beer its also quite friendly to the beer budget. It would be easy enough to drink this all night long in front of a fireplace on a cold winter's night. I wonder how much difference bottle conditioning would have made on this ale, but this was a solid effort that has me looking forward to trying more beers from August Schell.

Thanks to JeffKenner for this one.

A- Poured from a 12oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours an amber brown with a 1/4" head.

S- Almost plastic-y. But if you drink dubbels you recognize it as the malts and yeast. No a great nose though.

T- Definite malts. I get an almost coppery flavor similar to a quad but not quite as lucious if that makes sense. Belgian yeast also play a role in this one. I also get some spices maybe nutmeg and something else but I cannot put my finger on it.

M- This is the best part I think. It is think and mouth filling like a dubbel should be. Good carbonation.

D- Not my fav beer. I am glad I got to try it though. Nice to try breweries I haven't even heard of before this beer.

Served on tap at The Happy Gnome in St Paul, this pours a clear dark amber color, with a minimal white head that dissipates quickly and little or no lacing on the glass. The smell is pleasantly fruity. The taste is fruity with cherry, brandy, and banana coming to the fore. There is a distinct alcohol flavor present. The mouthfeel is rich. This is a highly drinkable beer and is the best I've ever had from Schell's. Well done!

12 oz. bottle from a Schell sample pack poured into my Chimay goblet. Dark ruby color with a thin, bubbly off-white head that quickly sinks into nothing. Just the smallest bit of lacing.

Nose is spiced and full of nuts, rum, caramel, brown sugar and dark fruits. Slight hint of Belgian yeastiness, but overall the aroma is a bit weak for a dubbel. It smells great, just not quite up to par for its style.

Caramel and nuttiness with a hint of spice following. This is a bit too sweet, no bitterness whatsoever.

The spice and carbonation feel nice on the tongue along with the medium-body. A little too spicy and sweet. This is by no means a bad beer, but sitting in the same category as Chimay Red or a Westy 8 it just can't compete. But considering the availability and price I'd definitely go for it again.

A smoky amber-bronze liquid sits below an inch of dirty ivory suds.
The nose is sweet with caramelized nuts, bruised banana and clove phenols, candied chocolate oranges, and rum soaked cherries.
Into the mouth, sweetness ushers in impressions of banana bread, caramel nougat, and brown-sugared walnuts. There is a flatter graininess providing canvas and stasis. Yeast flares up with white peppercorn, clove, and vanilla accents in the middle. The ending unravels a bit, with no hopping to note, just a gradual fade out of muddled yeastiness, stewed fruits, and honey-nut malts.
Medium bodied with a dissipating carbonation which makes it feel progressively fatter.
Despite a balk on the finish, I do like this. No one will mistake it for Westvleteren 8, but it's a solid dubbel-inspired winter warmer. I'll always have a soft spot for Schell's, and it's nice to see them turn out a Snowstorm with some stones this year.

landmark review #700.

pours into one of my trusty old "hamm's chalices" a clear dark garnet colour with a half inch thick head supported by some nice carbonation. sparse but clingy lacing present. sweet malty aroma; some plums, figs and berries find their way through my nose mixing in with some spicy alcohol, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar notes. brown sugary sweet taste, orange zest, along with some subtle roasted nuts and some spicy yeast induced black cherry infused boozy flavours. any hopping gets lost in the sugary sweetness and the subsequent bitterness has a hard time standing up in the overall profile. the body comes off as full, round and ample...with a mouthfeel lacking the classic carbonated tongue-dance that true belgians have, but it has a nice crisp feel to it that compliments this particular brew quite nicely. drinkability is good; flavourful enough for the craft enthusiasts, but certainly approachable for the rest of the curious and uninitiated.

a nice offering from schells for this years snowstorm. definitely recommended.

A-Pours a dark amber with a nice fluffy pillow of off white head,and a little lacing.

S-Applesauce with cinnamon on top,reminds me of a trippel I had at a brew pub in Peoria,Il(must be the Belgian yeasts)smells sweeter and more spice coming through than the trippel.

T-Belgian yeast,spiced rum,and fruits of all kinds,well done the taste Gods are very very happy.

M-Medium body,even carbonation,good feel,not as amazing as the smell and taste,but in this brew that would be a hard act to follow.

D-This is very drinkable,I could easily take this sixer to any holliday party and leave empty handed and perved,Yo.

A – Poured out a clear amber color with a foamy, off-white, two-finger head. It was highly carbonated and left some lace.

S – It smelled of fruits (pear and apple). It had a sweet nose and also a hint of spices.

T – It tasted of dried fruits, like apple and raisins. There was a strong candy sugar presence that reminded me of agood rum.

M – It was smooth and somewhat crisp. A light to medium-bodied beer.

D – This was a very nice seasonal. A good Belgian-style brew.

Into my Duvel glass, pours a reddish copper color, with a little bit of head that fades to nothing, with lacing. All kinds of stuff going on in the nose... raisin, sum, Belgian sugars and rum jump out first, other fruits, very sweet, almost too sweet. The taste is quite nice, not as overly sweet as the aroma let on. Still, lots of fruits, raisin and plum mostly, sweet sugars, Belgian yeast, loose caramels, perhaps a bit nutty. The body feels a bit thin, the carbonation fine, and slightly warming. Don't know the ABV, but wouldn't guess its too high. Overall, not a bad go at the style, but still rather stock. An easy drinker though.

12oz bottle poured into a Pint Glass

A – Poured a very nice copper colored brown with a nice two finger head of off white foamy lace on top. Decent retention allowed it to hang around long enough to produce some nice side glass lace. The color was very clear, crystal clear which gave it a somewhat reddish hue as well.

S – Aroma was very sweet. I detected hints of maple sugar or molassas and a good amount of caramel mixed in with some nice winter spices. There was also some nice notes oakiness in there as well, not sure where they came from but that musty sort of wood like smell was there.

T – The flavor was atypical for your winter warmer with a very nice profile and depth. The first initial sips lended a nice mix of caramel and maple on top of a bready malted backbone. This blended well and as it warmed took on an even sweeter character. There was a decent albeit muted hop like finish that served to drag out the overall flavor and leave you ready for the next sip.

M – A decent medium bodied ale, this one had a bit of slickness to it. The carbonation did not hang around though the entire session, and this left the slickness behind. Not too bad but it was there and it kind of muted the crispness of the finish.

D – Not bad. This was definitely a sessionable winter warmer as the flavors were not too heavy and the abv was quite low. I could have gone for another one if it were there without too much trouble at all.

Overall this was not bad, an average winter warmer that I really don’t have anything bad to say about. It did not really have anything that jumped out at me as excellent but was good in its own way. I would not mind having another someday.

Served in a Surly Pint Glass

Appearance: Pours a deep amber, off-white creamy head dissipates quickly.

Smell: Floral. Hints of pine, alcohol, and rich fruit.

Taste: Raisins, tastes like rumballs or a christmas cookie along that line. Dark rich fruit tastes come through as well, like plums or dates. Tastes subtly woodlike, similar to a Macallan or Balvenie scotch.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, and somewhat light body, with a lingering presence in the mouth.

Drinkability: A quite enjoyable winter-seasonal from Schell's. A good take on a belgian with plenty of substance yet a body light enough to drink quickly.

Delightful, a good beer to take in over winter break that matches the scents of the season well.