Schell's Snowstorm 2021
August Schell Brewing Company

 

 

L: Pours a coppery amber with a smooth, two finger, short-lived, ivory head and leaves behind moderate lacing on the glass.

S: Very little aroma, slight fusil alcohol smell.

T: rich lager taste, strong maltyflavor with little hops bitterness. Toasty and flavorful.

F: Smoothed nicely by the oats in the grain bill. The carbonation is present but not in a mouth filling way, more light and tingling.

O: This is a hearty winter brew, and had it not been below freezing outdoors I would not have enjoyed it as much. Too bad it's already April, tomorrow.

I got a can of this beer off the single shelf from the Woodman's in Onalaska, Wisconsin just outside of La Crosse. It poured a clear amber with thin white head that is leaving a spotty lace. The scent had bock malt characteristics. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with crisp malt base and subtle sweet bread presence. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall it is a great beer.

This beer has a dark reddish-brown transparent body with a nice tan head that lasts for a while. The aroma is fairly tame, but has hints hints of oatmeal and acorns. The flavor is a balance of ground oats and nuts and has a lingering nutty taste.

Good beer, this seems to have just a hint of wild rice flavor.

12oz can. Poured out a clear, golden amber color with a small, khaki-colored head of foam. It left sudsy trails of lace on the glass. It smelled toffee, caramel and subtle notes of coffee. Nice roasted malt taste with toffee and a subtle coffee bite.

From a 12oz can:

Appearance: Clear amber, good head.

Smell: Fruity, sweetness, honeyed bread.

Taste: Bready, mild tea, mild dark fruit, balanced, malty, some toffee.

Overall: This year's snowstorm is a little subdued double bock (or maybe a slightly stronger regular bock). Hits Schell's usual drinkability pillars--not outrageous flavors, but a solid beer for the cold MN winter.

Clear dark amber, lightly carbonated, with a tall, thick, off-white head from a pour into a pils glass embedded in the snow. The head has excellent retention, forming a mountainous surface as it does fade, leaving a huge amount of stringy, sticky lacing.

Aroma is lightly roasted with kind of a north woods smell.

The taste repeats the light roasting with slight bittering above a very malty overall flavor. Again, as with the aroma, there are hints of evergreen that brighten the flavor. It's quite a satisfying and enjoyable winter brew. The maltiness brings a substantialness to the beer, befitting its "starkbier" name (strong beer, where "strong" implies more than a higher ABV; it also implies a more filling beer. In other words, a Dopplebock!)

The body is (as I wrote above) substantial and the mouthfeel is smooth.

Overall, I am enjoying this one as I relax from clearing our 200 ft driveway of 1 foot+ of snow.

 

12oz can 2021-2022 version, enjoyed this on National Lager Day (December 10, 2021)

A good sipping beer, nothing super impressive, or assertive, but that's what I expect from schell's... almost like sipping a fine bourbon or whisky - there is a depth of flavor and character here that takes time and a couple glasses worth to reveal itself. Look is clear as can be, light lighter coca cola, smell is unappealing grain hop and oat. The beer is crisp and full bodied, delivering more taste than any other lager in it's price range. A little "dry leaves" along with hazelnut, cocoa, caramel, whisky, dark fruit... more or less in that order. When you chug, it is too sweet and thin and carbonated - sip only

It's just another solid beer from one of the most underrated breweries in the country

12oz can into a tall lager glass.
L: Pours bright clear copper with a 2.5 inch beige head with a semi-creamy cap. Decent retention with random sticky lacing and banding. Has sparse large carbonation bubbles.
S: Toasty caramel malts, light cocoa, grains. Very clean.
T: Toasted malts, semi-sweet caramel, black tea, light cocoa with an easy going hop character.
F: Gently crisp, smooth med-light bodied creamy mouthfeel with a med-length finish. It has a subtle linger that is lightly drying and it is overall quite clean.
O: Essentially crushable and considerably easy drinking. It is malty with a kiss of hops. Very well balanced at 6.1%ABV and 25IBU.Simple and quite delicious. It is excellent in it's style. Highly recommended.

 

12 oz can, best by 3/12/22, into THAT! NE IPA snifter.

Has a clear amber ball color (like the one you place in Resident Evil 3 : Nemesis), with excellent clarity, and has a tall fluffy head like a puffy-fluffy-snowbank of 2 fingers.

I get oats and stiff (woody?) amber malt in equal amounts, with hints of robust smokiness, yeasty fruitiness, and dry wood. It has a LOT of character, especially with deep whiffs.

Flavor is neither too malty nor too hoppy. It's a very well-brewed beer. I'm impressed. It works wonderfully after a sweet beer (like that Dunkin Maple Creme), though may be too intense if it's the first beer in your line-up. Notes of orange peel, oak, bitter celery, burnt biscuit, light smoke, and earthy hops.

Feel is slick and oily with some rocky carbonation and mild to moderate alcohol heat. Lingering dryness and woodiness.

Overall, this is a robust beer that drinks clean and feels like a lighter beer (Shiner Bock?). Drinkability is dangerous, the flavor is robust and stoic, and it has tasting elements that emulate a warm log cabin in the winter time. It's definitely a great alternative choice in the winter months when you don't quite feel like a barrel aged beer or a wee-heavy.

$1.99 @ Hy-Vee

Can. White head. Clear copper caramel color.

Caramel, toasted malts, cocoa, some nuttiness. Soft and creamy feel. Very bock like. Reminds me of town halls festivus chestnut brown ale a bit.

Easy drinking. Nice medium bodied beer for the winter months.

Brilliantly clear and a beautiful chestnut amber. Reasonably dense light tan head that seems to be settling out. Rich malt aroma. Not too sweet, and somewhat toasty.
Rich malt flavors too. Very slightly toasty. Longish dry finish with the bitterness lingering to make it even longer. Seems hoppy towards the end.
Fullness from the oats and carbonation, but not a full body. Moderately thin.
I like this. It goes well with the snow that hasn't quite yet arrived.

L-Copper colored...nice clarity

S-Rich toasted maltiness

T-Love the toasted Munich malts. Sweetish...a bit of toffee and a load of toasted malt goodness.

F-Clean, malt forward, somewhat creamy texture. Maybe a bit thin. I doubt they are styling this as a doppel but maybe I'm wrong...would fit more like a regular bock I'd think and even then the body is a bit thinnish.

O-This is really a nice beer and it's wonderful to see a beer in this style for a winter seasonal. I'll be enjoying this as long as it lasts in stores.

 

A pleasant amber lager that should please fans of Munich malt. Good toast and caramel notes. Oats give a nice richness, roundness, and a smooth texture. Sweet and finishes with a slight mineral quality. There is a lot of unfermented sugars. I think I will be drinking a lot of this over the winter months.

12oz can. No dating information found. Label lists this as a '2021-2022 EDITION'.
Clear, medium amber colored body. Vigorous pour resulted in three fingers of light tan head. Big coverage of lacing on the non-drinking side.
Aroma of toasted malts and fruity esters. Definitely can smell the oat malt.
Taste is powerhouse toasted, bready malts, with some dark caramel. Has a mineral edge. Slight fruit sweetness as it fades away.
A little thinner than medium mouth feel. Good carbonation.
Flavors are more expressive than the smells. Very smooth from the oats. Bold but balanced toasted lager malts. Good choice for a change of pace and as a mouth cleanser. Leaves with that sharp edge.