schells and Leinie's: a take of two breweries

That's a fascinating observation and comparison. I have nothing to correct in your post. I'll ask this - I wonder if each brewery is currently profitable and where will they be in the next 10 years?

 

Here's a slightly different perspective on Leinie's. Growing up in WI, and not enjoying anything from BMC, I'd often have a honey weiss, red, or other offerings from them. They were great gateway beers.

I have a friend who's beer fridge would make most people envious. However, in the summer there's a lot of Summer Shandy in there as well.

Another friend, who is a home brewer and is very big into the German styles of beer, also enjoys Leinies and stops by the brewery when he can.

The list can go on. I'm not defending Leinie's, as I rarely drink anything from them anymore, but there are plenty of legit beer geek who still do for a variety of reasons.

Each brewery has an audience, and yes Schell's has been nailing it the past few years. It's unfortunate that Emerald Rye is too pricey to produce. That was a great, and unique, beer.

 

Because I was too young at the time, can someone tell me the impact it had on August Schell when they acquired Grain Belt (2002) and when Leinenkugel was bought by Miller (2008)?

 

Leinenkugel was bought by Miller in 1987: random, google-generated old newspaper article.
(Other accounts say 1988, so I guess only Jake knows the 'true' date?)

The impact of the purchase of the Grain Belt brand (and brand names and labels) was very significant for August Schell, with the price of the purchase alone being very significant. If I remember correctly it led to them effectively doubling total brewing capacity within four years, and it's been continuous growth for the brewery since then.

More generally:

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That's about the best (or simplest answer) I can give.

Did any of you youngsters try the draught-only Anniversary series beers from Schell? Some really unique beers right there. I'd say that even though both of these are "BIG" brewers in one sense, Schell's still has a smaller town feel to it overall. That's not very scientific, industry-specific, or even peer-reviewed, but it's an overall take.

 

The biggest impact is controlling your own destiny, as opposed to contracting

 

Schell's kicks ass, Leines not so much...

 

My bad, I did a quick google search and looked at the first date I saw, which was from an article in 2008.

 

I don't disagree, but Leinie Bock was one of the first beers that showed me that there was something out there besides BMC pale boring lagers (we're talking mid-80s). It made me open to my first Summit pale ale and it alls spiraled from there.

 

I think Schells has done a better job appealing to the beer geek crowd, but I feel Leines does help steer the BMC crowd towards craft beer.

 

As an old-timer, a can tell you:
1. As far back as the mid-80's (pre-Summit), Schell's brewed some decent beers. Their Pils and Hefeweizen were a step above anything else brewed around here at the time.
2. Leinie Bock used to be quite good. Within a couple years of Miller buying them, it wasn't. I do like some of their new Big Eddie's, but seldom buy it. The rest is crap (YMMV).

 

Hey, Old-Timer!

Didja ever try Leinenkugel's Classic Amber? It gets no love here at BeerAdvocate, but it's my favorite 'traditional' (in the Brewers Association sense) lager from that brewery since the mid-1990s release of Creamy Dark. Nice biscuit malt profile right there, and besides: Woodychandler liked it straight from the can -- whatta endorsement!

I used to love their Bock and especially Limited, but seldom buy $12 four packs of Big Eddie or anything else (I'm almost as cheap as Trav!) but will buy a 12-pack of standard Leinie's ("Original") on occasion, because I really do like the above-average bitterness that one has. It also used to be a familiar fall-back/go-to in bars, but with all the whippersnappers and their Craft Beer taps these days it's getting harder to find.

P.S. Schell was hard to find in the Cities in the early to mid Eighties, and by hard I mean practically non-existent, so I didn't try it 'til the late 1980s (even though I did have a few bottom-opened cans in the collection.)

 

Along with those two I used to enjoy Big Butt Dopplebock which is no longer made. Every year around the end of September I would buy a case of their Oktoberfest as well. It isn't the same anymore, plus there are so many better options and styles available in the Fall.

 

I can say Leinie Red was the first beer I ever liked, and this was around '93 (18-19 years old). Which moved me into James Page Burly Brown and Summit EPA. Early on, I was never a big Schell's fan, but can say I am now (and never buy Leinies), so I guess that says a lot about the directions the breweries have taken.

 

Schell's has a few of its employees on this board, Leine's does not appear to have any.

 

If I've tried Leinie's Classic Amber, I don't remember it now. It seems like they had a few beers I liked. Now days I rarely bug anything Leinie's, if for no other reason than that I'd rather give my money to smaller independent brewers rather than Miller.

 

Oh, there are definitely a few entrenched wholesale guys who are kickin' back and reading this forum right now -- along with their Employee Guidebook-mandated "Miller Lite" longneck/Vortex bottles, trust me. I used to see 'em at Stub's all the time, shootin' the shit with the Mark VII guys.

(Goes back to lurking... )

 

I've always considered that Leinies is to Miller what Blue Moon is to Coors. That said, a visit to the Chippewa Falls brewery and the Leinie Lodge is a pretty enjoyable experience. But let's not sully the good work coming out of New Ulm MN with a Miller rescue project. That said, Big Eddy series...respectable!

 

And Goose Island is to AB-InBev...that's right, I went there.

 

I had a few of the 150th anniversary brews. They were really cool to try. I remember liking the Bavarian Forest Dampfbier a lot. I thought it was a really cool series. I have always been proud to call Schells my hometown brewery and it is cool seeing them get the attention they deserve. They make a lot of excellent brews and the stag series and noble star series are both off to great starts.