Schell's rebranding themselves as "German Craft"

Screw the brewers association. Who cares if they put corn in it? It tastes just fine for what style it is.

But now that I mention it, who is the BA to brand an entire brewery as "not craft" over ONE (1) fucking beer that they brew? Fuck them. They are a successful, independent, craft brewery appealing to many markets.

 

As a marketing organization, pigeon-holing is just one of the things that Brewers Association does best, but you've got the wrong beer. Grain Belt is a family of specialty beers owned and brewed by August Schell, but Deer Brand is their flagship, and it has corn in the recipe: http://www.schellsbrewery.com/ourbeers_info.php?id=12

On the one hand, the Brewers Association has been sort of squirrely over the years with respect to the language they use to define the criteria necessary for membership, as a Craft Brewery. What once was a limit to membership based on the use of corn as a flavor and body "lightening" agent in a flagship recipe has 'evolved' to where a brewery such as Yuengling can be a member because they use corn as a "flavor enhancing", rather than a 'lightening agent' in their flagship Lager.

On the other hand, the fact that Schell's has never been clever or canny with respect to hiding the recipe of its flagship has always spoken to their own devotion to their trade -- or "Craft", if you prefer.

Note: Brewers Association aside, the term Craft Beer itself is being handed some criticism nowadays on both sides of the pond -- this article struck a chord with me:

"There’s that word again: ‘craft’. Apply it as a qualifier to beer, and you’re opening a can of worms. For a largely meaningless term, it’s amazing how much ‘craft beer’ implies – from the promise of beer brewed by small independent artisans, to absurdly ‘inventive’ drinks marketed solely at laughable hipsters."

 

So if Schell's just declared that Pils (or Firebrick, or whatever...) was their new flagship, they would now be considered craft by the BA? Baffling. Because I'm sure Deer Brand's "flagship" status isn't due to sales volume...I'm lucky to find a 12-pack on the bottom shelf of same cooler with the Hamm's and Special Export.

 

Yep, something like that. Brewers Association has a method to its madness and I've been playing a long at home over the past ten years but I still can't figure it (or them) out. Enough of their methodology seems arbitrary to the point that it would seem to fall under the general rubric of "marketing bullshit."

Either way, you have people fighting for and against the BA's Craft Beer / Craft Brewery nomenclature, and adjuncts are seen as key to all of that. Take this guy, for instance: "Schells, I Love You — But We Need to Talk"

 

I like how that guy thinks he's talking as the spokesperson for some sort of beer nerd consumer group and there's unanimity in opinion on this matter. Smarmy and ridiculous.

 

Laughable hipsters. I like that! Great band name potential.

 

No, the B.A.'s Craft Brewer Definition specifies how the group determines a brewer's flagship beer:

So, for them, Grain Belt is Schell's flagship.

 

So, the Grain Belt family is a specialty/subsidiary line owned by Schell's, but Grain Belt Premium is Schell's flagship?

This is where BA's definitions and pigeon holes get tricky; When I broke it down a few years ago, Premium accounted for less than half of Schell's total sales and output, but I suppose the numbers have really changed since that time (this was just before Nordeast was introduced.)

 

I think he has a good point. I would buy more schells if (in general) they were a little more full bodied and 'modern' (looking at the trend in beers; more hoppy/malty/not afraid to put a lot of flavor in the beer. generally more like the Stag series, which are very good)

Is anyone going to argue that schells is better because of the corn? (excluding grain belt and related sub brands)

 

I don't think he has a good point. Many of Schells beers are lighter bodied because they are brewed to style, not because of adjuncts. Grain Belt is a huge seller because people like it (light body and all). Why would they change it? Because a few people who probably don't drink much of it anyway would consider it it more in line with what they drink?

 

For the beers that have corn in them, I would. But what would I know?

 

I love Schell's. They do great stuff. I even have a soft spot for Grainbelt, as I have drunk a TON of it on vacation in Minnesota. Good times.

 

How true, how true. What do we ever really "know"? That's pretty "Zen" of you to ask. But, I guess, it's a thin line (well, actually just a few letters difference) between brewmaster and zenmaster.

Which brings to mind the question:
"Do you have a favorite champagne to drink after work these days? Or just whatever's in the silver ice bucket?"

 

Love, Schell's.

If I have to have a Commercial style beer, it is Grain Belt Premium, aslo like a lot of their craft style beers. I end up at the brewery at least once a year. Really, GBP is probably the best commercial style beer out there.

 

Easy there Grasshopper, easy.

 

I drank several star of the north during the summer and fall. Schells can hit it out of the park when they want to.

 

I found this whilst doing a search for something else (a Gluek glass) a while back, and thought I'd add it, here.

Has anyone seen this on the tee-vee? I don't watch very much local television at all...