August Schell Brewing (2022)

Finally cracked the Schell Hefe 12 pack after tennis league tonight and it is as good as ever. Pretty heavy on the cloves like usual but just a more true German Hefe compared to Utepils (which is decent enough). It will be a sad day when this goes away for a new hazy IPA or whatever.

 

Can I ask where you found it? (Or have you been sitting on it for awhile?)

 

Earlier in this thread I said this "Great news. After calling numerous liquor stores in the Twin Cities metro I could not find Schell Hefe anywhere. At least at the main places you'd look for craft beer in the Twin Cities. No wonder it doesn't sell! BUT on the journey back north I found numerous (Maybe a half dozen or so) cold 12 packs at Westside Liquor by the mall in St. Cloud. Maybe they ordered it all? Haven't tried it yet.
"

I got it July 24. They also had some warm on the floor.

 

I am going to miss the Hefe, too. Enjoyed some the other day, and it was as good as ever (and if they get rid of Bock, they will lose me altogether). Sad.

What I find odd is that — even with their pilot system capable of brewing smaller batches (and by extension, brands which move in a lesser volume, sales-wise) — they will still discontinue it, when they could at lease keep it in the fold as a rotating addition to one of their seasonal sampler packs.

I’m in no way as up to date on their sales figures* as I was many, many years ago, but even after all this time I can’t imagine they’ll be better off sales wise by chasing trends and brewing the latest, non-traditional style.


*Related: I would not be very surprised to learn that Grain Belt Premium is still their highest selling (by barrelage) brand. It used to account for close to 70% of their total barrelage and sales. Nowadays it may be much higher than that.

 

Exactly. It seems like a joke but with the direction they seem to be going Snowstorm could very soon actually be a milkshake IPA! I saw bock too and it was great. Hope that one can survive. The ol doppel in my icon is long gone.

 

i think i have one Schells Bock in the fridge.

i'm on my third or forth case of Hefe. I've driven down to Mankato the last month a few times and found some along the way. Maybe closer to the brewery helps. I really like it.

 

This seems to be the case. I was using their beer finder and was surprised to see how many locations nearer to New Ulm/the brewery were listed as having the Hefeweizen, so I think you're likely right.

 

Is the issue here that the Wholesale Beer Distributors are disinterested in small(er) batches?

There are just so many SKU's out there today. Maybe some Wholesale Beer Distributors are choosing to 'pare down' and concentrate on the bigger selling products?

Cheers!

 

Moving smaller batches from HOT breweries is never an issue in the Twin Cities market, especially when the hot brewery is smaller, and from far away. It’s the same dynamic that’s been in effect since the Microbrew days.

Smaller batches from a larger, established, and no longer very hot brewery is, on the other hand, a real problem in a market with about 15,000 SKUs.

In the cold light of the market reality in 2022, August Schell has not been a hot brewery since Grain Belt “Nordeast” was trending on Twitter in 2009 or so.

They are the oldest brewery in the state, and have enjoyed a constant market presence in Minnesota’s largest economic market for the past thirty years.

Their primary wholesaler has recently changed hands for the third time in that timeframe, and I would think that this could be a move for the better, but I’ve been wrong before.

 

Good point about the topic of "hot" brewery(s) vs. a brewery like Schell's.

I am not too familiar with Schell's since their beer does not make it to my area (Southeastern PA). Are you familiar with Yuengling? Is it safe to say there are parallels between Schell's and Yuengling?

Cheers!

Cheers!

 

Yes, I’m familiar with Yuengling. Solid brewery with a great range of brands, and an absolute cult-like following (I enjoy the regular Lager, and am a big fan of Chetty.)

Aside from Yuengling’s much larger size and scale (three breweries in two states, thirty times the annual brewing capacity as Schell, and distribution across many, many states) there were strong parallels, during the pre-Craft days.

Nowadays, not as much.

 

Schell's Hefe and ofest found in St Peter MGM

 

This link from the 'Mybeerbuzz' website contains new labels (and presumably branding) for Schell's Firebrick and Snowstorm, along with the next two Limited/Pilot series beers (a Saison and a Scotch Ale):

https://mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com/2021/11/schells-working-on-deer-brand-cans.html

 

According to their social media, Schell has begun to fill crowlers. No word on which brands - yet.

 

What a difference between those two.

I just did the Hefe vs Ayinger Hefe (my personal favorite from Germany) blind and Schell was the clear winner. Date on Ayinger was L2040 which I think makes it more than two years old but still Maybe I'm wrong but I'm reading that date as 40th day or 2020? It's still not bad...drinking another one right now..

Meanwhile I bought a 12 pack of Schell Ofest and I'm not impressed at all. Boozy, sharp and just not to style....wasn't sure how I was going to drink the rest of the 12 pack so I resorted to using it while enjoying cigars....can't really pick up much taste on non heavy stout like beers with a cigar...

 

Not the 40th day of 2022? 2 = 2022, 040 (leaving 3 digits available for 365) = 40th day?

Found the thread:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/date-codes-for-imported-usa-german-beer.658248/

 

Thanks...yes I think that is what I was thinking when I bought it actually..so not real old...it was good.

 

Really surprised by that. Not saying Schell's is my favorite American-made Oktoberfest, but it is by far the one that is most true to the proper Marzen style in terms of being similar to Paulaner, Hack-Pschorr, Spaten, etc. I love my Great Lakes and Lupulin Marzens, but they are clearly the sweeter American take on it.