New Beer

One of my beer standbys, whenever I go to the liquor store, is to get Schell's Sampler Case. The brewery produces a variety of good beers; and it is usually a pretty good price. (At Surdyk's right now, the case of 12 sells for $11.99.) The sampler includes their approachable MaiFest and Pilsner; and the tasty Firebrick lager and Caramel Bock. My favorite is the seasonal Snowstorm. It varies year-to-year, but true to it's name, is always great after some snow shoveling.

The MNBeer blog recently reported that Schell's is about to release a new brew: a standard stout. I'm not a big stout snob, but I do enjoy a good luke-warm stout from the tap now and then. Since I'm not able to go out to the bar with much frequency and I'm not going to go to the trouble of creating a tap in my house, I have to settle for some bottled version of stout. That Schell's is coming out with an affordable stout raises my hopes. It should be available in liquor stores very soon.

On a related note, I haven't received any indications that Phillips Distilling Company is jumping on my idea to take over the old Washburn 'A' mill's grain elevator and make it into the world's largest cask of whiskey or vodka. Perhaps, Schell's can adopt this concept and fill it with beer! The empty grain elevator is just down river from the landmark Grain Belt Beer sign on Nicollet Island. Schell bought out Grain Belt a few years ago and is the producer of Grain Belt Premium and Grain Belt Premium Light beer. A huge tank of vodka would probably pose a fire/massive explosion risk, so maybe beer is the way to go. I'll await a call from Schell's thanking me for this fabulous idea.