Schell's Pils - August Schell Brewing Company

pweis909

Wisconsin

4.97/5  rDev +36.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Pale straw color, with a thin head. Hop aroma is perceptible and inviting. A light malt comes through with the taste, and there is little hop bitterness. This is a nicely drinkable summer day kind of beer. As it is winter, I'll have to wait for my next one.

Editing: Well, I waited until a warm autumn day and sampled a bottle at the Schell's Brewery. It was damn near perfect. I'm guessing that the beer they serve there is at the perfect maturation stage ane well cared for - the sterling hops were just amazingly fresh, and the malt was crisp with a light sweet distinct graininess. I could have sipped this beer all day.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2006 14:37:33 | More by pweis909

TeamSeinfeld

Minnesota

4.85/5  rDev +33.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Schell's makes good beer especially when it comes to lagers. The deer brand, mai bock and octoberfest are prime examples of this. But the Pilsner is hands down the best. The balance of hop and malt is nearly perfect, few so called pilsners can come close to pilsner urquell the original, and Schells Pilsner is the best american example. Best drank when poured into a pilsner glass to appreciate the color and head that never fades away. Well worth the 11.49 a 12'er it has been at St. Anthony for the last year.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2010 23:57:09 | More by TeamSeinfeld

TastyTaste

Minnesota

4.8/5  rDev +32.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Starting a new review after admiring and going back to this fine beer many times in the past few years. The body may be hazy when chilled, but I don't believe that detracts too much from the overall experience. What I admire most about this beer is balance. Sure, it is a German Pilsener, a style not known for huge hops, but this beer has a hop profile well defined, impressive, and very complementary to the slightly sweet malt. A little fruity tasting, but crisp, refreshing, and one of the best bottled beers in Minnesota. My favorite of the style, hands down.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2006 18:09:30 | More by TastyTaste

stoutman

Michigan

4.72/5  rDev +30%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

TASTEE. Naturally krausend for a smooth, creamy mouthfeel. Full of rounded hop flavors and aromas with a perfect malt sweetness underneath. Very light and crisp.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2002 14:33:10 | More by stoutman

Offa

California

4.63/5  rDev +27.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

So far, this is my favourite Schell beer and one of the best US pilsners I've had.

Golden, it has a small but dense white head that slowly shrinks to a ring and leaves some decent lace.

The aroma is grain, yeast, dust, hay, herbs, and pine.

The taste is bread, toasted grain, pine, lemon, and a hint of nuts. It has a firm malty body with enough sweetness and character to carry the definite hoppy flavour and bitterness to it. It is lively, engaging, with nice complexity, zesty, crisp, and highly enjoyable overall.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2008 23:31:57 | More by Offa

garymuchow

Minnesota

4.58/5  rDev +26.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This is such a good beer. Starting from the wonderful, almost flowery aroma, nice and foamy head (that does decrease too quickly) and dark gold, yet crystal clear color. I really like the balance of dryness and malt smoothness in the flavor, and that it's there from front to back, then leaving a gradually fading dry finish. The mouthfeel may be too much for some, I describe it as a rich beer, but its of no bother to me. A good beer for virtually anytime, as well as a nice beer to start novices into the world of interesting beers.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2002 15:31:49 | More by garymuchow

MNJR

Illinois

4.53/5  rDev +24.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Straw yellow color with a touch of gold, but the appearance is about the only thing average about this beer. Smells clean and fresh with light lemony hops and rich biscuity notes. Tastes exceptionally good. My favorite US produced Pils is generally Trumer Pils, and I give Schell's a better score. Trumer seems a bit thin and weak in comparison. This is rich with great grain flavors, lemony biscuit flavors, minty, with (what should be if it's not...) an award winning clean dry hops finish which is why I like Pilsner beer so much in the first place. The 5.0 score goes to the mouthfeel: just incredible carbonation; spiky at first and expanding until it thins on the swallow. Perfect weight for this style, not too thin or thick. I can't see any lover of great Pilsner beer not going absolutely crazy for this beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2011 23:19:27 | More by MNJR

JamesS

Indiana

4.43/5  rDev +22%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a nice golden straw color with nice head and nice bubbles, with a bit of decent lacing. Great scent, a deeply sweet malty aroma with a hint of pepper. Excellent taste, refreshing and crisp, a great malty sweet beer with a nice slight pepper finish (nice noble hops). Goes down wonderfully smooth. A great lawnmower beer, or any time beer really.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2009 00:16:07 | More by JamesS

hardy008

Minnesota

4.33/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Freshness date of 051610 (May 16, 2010) Stamped on the neck.

Hazy yellow color with a white foamy head with good retention. Smells of lemon, pale malt, and hops. Has a pleasing sweet malt flavor, and the hops, lemon, and some nutty flavor also come through nicely.

Crisp, clean, light bodied, and properly carbonated. This is a Pilsner the way it is meant to be. Very drinkable, and my favorite Pilsner on the market so far.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2010 01:02:27 | More by hardy008

mdwalsh

Iowa

4.33/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A: White/slightly yellow head, about three fingers tall with a dense bubble pack. Beer is golden with nice active carbonation bubbles and phenomenal clarity.

S: Mild, and smooth. Just a hint of skunking, my fault, but still it doesn't take away too much from the beer. Could be a little crisper and more intense maybe

T: Very smooth, wonderful. Maybe a little tropical fruit in the finish, but dry. It's confusing my palate. Still, extremely refreshing and wonderful. IMO, one of, if not the best German Pilsners available in the US.

M: Pretty much perfect here. Full but not heavy, carbed without being bloaty. Just wonderful

D: This may be my summer drinker, I am thinking. At least the one to have around the house.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2011 00:44:30 | More by mdwalsh

Sixpack595

Michigan

4.28/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a very nice golden yellow with a fair amount of head. Aroma is very nicely balanced with enough malt to back up the strong (for a pilsner) hops. More flavor than most pilsners, but very well balanced. I was really surprised at how good this beer is.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2003 00:12:19 | More by Sixpack595

docfootdude

Indiana

4.25/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Just discovered this brewery on a recent trip to IA. Picked up a sample sixer. Our local distributors don't carry AC products here in IN.

Beautiful clear pour with an inch of crisp foam. Great bready aroma with some hop nose in there.

Body was full and there were zero off flavors which is great for a pilsner. I would guess that this leans a bit to the bitter/ hoppy end of the scale for pilsners, but I don't count that a flaw other than covering the malt profile a little bit.

I only wish that I could have picked up a case; this is the perfect summer beer. I wish more breweries paid attention to making simple and well crafted beers such as these.

Gives me something to look forward to after the 8 hour trip back to Iowa next time.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2009 17:38:02 | More by docfootdude

jwc215

New Jersey

4.22/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to morimech!

Freshness date of 041710 stamped on the neck - poured into a pils glass:

Pours bright golden. Streams of carbonated bubbles form a thick white foamy head that settles to a thin, lasting cover. Lacing sticks.

The smell is of grassy/floral hops with grainy maltiness. The hops and malts interweave to produce a very pleasant classic pils aroma.

The taste is sweet upfront - grainy, slightly nutty, maltiness slowly fades to a floral, balanced dryness in the finish. It has a refreshing finish, as a good pils should.

Clean, light-bodied (though towards medium with some thickness about it being light-bodied).

A nicely-made pils - certainly "sessionable" - This is what the macro "pilseners" should be!

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2010 22:27:13 | More by jwc215

spointon

Illinois

4.2/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

I poured this from a 12oz brown bottle into a DFH stemmed glass.

A= This beer poured a lightly hazed yellow gold color with a 1/4" white head. The head dropped to a thin ring very quickly but left behind some of the nicest lace I have ever seen on a pils.

S= Smelled of pale malt with a citrusy sweetness that was just perfect. The hops were floral with a touch of grass in my nose.

T= This started off grainy and mildly sweet, but quickly developed a depth of flavor showing biscuit, honey, and a floral/herbal hop note. The finish cleaned all that up and made my mouth dry enough to want some more.

MF= Lighter side of medium bodied with a clean and crisp mouthfeel. Carbonation was well evident without being too sharp.

D= Extremely drinkable. This is a hell of a session beer and makes me wish I could get it regularly. If I could, this would be my lawnmower, baseball game tailgating beer of choice.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2009 03:50:58 | More by spointon

GeoffRizzo

Texas

4.15/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A nice golden color with a thin, ever clinging head, some slight carbonation is present. Aroma of wheat and somewhat of clean and grassy, quite pleasant. An initial onslaught of wheat and a bit grainy taste with an end of nice hops, which seem to be noticed in the background throughout. A smooth and clean taste and mouthfeel throughout, high on the drinkability scale. Considered a staple, a 4 Season Beer, awesome pilsner.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2003 19:42:38 | More by GeoffRizzo

DarkerTheBetter

Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This beer pours a dirty, dull and pale straw color with a nice irregular slightly off white head that fell to a small irredular film after a few minutes that stuck around until the end. When I held my pint up to get a good look at the beer, I noticed tons of evenly spaced tiny particulates floating towards the bottom. I sincerely doubt this is bottle conditioned, so I’m guessing I may have a problem. Only one way to tell.

Smells vibrantly juicy with a nice orange zest and some freshly squeezed orange juice with a dash of pineapple. There’s also a dry woody biscuit dough hiding behind the fruit with some strong oak and moss.

Much to my surprise, the surprising fruity character came through in the flavor as well. It starts a bit like milk and bread dough at first but picks up those orange juice note but then a nicely paired dry and oaky bittering hop pops up and rounds off the flavor delivering a little orange zest and the slightest touch of cedar. The oak and orange zest lingers on into the finish leaving my tongue tingling awaiting the next sip.

The mouth feel is really light and smooth with a nice and sparse big bubbled carbonation that made this beer a pleasure to drink.

Floaties aside, I was really surprised by this beer. It’s extremely solid and particularly well done. The fruit elements made this one really enjoyable and the mouth feel was particularly solid making this beer an easily affordable complete package.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2006 19:17:59 | More by DarkerTheBetter

GetYourRiotGear3

Minnesota

4.15/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a bottle into 12 oz. glass.

Notes:
- Really nice golden straw color. Head settles into thin film with nice lacing, and good carbonation.
- Sweet and floral smell, a little fruity.
- Quality grain and malt character. Slight fruitiness. Overall good flavor and body suited for a pils.
- Definite drinkability, a solid beer choice.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2010 02:15:53 | More by GetYourRiotGear3

ryanocerus

Iowa

4.13/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

As others have said, this is an excellent American Pils. But it is not my favorite style, and the Czech pils are much better. It poured a clear dark golden with little to no head. The aroma was very nicely hopped with a slight malt presence. The flavor was nicely hopped as well, and clean. The mouthfeel was above average, nothing great, but not bad either. I had to give it high drinkability. Refreshing and light.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2002 09:59:17 | More by ryanocerus

corporatejim

Minnesota

4.13/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is on tap at the local Broadway Bar and Pizza. I have really come to like this beer, which is really something I think since I don't really care for a lot of American Pilsners'

Poors a beatiful golden color in the glass. A tad of a head which leaves nice sticky lacing down the inside of the glass. Sweet malty aroma with a bit of grain also present. Taste is slightly sweet with a little hoppiness present as well. Nicely carbonated. This is a very drinkable beer. In my humble opinion, one of the best American Pilsners on the market.

Serving type: on-tap

01-17-2006 16:35:36 | More by corporatejim

TheSSG

Illinois

4.13/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pous a soft, white head that has decent persistence. Grainy, grassy aroma. Straw gold, with a slight haze. Starts almost tart, bright, and floral. Medium hop bitterness has a slight pine-grapefruit aspect as it peaks (this is a very quick flash), moves back into a more floral character as the malt comes through in the finish.

This is actually a really damn good pilsner. It's a bit more aggressive in the hopping than I am used to, but like any good Midwestern lager, it is still delicately balanced and refined. It is effervescent yet silky across the tongue, too!

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 02:05:49 | More by TheSSG

pmccallum86

Minnesota

4.1/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a clear golden color with a white bubble head that dissipates quickly.

The smell is of malt, grass and floral hops, very nice for a pilsener.

The taste is good, fresh grassy taste, smooth malt and floral hop flavors, great example of the style.

Crisp refreshing mouthfeel, good level of carbonation with a light body.

This is a very drinkable beer, I could drink quite a few of these bad boys and love every sip.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2009 04:00:37 | More by pmccallum86

cokes

Wisconsin

4.08/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A very nice American Pils.
Throws a moderately hazed, pale golden. Fizzy white head settles quickly, then sticks around as an edging.
Balanced nose of doughy malts and lemon-pepper hops.
Enters the mouth with an almost chewy doughiness. Settles into a crispier flavor resembling baked crusty bread. Hops exude some of the aforementioned lemon pepper notes towards the finish. Slight lingering sour/bitterness. Otherwise quite clean.
Medium bodied...on the thick side for a pils. Smooth and very refreshing.
A quick drinking american pils with rewards for those who stop to think.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2002 22:59:24 | More by cokes

mattcrill

Ohio

4.05/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Pours a deep cloudy gold with a sudsy white head. Leaves no lacings down the glass but looks impressive.

Smell: Very enjoyable! Syrupy and sweet with a nice wheat background. Very balanced.

Taste: Very buiscuit-like with a touch of honey. I'm sure this is supposed to be summer drinking but I find it very appropriate for the fall too. It's like biting into a crisp, juicy, and sweet apple.

Mouthfeel: Light, refreshing, and prickly from the carbonation.

Drinkability and overall: Nicely done. This is my favorite offering from Schell so far. They must use this recipe for some of their other styles. Their other styles have hints of this taste in it, I just couldn't put my finger on it. I'd recommend trying this one.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2004 17:28:22 | More by mattcrill

beveritt

Ohio

4.05/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Presentation: Poured from a 12oz bronw bottle into a standard pint glass. Label is the standard Schell label, which I believe depicts the brewery itself. A code is printed on the neck that seems to indicate this was brewed on the 341st day of 2006.

Appearance: Pours with just over an inch of initially big, bubbled white foam. This slowly settles and compacts, leaving 3/8 inch of nice, dense white head with some lacing already. The beer itself is pale yellow with a slight haze.

Smell: Very strong aroma, you can smell it before you even begin to bring it to your nose. Sweet with a little spiciness. SLight metallic aroma in the finish. Hints of citrus and grass.

Taste: Upfront bready malt flavor with not as much sweetness as you would expect from the smell. Rolls smoothly into a hint of furitiness followed by a decent level of hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and creamy. Average carbonation with a nice, mouthfilling body.

Drinkability: Admittedly, the light lagers are not my normal cup of tea, I lean towards very malty beers. Hwoever, this is great. Refreshing enough for a hot summer's day, yet complex enough to have year round. Big fan. I continue to be impressed by this brewery.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2007 01:29:54 | More by beveritt

KeefD

Minnesota

4.05/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Clear golden yellow with a nice two finger head and good lacing. Aroma is grainy and sweet, light floral hops. Flavor is a bit sweet for a pilsner, lots of grainy malts, slightly floral with hints of honey and herbal hops. Bitterness is there but nothing crazy. Pretty well balanced actually. Crisp and refreshing, lots of carbonation. A good take on a pilsner and another solid offering from Schell's.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2009 20:36:14 | More by KeefD