Schell's Dark - August Schell Brewing Company

youngleo

Michigan

2.9/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured to a big 3 fingered head with big bubbles. Head was a light brown in color. Left a little lacing but not much. Brew itself was a dark brown in color. Smelled slightly sweet. Also of burnt malt. Nothing was really over whelming as far as smell goes. Very light in odor. Taste was light also. Slightly sweet with caramel and malt. Not a lot of flavor going on either. Felt good in the mouth. carbonation was good. I guess im not use to having a dark beer this light in flavor and odor. Overall I dont think Id buy again. Maybe at 4.8 alcohol this is going to be a light dark beer. No pun intended.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2011 18:03:24 | More by youngleo

CaptainIPA

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Presented in a clear 12 oz. bottle and poured into a Hennepin flute.

Pours a dark chestnut brown with a thin head that quickly dissipates. Aromas of roasted caramel malt with metallic notes.

Opens bitter and somewhat astringent. Medium bodied with above average carbonation. Flows into suggestions of roasted malt, caramel, brown sugar and buttered biscuit. Malts take over from this point forward with a mild hop presence balancing out the sweetness. Finishes dry and nutty.

Smooth, rich and somewhat complex, I found this Munich Dunkel Lager particularly refreshing. Excellent drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2011 20:45:46 | More by CaptainIPA

PokerGod

Minnesota

2.78/5  rDev -16%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

12 oz. clear bottle poured into a Nonic glass.

Appearance- Beautiful dark and rich color. A nice head, but seems to dissipate a little faster than I like, but quickly returns with a little agitation.

Smell- Roasted, malty goodness. Very unique smell...almost sweet like candy or caramel. (also smell seems to waft out even more upon the aforementioned agitation process)

Taste - Not as great as I had hoped with that great smell, It does have the sweet caramel taste, coupled with the roasted malts that you'd expect from the color, but I can't help but feel it falls a little flat.

Overall- Not a bad beer, but certainly not my favorite from this wonderful Minnesota brewery.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2011 01:57:12 | More by PokerGod

afinepilsner

Iowa

3.35/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12oz clear bottle

Schell's Dark was dark amber in color with good clarity. It had a rocky beige head with decent retention and lacing. The smell was toasted malt. The taste was toasted malt with a touch of hop flavor, some fruitiness and dry finish. The mouthfeel was average with a medium-light body and medium carbonation. The drinkability was just above aveage. This is an average Dunkel Lager.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2011 22:43:57 | More by afinepilsner

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.25/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours from a clear bottle, labeling and bottle together bring out a retro feel to the product. Pours a dark copper ruby brown hue with a nice creamy tan head quickly dwindling. Aroma has hints of grainy malts, a touch of caramel and tart fruit in there as well. Flavor wise roasty malts/husky graininess/fruits with apple/raisin coming through with a touch of a grassy finish. Mouthfeel is a bit rough around the edges but a light to medium bodied lager from New Alt Minnesota is a welcome addition to the beers I've tried. This is nowhere near Penn Dark was it's hayday, but it's a decent drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2011 13:34:56 | More by WVbeergeek

ForWhatAlesYou

Minnesota

3.88/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle poured into a stemmed glass

A: Thin head that lingers halfway down. Really defined lace left on glass. Deep caramel color with lots of red hues.

S: Lightly sweet with hints of banana candy, cherimoya, malt.

T: Noticeably roasted malt flavor that is somewhat reminiscent of a hazelnut liquer. Nutty with a very slight metallic taste. No hint of unpleasant aftertaste.

M: Pleasant carbonation/viscosity balance.

D: Overall very drinkable. Really great when you are looking for something smooth but with flavor to back it up.

Altogether no Schell's best product but still very quaffable. Looking forward to reviewing more Schell's in the future (i.e. Hopfenmalz, Shmaltz's Alt, Caramel Bock, Firebrick, etc.)

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2010 18:16:06 | More by ForWhatAlesYou

nrmiller

Minnesota

3.98/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Poured into a Pilsner glass, cola brown, cream colored head.

S: Smells fairly strong of sweet malts.

T: Starts off with a little crispness and goes into rich, smooth, and slightly roasted malts. A touch of bitterness to finish things up.

M: Smooth, good carbonation, thin to medium bodied.

D: Very drinkable, i enjoy the malts in this one, it makes it creamy and smooth. It is a lager, so the flavors aren't strong or bold, but they are still there (not saying EVERY lager is mild). This is one of my favorite go-to beers, an excellent session beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2010 02:12:42 | More by nrmiller

dberthia

Minnesota

2.85/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I bought a 15.5 gallon keg of this from Zipps in Minneapolis for $49.99 blowout sale!

It looks awesome but doesn't have much to it for taste and smell. It is a full bodies beer that is not heavy and is very rich with malt. It goes down very easily but this is not my beer style of choice. I am happy to enjoy Schells dark nonetheless.

Cheers!

Serving type: on-tap

10-15-2010 21:06:18 | More by dberthia

twiggamortis420

Texas

3.53/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

12 oz clear bottle with a best by stamp of 110510. Pours a clear, light brown color with a dense cap of creamy foam. Retention is good and leaves some nice ribbons of lacing around the glass.

Lightly sweet, roasty malt with a hint of chocolate. Clean nose and smells just as good as many German dunkels.

Taste is husky and sweet with equal amounts of roasted and chocolate maltiness. Light hopping comes in to clean up the finish. It is unfortunate there are not many American brewed dunkels, as it makes for a flavorful session beer that is easy and fun to drink. This one is a little thin on the palate and lacks a certain smoothness found in the best of the style. Still though, I enjoyed this beer and would happily buy a sixer every now and again.

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2010 17:01:55 | More by twiggamortis420

GaryT2

Minnesota

4.2/5  rDev +26.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From a sampler pack. Since Miller and Anheuser still control the distributors and retailers here this good stuff has to fight for space. I could drink a lot of this. I am pretty new here and very unprofessional. That said, what I do not understand is the biases of other reviewers. Rules are... do not criticize your fellow reviewers. But, I gotta say .. Art is in the eye of the beholder. I rated this beer high BEFORE I read anybody elses reviews and after I rated it high and reviewed the balance of the thread, I had second thoughts until I started reading comparisons to some beers that would be skipped if I had some of this stuff around. I do every much like this beer. Anyway..this is above average..darn good beer leaving a fresh after taste. Slightly fruity I guess. You certainly aren't even tempted to add a lemon.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2010 19:51:36 | More by GaryT2

biteme398

Virginia

4.03/5  rDev +21.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

From a six-pack sampler bought in Minnesota. Appearance is a dark shade of amber, somewhat small head and very little lacing. Smell of grain and caramel while the taste is similar with an interesting sweetness at the end that entices another sip. Mouthfeel is not quite chewy but not thin either. Kind of wish I had more than just this bottle. Very good beer that can't be found out here.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2010 00:11:28 | More by biteme398

dstc

Florida

3.63/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Clear bottles, twist top. Schell's is definitely old school. Pours a dark copper brown with a full tan head. Head falls slow but remains. Great lace.

Smell is pretty clean. Bit of sweet malt with a touch of roast.

Taste is of sweet roasted malts. It is a bit metallic but not bad.

Thin to medium bodied and averagely carbonated.

Not too bad. I kind of like it actually. Nothing outstanding but worth more than the low scores I see here.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2010 17:57:55 | More by dstc

Soilworker

Idaho

3.28/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: Dark amber with a one finger thick off-white head.

S: More malty than anything else but there is still a small presence of herbalish hops. Most interesting aspect is this beer is the sweet brown sugar notes that come through which are a nice touch.

T: Somwhat offputting flavors seem to always stick in the background: kind of cidery with some sourness. Other than that there is a light amount of roasted maltiness (note the light, not much). Some herbal hops balance it out.

M: Somewhat high carbonation and watery mouthfeel overall.

D: Could put a few of these down but the offputting flavors are a little too prominent for prolonged drinking.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2010 03:21:17 | More by Soilworker

Tballz420

Minnesota

3.65/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Not sure what the logic is, but it comes in a clear bottle. Clear cola-colored body, small cream colored head. Some lace. Scent is a mild lagered-caramel malt. Same idea with the taste, caramel and chocolate tones, lagered smooth taste. Just a touch of hop bitterness, but its blended enough that its hard to notice. Somewhat acidic, but finishes with a creamy feel. Nothing particularly wrong or anything with this one, but its not overwhelming. Not bad

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2010 02:36:11 | More by Tballz420

Arenbeer

Connecticut

3.05/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Thanks to Supercolter for this brew.

12oz bottle into a pint glass

A- Pours a dark maple syrup colored body with a thin white 1/2 finger head.

S- Pale malts with a sweet toffee smell in there.

T- Tastes of pale malts with a roasted toffee and caramel.

M- Medium light body with a chalky feel. Moderate carbonation and little bitterness in the finish.

Yup, not much to this beer but definitely worth a try cause it's decent for it's style.

SkÅL!

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2010 00:48:51 | More by Arenbeer

AmberMan22

Minnesota

3.05/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I would have to say that the appearance is actually one of the highlights at this beer. Taking the style into context, many Munich Dunkel's have a fair amount of transparency, plenty of them being...well, not all that dark looking.

That however, is where the similarities end.
Smell and taste seem almost like fabrications, like it's just not real. The mouthfeel backs up this perception, due to the generally wishy-washy heft it provides.
Lightly toasted malt, with a faint afterthought of hops. Kind of like a St. Pauli Girl Dark or Beck's Dark, though those even have a tastier 'bitter' flavor to them.

This is the first beer from Schell that really disappointed me, but having this after their stout is a tough act to follow.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2010 20:31:01 | More by AmberMan22

Tone

Missouri

3.95/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a clear, dark amber color. 3/4 inch head of an off-white color. Decent retention and poor lacing. Smells of grain, yeast, slight sweet malt, pale malt, hint of hop, and slight roasted malt. Fits the style of a Munich Dunkel Lager. Mouth feel is slightly smooth and crisp with an average carbonation level. Tastes of grain, yeast, slight pale malt, slight hop, slight sweet malt, and slight roasted malt. Overall, a good blend, body, and aroma.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2010 18:21:20 | More by Tone

blackearth

Minnesota

3.2/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Purchased from 3 Corners Liquor in Medford, MN. Pours a dark amber body with lots of rising bubbles, which makes it look like Coca Cola. Aroma is of sweet malts and no hops at all. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. Flavors of toasted malt and toffee sweetness. There's a very faint hop flavor in the overall sweet finish. There's nothing special here.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2010 19:47:38 | More by blackearth

kegger22

Michigan

4.13/5  rDev +24.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Schell's Dark was a transparent Munich dunkel lager with a light beige head that faded rapidly to a thin collar.

The aroma was underwhelming but neutral grainy.

The taste was where Schell's Dark really shone. Roasted caramel malt, nutty and yes, some chocolate too.

The mouth feel improves with warming to barely medium bodied, but oily and adequately carbonated.

The drinkability was excellent. I had purchased it in a Schell sampler pack, but if I could find it in a six pack, I'd rush out and buy one or two.

A very underrated beer, though not aesthetically pleasing enough for a huge rating. For those of you that rated this poorly, take another look, with an open mind and warmed slightly.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2010 17:16:21 | More by kegger22

mynie

Indiana

2.98/5  rDev -10%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Well this ain't no schwarz, that's for sure. Thingamajig at the top of this page says it's a munich dunkel, but that don't seem right, neither. It's like Grain Belt with food coloring and a little nuttiness. Or, hell, that's not a proper review:

Pours limp. Dark nut brown with no head at all. No bad, really, but not good.

Thankfully there's no skunkiness in spite of its being poured from a clear bottle. Smells nutty, lightly fruity with hints of raisins. Nothing bad, certainly, but it only barely manages to avoid a sub-3.0 rating due to blandness.

Tastes as it smells, lightly beery, lightly fruity, lightly nutty. There's nothing bad here, and there's also enough going on to remind you that you're actually drinking beer, but, really, that's all that can be said about it.

Maybe this is Schell's answer to Shiner Bock, a limp and light beer that's a teeny bit more flavorful than your usual macro flagships. People can drink it and feel fancy, since it's a dark. Well, regardless, it's not bad, certainly, and it's actually probably a step up from Shiner and other bland attempts at craft beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2010 05:46:09 | More by mynie

jwc215

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to morimech!

Freshness date of 031010 stamped on the neck:

Pours brown (as seen through the clear bottle) with a thin off-white to tan head that eventually becomes wispy. Dotted lacing sticks.

The smell is of roasted grain, nuts and caramel.

The taste is of sweet caramel with a roasty balance and a nutty, earthy undertone. Remains sweetish. It has a clean, crisp finish.

Light-to-medium bodied with a lager smoothness, this is an "easy-drinking" brew with a fair amount of complexity for the style. A nice caramel/nutty/roasty balance. A fine choice for a dark "sessionable" lager!

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2010 16:50:37 | More by jwc215

FreshmanPour77

Minnesota

3.98/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reviewed 02-19-10
Reviewed cold from a bottle to a glass

A - 1 finger of foam, brown in color, little carbonation

S - Roasted nuts, malts, fair amount of sweetness

T - Medium to light body more towards the lighter side, malts, little bit of hops lingering about, with some caramel sweetness mixed in.

M/D - A pretty decent brew. A liked the smoothness and the pretty sessionable quality. Nothing too strong, very enjoyable. I recommend at least trying this brew. I will purchase again!

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2010 18:32:13 | More by FreshmanPour77

katan

Colorado

3.23/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

12 oz into a pint. Isn't that a no-no to have a clear bottle?

A - Pours a light brownish color. On the clear side. Little hazing or bubbling. head formation is near zero, only a light off white film.

S - A roasted malt note comes through very strongly. I guess they weren't kidding with "long roasted" written on the bottle. A light yeasty note backs it up.

T - Starts off with a chord of roasted malts and light 2-row sweetness. Mid-stream maintains that roast bite, while getting more bitter. No hopping detected. Finishes with a pilsner malt note, by far the cleanest flavor throughout.

M - Beer comes across as thin and watery. The burnt notes seem to stick to the palette pretty hard. No carbonation bite.

D - Very drinkable - flavors are very light. ABV is very light. Overall, just not an "in your face" beer. Not filling.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2010 04:12:12 | More by katan

PaleAlien2

Nebraska

3.4/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Has a nice ruby color with creamy lacing. I can tell it's watery just from swirling it around the glass--half a point off for that.

Unique smell. Kind of an odd sweetness to it.

Sweet malty flavor. Notes of caramel and fruit. Very little hops to speak of.

Mouthfeel is very watery.

This beer is decent, but I probably wouldn't ever get it again.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2010 03:32:14 | More by PaleAlien2

gmfessen

Michigan

2.9/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Poured from the clear bottle (scary) into a pint glass, beer is deep amber brown with a nice cap of cream colored head. The nose is sweet with lightly toasted malt and almost takes on a sweet fruitiness that I wasn't expecting. The flavor touts a similar fruitiness but it is subdued compared to the nose, other than that caramel, molasses and just a touch of hops at the finish. The mouthfeel is on the watery side with the carbonation not helping matters in that it is almost non-existent. Overall, drinkable but drinkable like BMC beer... Not what I would think of a Munich Dunkel Lager to be like. I suppose given the choice between this and BMC, this would win but not by much.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2009 02:02:25 | More by gmfessen