Schell's FireBrick - August Schell Brewing Company

bcpriess

Minnesota

3.6/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A Respectable Brew.

It had me at "this all malt lager." While this is not by any means a jaw droppingly awesome beer, it is a good, solid, beer that I could imagine wanting to drink from time to time. Schell's of New Ulm doesn't produce a favorite beer of mine, but I respect their work, and their commitment to lager styles, and for that alone they edge out Summit as the top Twin Cities brewery.

Although I am down on Schell's uber sweet bock, this is more of a light, malty, none too sweet brew. It seems like it might be the more forceful cousin of Grain Belt Nordeast, with a bit more of a char flavor.

A: Appearance is nothing special. This beer pours a deep amber, almost reddish color, with a thick beige large-bubbled head that rapidly dissipates. Par for the course.

S: Predominantly malt and yeast - not a generic odor - but not special either.

T: In addition to the malt and yeast (which you smell), there is an unexpected and interesting char flavor (I suppose the reason for the Firebrick name). This beer would be just the thing to drink with the pulled pork burrito at the BLB - although it is a fairly malty brew, there is no overpowering sweetness, and the char is exactly the kind of thing that would counterbalance a sweet meat. Paired correctly, this is a winner. As I mentioned before this feels like a more intense Nordeast - the key differences being that this is just slightly less sweet, and the presence of the char flavor.

M: Like many Schell's beers, a little on the dry side, but it doesn't leave any unwanted residues behind. An appropriate level of carbonation, maybe a little on the low side, but still somewhat crisp feeling.

D: Somewhat above average. This isn't an uber heavy drink that will leave you with a gutache if you approach it as a beer to drink for flavor. Would be refreshing as a hot weather beer. If you tried to down six of these, you would have a gutache, but then you wouldn't be reading BA either.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2010 00:14:55 | More by bcpriess

danfix99

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%

05-13-2013 13:33:09 | More by danfix99

barongearmu

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

05-10-2013 02:19:05 | More by barongearmu

SaxmanRick

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

05-06-2013 18:50:09 | More by SaxmanRick

ZEB89

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

05-06-2013 13:16:44 | More by ZEB89

OB1

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +15.8%

04-06-2013 17:46:16 | More by OB1

neat0007

Minnesota

1.25/5  rDev -65.9%

03-29-2013 02:40:25 | More by neat0007

bigbeers84

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +9%

03-25-2013 03:55:39 | More by bigbeers84

MAbeerNE1

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%

03-14-2013 23:39:47 | More by MAbeerNE1

ejimhof

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -25.1%

03-09-2013 13:49:42 | More by ejimhof

Ish1

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

03-06-2013 03:26:48 | More by Ish1

richkrull

Wisconsin

3/5  rDev -18.3%

03-06-2013 00:58:25 | More by richkrull

mellowmark

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +15.8%

03-02-2013 16:37:08 | More by mellowmark

Tjvan2

Iowa

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%

02-17-2013 02:38:01 | More by Tjvan2

Pacioli1445

South Dakota

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

02-17-2013 00:17:16 | More by Pacioli1445

ptarmigan98

Manitoba (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%

02-11-2013 22:07:57 | More by ptarmigan98

WhatAlesMe

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +22.6%

02-10-2013 21:18:24 | More by WhatAlesMe

zzurn

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%

02-08-2013 07:33:41 | More by zzurn

TheSSG

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours a soft, white head that forms a thin, white layer atop the liquid. Sweet malt aroma with a lot of nice, floral hops. Amber-burnt sienna color that has an orange quality to it. Starts a touch tart from carbonation and floral hops, moves quickly into a MASSIVE malt middle, a flash of hop bitterness, and it all mellows in the finish, where the floral hops and a touch of bitterness comes through, but malt dominates.

This is really, really nice. There is just a touch of hops to make you happy, but the malt is so fantastic and well balanced throughout. It's just miles and miles of smooth malt. It's just a nice, silky mouthfeel, too!

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2013 02:03:13 | More by TheSSG

OregonGrown7

Nebraska

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

01-22-2013 02:13:00 | More by OregonGrown7

cliff1066

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%

12-22-2012 17:41:30 | More by cliff1066

RaijinQ

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +22.6%

12-20-2012 00:57:22 | More by RaijinQ

Revenant

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +9%

12-16-2012 18:30:39 | More by Revenant

ebenicr

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -11.4%

12-15-2012 19:35:23 | More by ebenicr

11bennett

1/5  rDev -72.8%

11-21-2012 04:29:23 | More by 11bennett