Schell Brewery featured in City Pages

NEW ULM -- The August Schell Brewery has been selected by City Pages, a weekly news and arts paper in the Twin Cities, for its "Best of the Twin Cities" list.

The Schell's Brewery was selected as the "Best Day Trip" in its April 28 issue. City Pages describes the Schell's Brewery as follows:

"This is the story of August, who begat Otto and Adolph and Emma, who married George, who begat Alfred, who ... okay, let's be done with the begetting already and talk about beer. It was 140 years ago that young German machinist August Schell first brewed 200 barrels of the stuff and started selling it to his peers. After his brewery boomed in the 1870s and '80s, he built a family mansion on the grounds and added a formal garden and a deer park in the manner of a successful burgher. Peacocks could be seen strutting around the lawns and loading docks, along with a tame crane. Around the year 1900, that 200-barrel brewery purchased a solid copper kettle that could hold 3,500 gallons. The tame crane is gone now, but little else has changed. Schell's Brewery -- today the largest in the state -- is wholly owned by the descendants of August Schell and continues to manufacture fine (but not fancy) beers. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the brewery opens its doors for daily tours. If you're interested in the fermentation process, or in peacocks, this is the place you want to be. And when the tour wraps, you can take a taste of everything, then zero in on your favorite brew (which, in our view, ought to be the classic pils). Bring your teenager for the 1919 Root Beer, then make him drive home."

Schell's Brewery president Ted Marti said the recognition came as a surprise, but was welcome. He hasn't had much feedback or contacts yet as a result of the article, but he suspects that may improve as the tourism season heats up. "I'm sure we'll try to tie in with the publicity value," said Marti. "It is nice to have the recognition."

Marti said he wasn't sure what City Pages meant in its statement that the brewery makes "fine (but not fancy) beer."

"I don't know what they mean by fancy beer. I've never heard beer described as 'fancy' before," said Marti.