August Schell Brewing Company
The August Schell Brewing Company is a brewery in New Ulm , Minnesota . It was founded in 1860 by the German immigrants August Schell and Jacob Bernhardt and has been owned by the Schell family since 1866. The brewery is now the second oldest family-run brewery in the United States, and Minnesota's top-selling brewery through the Grain Belt acquisition .
history
The brewery was founded in the fall of 1860 by August Schell, born in Durbach , who emigrated to the USA in the 1850s and settled in Minnesota, and Jacob Bernhardt, who had previously worked as a master brewer in St. Paul , on the Cottonwood River near New Ulms built. They had chosen to do so because at that time in the rural areas of the Midwest, despite the existing demand, it was difficult to get beer. In the first few years only about 235 hectoliters were brewed annually. During the Dakota uprising in 1862, the brewery was spared attacks by the Indians, as the Schell family had always been friendly towards the Dakota and provided them with food. In 1866, the sick Bernhardt sold his shares in the brewery for 12,000 US dollars to Schell, who added several buildings to the brewery. In 1885 Schell built an extensive property ( "Schell Mansion" ) next to the brewery , which was later added to the National Register of Historic Places . After August Schell's death in September 1891, the brewery was continued by his family. In 1902 it was converted into a corporation . The brewery's growth suffered a setback in 1919 with Prohibition . During this time, beer-like drinks and soft drinks were produced. It was not until the end of Prohibition in 1933 that beer could be produced and sold again. Although smaller breweries were often taken over or pushed out of competition by large corporations since the 1980s, the Schell brewery continued to exist as a family business. This development also shaped the image as a regional and quality-conscious company, which was able to assert itself on the market. In 1999 the old production building was replaced by a modern new building. The daily output rose to a maximum of around 657 hectoliters. In 2002, the August Schell Brewing Company took over the Grain Belt brand, making it the best-selling brewery in Minnesota. The annual output is around 130,000 hectoliters.
Products
38 types of beer are brewed, around 16 for other brands. The best-known types of beer include Schell original , light , dark , Pilsner , Bock , Firebrick Lager , German Pale Ale , Schmalt's Alt , Doppel Bock , Maifest , Zommerfest , Hefeweizen , Octoberfest and Snowstorm Beer . In 2002, the product offering was expanded with the purchase of the Midwestern brand Grain Belt from the bankrupt Minnesota Brewing Company.
The beers are commonly offered in Minnesota, Illinois , Iowa , North Dakota , Pennsylvania , South Dakota, and Wisconsin .
Web links
- The company's website (English)
- Company profile
Coordinates: 44 ° 17 ′ 20 " N , 94 ° 27 ′ 2" W.