Schell's Stag Series No. 9: Cave-aged Barrel-aged Lager

Schell's Stag Series Limited Release Batch #9 Cave-aged Barrel-aged Lager. Brewed and bottled by The August Schell Brewing Company, New Ulm, MN. 7.7% Alcohol by Volume.

Appearance: dark reddish-brown, clear, ruby-ish highlights, slim, cocoa-tinted head.

Aroma: deep and malty, cocoa and coffee, dark fruits, a touch sweet, but terrifically balanced.

Taste: Medium to full body. Rich, malty, hints of toffee, caramel, cocoa. Along comes the barrel flavors, here comes the whiskey, the vanilla and the caramel, and all that goodness. Getting fruitier, getting fuller, maltier, chocolatey-er, and richer as we get further in, and damn, do I like it.

What kind of lager is this, barrel and cave-aged, and still so rich and full. A bock of some kind, or….? I'm not sure. Let's look at the label: "This dark lager was aged in American whiskey barrels stored in our original, naturally cooled 19th Century layering caves located deep below the brewery."

Schell's Stag Series #7: Barley-wine

Schell's Stag Series Limited Release No. 7: Barleywine Style Ale. Brewed and bottled by the August Schell Brewing Company, New Ulm, MN.

Clear and lovely, magenta hue, slim ring of creamy foam.

Aroma: malt forward, with fruit notes of cherry, grape, apple.

Taste: Plump in the mouth, bursting with hops, packed to the gills with malt. Nice, wood-y texture in the mouthfeel. Full-bodied, unrelenting flavor. Rich, strong (though ABV is nowhere on the label), and satisfying.

This falls a little short of what I like from a barley-wine, it isn't big, beefy or bold enough. But it's close, and it's a great first stab at the style for Schell's. Tasty stuff.

Here's what the label tells us: "For Stag Series #7, two separate mashes of over 6,000 pounds of malt and 150 pounds of hops to brew this intensely malty and assertively hopped American Barleywine Style Ale."

Schell's Stag Series #4: Burton Ale

August Schell's Stag Series #4, a Burton Ale, reproducing a long lost style from the days before pale ales or IPAs. Once again, I happily enjoyed 5 bottles out of a 6-pack, and then sat down with #6 to examine it. Notes follow:

Clear, reddish-copper coloring, slim, off-white head.

Aroma, grainy, malty, small hops. Nice. Clean, but rather quiet. 

Taste: rich, malty, and slightly sweet. Very malt-driven, fruity, and scrumptious. 

I'm not getting much hop bitterness, not even a little. Maybe there's just enough to tamp down the malt sweetness. 

Soft, creamy, and satisfying. Not a chore, nor a challenge, nor terrible rewarding, either. Just satisfying. Good sessioner, though it's on the strong side. 

I do find myself wishing for more hops, but that's wanting this to be something it never was supposed to be.Ain't nothing wrong with what it is. 

(I also didn't detect the 8% alcohol, either.)