Schell Dark

The perfect beer for people who want a specialty craft beer, but may not want all the flavor and heaviness.

Ingredients: Pale 2 Row and Black malts, corn, extract, Cluster hops.

2.6

166 reviews

New Ulm, United States

Community reviews

2.9 On tap at The Red Goat in Cokato, Minnesota. Not much to report here. A bland, inoffensive, sweet, dark lager. To call it a dunkel seems a bit pretentious. Meh.

1.9 Bottle into glass at club w. pretty normal dark beer. No bells or whistles. It's ok.

3.0 Bottle shared with friends.. Club w... Very odd caramel amber pour..clear.. Thin white head.. weird aroma i camt point out.. very bread like small hints of raisen.. Not sure what to think of it...

2.4 12 oz. clear bottle pours a clear brownish amber with vanishing 2-finger white head but good lacing. Aroma isn’t much: some caramel malts and light but old tasting hops. Taste is slightly sweet but mostly non-descript. Body is light with average carbonation. Sure, it’s better than a macro-lager, but other than that, I don’t see the point to this light "dark beer". At least it’s not expensive. It might become a hit if Schell’s priced it the same as their cheapest brews.

3.2 12 oz. bottle. I rated this based on what I view as the target customer according to the brewer’s description. Pours a darker copper brown but not what I would classify as dark. It has a fair amount of carbonation, and a moderate fast dissolving head with some lacing. Sweet malty smell. Taste is sweet with some caramel, very slight fruitiness and hint of citrus aftertaste. A step above the typical macro brew and I think it serves as a good first introduction for moving away from those to craft beers. Nothing special for a craft beer but I think Schells very much hits the mark with what they intended for this beer. For a relatively inexpensive, middle of the road beer this is something I would drink again.

2.5 Pours 75% dark. Too watery to be a stellar beer, but it keeps it relatively light for a dark.

1.8 Brown with tan head. Can't place the aroma. Cheap hops maybe? Lacing exists. Smells like dos Equis. Taste is bland like the label. Beer without all the flavor just like they said.

2.9 I think this beer accomplishes what it sets out to do. It’s an easy drinking beer that’s a perfect introduction to more flavorful beers. It’s light on flavor, but the flavor that’s there is tasty and sweet. It’s "dark" but not that dark. You get the idea.

2.7 12 ounce bottle I did not have high hopes for this bonus beer. That’s a good thing because while it lacked any severe flaws it is also underwhelming from start to finish. In fact it was pretty close to being a drain pour just due to sheer tedium. Aroma / Appearance - The ruby red body was decorated by a thick yet minimal head the color of polished ivory. Malty iced tea with a handful of hops and dime store chocolate did not do much to inspire me to continue. Flavor / Palate - Sweet malts with a dash of caramel and lemon zest come across as bland. Playing it safe this does not try to push any boundaries. Instead it colors within the lines while tasting like heavily malted sun tea.

2.6 Poured from a clear bottle to a dark reddish amber with foamy head that slowly faded to lacing. Aroma was of sweet malts with a twinge of fruitiness. The taste had malty front-end with a nutty hue followed by a mild hop finish with hint of sourness. Palate was light but OK. Overall, a drinkable brew but I probably will not run out and get any more anytime soon.

3.5 Pours a light mahogany/copper with good sized tan/white foam. Nose is yeast and malt. Nice and creamy on the palate, the taste is fairly mild of lightly roasted malt, a hint of carmel and a light touch of hops. Very pleasant quaffable brew that pairs well with roast beef on sourdough.

2.9 Clear bottle poured a clear reddish amber with a lasting amber head. Aroma of carmel and light fruittiness. Palate was light bodied and crisp. Flavors of carmel and light fruittiness with a crisp carmel finish.

1.1 Light brown color, very little aroma. It is very hard to taste the dark malt. Appears to be a cheap adjunct beer with very little dark beer character. Another disappointment from Shell´s.

1.8 Bottle in hotel room, picked up at a Hy-Vee in Lincoln, NE. Clear bottle = classy x10. A bit hazy, light brown appearance with a cream head. A bit nutty, light toffee, skunky, fairly shitty aroma. Pretty shitty, very very metallic, nutty, toffee, bland flavor. Each sip is like licking a 9v battery. Wowza.

2.7 Caramel and roast aroma. Copper/red with sticking white head. Sweet malt and caramel flavours. Ok balance, but malt dominant

2.5 Dark amber with thin off-white head. Faint sweet malt aroma. Fairly sweet taste, mostly caramel malt. Very faint citrus hop finish. Just OK.

2.6 Clear (!) bottle - Pours clear amber with some reddish highlights. Foamy light tan head. Nose has a little metal and some sugary sweetness to it. Creamed corn and whole wheat bread. Taste is bland, with a light bready sweetness. Hints of raisins and other vague dark fruit. Just a touch of herbal hops on the finish. Pretty boring, but a six pack of these could go down mighty quick if the sweetness didn’t get to you first.

1.8 Bottle. Weak malt aroma. Light brown with a small beige head. Malt kind of like stale bread. Pretty gross, but I’ve actually had worse.

3.2 12oz bottle-pours copper with a tight light tan head. Aroma is sweet medium malt-caramel, 2nd earthy/spice. Taste is sweet medium malt-caramel, dark fruit-plum/cherry, 2nd earthy/spice hops. Macro-ish.

3.4 Pours a dark copper brown with minimal head. Smells of sweet malts. Taste is a medium sweet malt flavor with a hint of corn. Smooth clean finish.

1.9 Bottle: Found some old notes that I had tasted these in the States many years ago. To be honest I can’t remember that much of these beers, but next to the beers name I wrote a little bit of info. So these notes are for me, to ensure and complete my list and to use this database as mine too. If you want to consider this as a tick, do so. It is for my own record, that I know I had tasted it once. It was not bad, but I was not impressed either: pretty sweet and malty.

2.1 Date: September 24, 2011 Mode: Bottle Source: Minneapolis Beer Fest. Full description not available as I sampled way too many beers in 4.5 hours!

2.9 (bottle 8/1/10). Clear brown color. Small off white head. Light sweet caramel aroma. Same flavor. Short duration. Light dry finish. Thin texture. Moderate carbonation. Spare lacing.

2.4 This beer is really pretty decent, but still nothing much to it. I like some more complexity.

2.5 bottle 1/9/11. looks nice... rich coppery tinged brown with an off white head. the nose is all alcohol (4.8%, how?)...floral, sweet grain and pennies show up as well. the flavor is the same... alcohol and assy. crisp and forgettable. 5/4/4/3/9

2.4 Part of variety case. Light copper color, modest head and little lacing, sweet and nutty just thin overall. At least distinctive.

3.1 Poured a brownish color, with not much of a head on it. Had a very light taste and is not memorable.

2.3 Clear brown, no head. Caramell sweetness and just a touch of hops to balance. Slightly metallic but not bad. A bit sticky but not to thick in texture and a little fizzy. This is surprisingly malty for cheap beer and very drinkable.

0.7 Don’t put it in clear bottles dumbfucks. This one was fresh, but skunky and the base beer was nothing to get excited for.

2.1 This is my second rating on this beer. First time through was was 3.1 now it’s a full point lower. Despite what others may say I like the old school clear bottle pssst...it really doesn’t affect the taste if it doesn’t sit on the shelf forever...this one must have beenon the shelf, a long, long time.