Here’s the scoop on the next beer in Schell’s Anniversary Draft Series, “Not Guilty!” 1924 Deer Brand.

Release Date:  April 2, 2009 , commemorating the day August Schell Brewing was found Not Guilty of Violating the 18th Amendment of the US Constitution

History:
In April, 1923, Schell’s Brewery was raided by two Federal Prohibition agents who took some samples of the beverages and found them to be slightly over the legal 1/2 of 1% alcohol. Schell’s was later denied a permit to operate a de-alcoholizing plant, which was immediately followed by abatement proceedings to attempt to shut the brewery down. It was almost a year later that the charges were finally dropped, as the violation was found to be unintentional.

This is the actual recipe taken from our brewing logs, but brewed to its full strength, without the de-alcoholization process that it would have had to have gone through during prohibition.

14 Plato
28 IBU
3.2 SRM
5.91% Alc

1924 Deer Brand incorporates two important indigenous American ingredients to create a unique version of the classic German Pilsner:  6-row Barley and Flaked Maize.  Early American brewers discovered that by adding a portion of Maize to the high protein 6-row Barley a more palatable and stable beer could be produced.

1924 is a recreation of the full-flavored American Lager your grandparents used to enjoy before and immediately following prohibition, exhibiting moderate maltiness, the complex character of our 1860 Schell yeast and a well-defined hop bitterness and flavor.