There’s been some discussion (and some questionable information) on the availability of Grain Belt Nordeast as of late on the large beer sites. Here’s the lowdown straight from the source:

Dear Patrons of the August Schell Brewing Co,

First and foremost, I want to thank you for your overwhelming support of our brewery during this milestone year in our history. As many of you know, Schell’s was established and operated by my ancestors for the last 150 years. Throughout its history, the brewery had to face many challenges that threatened the fate of our family business. Knowing the obstacles my family faced, it gives me tremendous pride knowing that in our Anniversary year, we
have had our most successful production year yet. I am incredibly humbled and honored by your tremendous support of our establishment. From my family to yours, I thank you.

To celebrate our 150th anniversary, we have released Schell Hopfenmalz and Grain Belt Nordeast. The success of these two products has been astounding. We only hope to keep creating products that surprise and satisfy our
consumers the way you have expressed Hopfenmalz and Nordeast has.

I now want to discuss the bittersweet situation at the brewery. With success can come challenges when operating out of a 150-year-old brewery. One obstacle we are facing is capacity. Currently we have maxed out our tank space. Last Thursday we installed one 560 barrel tank and we have two 750 barrel tanks on order. The addition of these tanks will help increase our brewing capacity. However, due to the strict timeline of the brewing process, it will be another month before we can get the additional product to market. Although the tank will be incredibly effective in the long run, unfortunately it cannot assist in the immediate demand for our beers.

To help insure that we better meet the demand of all of our Schell and Grain Belt products, we have decided to temporarily limit the distribution of Grain Belt Nordeast. Effective immediately, Nordeast will only be available
in the metro and New Ulm area, the immediate backyards of the former Grain Belt Brewery and August Schell Brewery. Once the new tanks are fully incorporated in the brewing rotation, we will better be able to meet the
demand for Grain Belt Nordeast and expand distribution location to all areas.

We thank you for your understanding and patience during this time. Once again, thank you for your support while we continue to pursue every avenue to get our product to you as soon as possible.
Ein Prosit,

Ted Marti,
President, August Schell Brewing Co.