…can I get a drumroll? Here’s the skinny from Schell’s…
Schell Anniversary Draft Series #4 : 1890 Schwarzbier – OG 14.0° , IBU 30.
Literally translated as “Black Beer.” Often referred to as a “Black Pils” due to it’s higher hopping levels. In reality, Schwarzbiers are neither truly black, nor as hoppy as a Pilsner. Schwarzbiers are a regional specialty beer from southern Thuringen and northern Franconia in Germany, and most likely began as a variation of the dunkel. Rich, mild, and remarkably well balanced. Lighter in body than its black ale counterparts with notes of bittersweet chocolate and vanilla.
Release Date: Oct 23,2008 honoring the birthday of Warren “Schmaltz” Marti, President of Schell’s from 1969-1985.
Schell Snowstorm 2008: Weihnachtsbier – OG 16.0° , IBU 26
As the days grow shorter and colder in Bavaria, shoppers exhausted from a day at the open air market look forward to stopping by their local for a nourishing glass of the seasonal specialty:
Weihnachtsbier. Snowstorm 2008 was designed with the cold days of winter in mind. Reddish brown in color with a complex maltiness yielding hints of spicy rye, sourdough, and chocolate. Brewed with nine different malts, including copious amounts of Munich and a touch of Rye.
Snowstorm will be available at the ABR vom Fass, along with some U-bier, Stout, Octoberfest, and the Dampfbier.
What is U-Bier ??
I think it’s some kind of German style pilsner. How’s that for going out on a limb?
Ungespundtes Pilsener…. unfiltered pils.
Close, but not 100% correct. Indulge me with a quick German beer lesson:
Kellerbier (literally beer from the cellar) can be divided into two categories: ungespundtes and zwickel. Both are unfiltered, the difference being if a spunding valve was used for carbonation. Spunding valves allow beer to naturally carbonate by allowing only a certain pressure in the tank. If you use a spunding valve, and then serve from the tank, you have a zwickel bier. It is fully carbonated. If you don’t use the spunding valve, you have ungespundtes bier, with carbonation equal to only that which is soluble in the beer at lagering temperatures (ie, considerably lower carbonation than zwickel, much like cask beer has lower carbonation).
You can make either from any kind of lager. Thus, both Snowstorm and the U-bier (pronounced oooo-beer, not you-beer) are in fact ungespundtes, and both served vom Fass (gravity poured from a Bavarian stich-Fass). And both Ryan and Mag were correct, it will be Pilsner.
Here ends your beer lesson for the day…
Why don’t you just put it in a cask? *ducks*
That would be way too easy…for you guys! No, we’re going with Fass, and I have to say, every time there is a Firkin Fest or bunch of Firkins being tapped somewhere, it always make me smirk when I see you list Schells and put in parenthesis…Fass. See, you’re learning and you don’t even know it….
I’d prefer to learn and know it, thank you very much, David Berg!