I recently did a tour of the place and sampled their brews. I would have to say the tour is awesome! You get the history of the place along with the process of brewing. However like most larger older brewers, they are finally starting to put the flavor back into their beers. Back before the craft explosion, the same old bland beers sold well, but todays palate has evolved. While Schells is trying to catch up with the times, most of the beers I found lacked any distinct flavor that sets it apart to reclassify it. There was one brew however that gave me hope for the brewery. Schell shocked was a grapefruit beer that, while is was very sugary, had some nice subtle flavors to it. I look forward to seeing how they evolve in the future. If I were to rate the tour alone, it would 5 of 5 stars, but they have beer, which is the product of Schells and my rating is more on the beers. read more

Had a great time. Went here on a saturday because it was raining in okoboji. Ate at the Kaiserhof around 1:30. Went to tour Herman the german down the street a few blocks. Then had the 3 pm tour of the brewery. I would suggest the same routine to anyone visiting New Ulm for the first time. The brewery is top notch but they dont reveal any information on their current brewing methods. More of a historical tour really. But still 5/5 stars. Do it. You wont revret it. How could you, its a 153 year old brewery. read more

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As a native, the best beer I can find is here. While the original Deer Brand is good, I'm a huge fan of the Nordeast and more recent brews. The grounds are beautiful and the entire brewery is so embedded in the community it is hard to separate the two. Truly a treasure. read more

Always great! Gift shop items are of great quality and ever changing. We visit every time we are in New Ulm.

The grounds of the Schell brewery are beautiful; there are four peacocks (three males and one female :D) that roam the garden. We got the "short tour" - which included a brief history about August Schell and family, a video explanation of the brewing process, and a five-minute talk about the giant copper brew kettle, probably because it was 80° that day. Or, because they know people visit breweries for... the free beer. I sampled five beers - Pilsner, Firebrick (Amber Lager), Pale Ale, Stout, and Dark Lager - and root beer. I prefered the Pale Ale and root beer, so did the bees and wasps. The gift shop is also full of kitschy stuff and souvenirs. If you're ever in New Ulm, take time to visit the brewery. read more

I went here on a road trip with some friends. I've taken the tour several times before, but my friends got a chance to check out the new tap room and some of the new beers. The tour costs $3, and the walking portion lasted about 30 minutes. Afterwards, the knowledgeable tour guide brought us back to the tap room and we tried several different varieties of craft beer. After the official tasting was over, we requested glasses of our favorites and relaxed on the patio for about an hour, then drove home! read more

Great historic tour of one of the oldest family owned breweries in the United States. Cool tale of perseverance by German immigrants and how the brewery survived the Dakota conflict due to the families known kindness. Nice sampling of beer and lots of cool grain belt and Schell beer branded goods in the gift shop. read more

Nothing more to say than fantastic. Our tour guide was funny and entertaining. Beer as always was legendary. See you next Fall Schell's.

I have been hearing about the Schell's Brewery tour for years, and finally got a chance to go. I was not disappointed by the lovely grounds, the wild peacocks roaming at will, or the extensive historical exhibits. The free beer in the tasting room at the end was plentiful. And the guide, while a bit prone to excessive "umming," was quite knowledgeable. My one complaint, and the reason this brewery only got three stars of five, is the tour itself. They gave us some of the history of the company, and took us up into an impressive nineteenth-century building, and proceeded to... show us.. a.. video? We didn't even see the production floor. They showed us the old brew kettle that is no longer in the brewing building, but we didn't see any assembly lines. Granted it was an informative video, but I wanted to have my Laverne and Shirley moment! As a museum it was fascinating, and they even got us a little drunk, but as a brewery tour it left out the whole brewing process, which left me feeling a little cheated. read more

Our family recently visited Schell's Brewery on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Having read some reviews prior to visiting, we were excited for beautiful grounds, a nice tour, and some beer - what's not to like? Arriving at Schell's Brewery, you'll notice it's definitely a unique setting. Deep in the woods and high up on a hill, the grounds are home to some deer and two peacocks! The gardens are beautiful, and the crumbling sidewalks, empty ponds, and broken fences clearly date back to when the brewery opened in 1860. So much history! Insider Tip: Be sure you arrive early. Tours operate only hourly and do sell out. Unfortunately they don't take reservations, but with so much to do onsite, you'll want time to kill! Spend some time in the museum (across from the gift shop) where you can learn all about the history of the brewery. On display you'll find several random machines and unlabeled pictures - take note so you can ask your tour guide about these later! Want to grab a quick lunch? You're in luck! There's a Burger King not far from the brewery with competent employees and quick service. Tour time! Our tour began only six minutes and started off with our knowledgeable guide restating everything we had read in the museum about the brewery's history. And boy was he spot on - he talked about the exact same people, same dates, and same course in history. I was impressed by his ability to remember all that! His talk unfortunately lasts only about 15 minutes, but don't worry, next up you'll see where the beer is bottled! If you visit on the weekend, the machinery won't be in use, so you can use your imagination to see how the beer actually gets bottled! Plus, you'll be able to get super cozy with the other 30+ people on the tour because their craft beer facilities are so small! Then, climb up the stairs to see the original copper brew kettle. As you can imagine, this is being decommissioned as they upgrade to new equipment. After 150+ years, now's obviously the time to upgrade. Insider Tip: Can't get a good view of the brew kettle? Don't worry, the tour ends here, so feel free to linger a bit longer. After about 11 minutes seeing the machinery and a brew kettle, you're ready for cold one! Make your way down to the tap room to sample some beers. Be sure to grab a spot at the end of the table, farthest away from the bar. Everyone pours their own samples from a single bottle of beer, so if you're lucky there will be enough left for you at the end! You'll get to sample about 5 different beers, each one about as mediocre as the last! We just loved the samples - not overly flavorful or bold or even that cold! Each 2oz sample left us wanting more, which is great, because if you bring your trash up to them at the bar, you're rewarded with a FULL POUR OF YOUR CHOICE! Insider Tip: Rule #1! No talking when your guide is speaking. So when your guide shouts out "RULE #1," but sure to stop talking so you can clearly hear spastic children having their epic meltdowns, which is understandable. How can a child be expected to behave for a 26-minute tour? The brief tour and mediocre beers were absolutely worth the 1h45m drive from Minneapolis to New Ulm. The family is already planning our next visit to the brewery! read more

So much fun! So much history! The tap room is a fun way to end the tour, and my 11 year old was treated to a 1919 root beer. Don't hesitate to do this tour! read more

I came here once as a child so it was fun to see it again and do the tour. I had fun taking the tour and sampling the Root Beer at the end. It is a cute place to visit and loved seeing the peacocks! read more

This is what I would consider one of the more unique brewery tours you'll probably ever go on. It's because the grounds were essentially homesteaded by the brewery's founders back in the 19th century; it's the second oldest family owned brewery in the United States. As a result it has a rich history with a mansion and gardens where various lineages of the founding family lived. When I toured they were in the middle of doing a big expansion so we didn't actually get to see any of the brewing facilities, but you know what, that was OK because every brewery has big stainless steel equipment on their production floor. What makes this brewery a great place to visit is the rich history and uniqueness of the grounds. Their tasting room is well appointed and you're allowed to get one beer afterward which you can then enjoy anywhere you want on the grounds. read more

The people there are very friendly and the tour is quite informative. The guides are very knowledgeable about the process and the Schell brewery. I enjoyed the tour very much, as well as the free samples that followed. I enjoyed sitting out on the patio with a very tasty beer. It would have been perfect if there had been pretzels to go with the beer. read more

Was recommended to do this by a friend--so glad! Beautiful drive to and scenery--wooded and historic. Got lucky to find out a tour started 15 minutes from when we got there and it wasn't full yet (was a Monday afternoon), so had some time to check out gift shop, pictures, etc. Our tour guide (Tom, I think?) started right on time and did an excellent job--knowledgeable and super nice. Got to the tasting room after visiting a couple different areas of the brewery. Got to actually sample a good amount of beers and get a pint of our choice (and got it topped off at a "last call" when our guide had to start a new tour)!! Great info, great beer, great value!! Love to support family owned businesses like this! read more

Stopped here on a whim. The tour was interesting and the grounds are beautiful! Get here by 11 to get in the 12 tour. Everyone says the tour tickets sell out fast, I believe it!! A definite must for any visit to New Ulm! read more

If you truly want to visit Schells and get a real Minnesota experience, go to Bockfestbus.com: On February 14, 2015 this year, Schells hosts their Bockfest. Bockfest is a one day celebration with bonfires, the best polka band in the world, beer cooked grilled brats, and of course the delicious Bock beer. read more

My husband's and my favorite brewery and beer of all time. We have been on the tour many times and consistently enjoy each tour guide and learn something new every time. At the end of the tour, you'll enjoy samples of a few of their flagship brews and samples of their seasonals. If you don't drink beer, their 1919 root beer samples are delicious. We love walking around on the grounds or going to their beer garden. read more

Went on the brewery tour and really enjoyed it. Our tour guide was very personable and knowledgeable. I don't drink beer, but the other 11 people in my group enjoyed the tasting. All employees had smiles on their faces and were pleasant to converse with. I would HIGHLY recommend Schell's!! read more

We've been on the tour twice. I'm a little surprised at how dusty and dated the equipment is and surprised that they're able to brew so much beer in such a small space. The museum area before the tour is pretty cool. The walking trails behind the brewery are nice. I'd like to come for a bock fest. That seems like it would be fun. The peacocks are cool. The first time we came on a tour, they only gave us samples from bottles at the end. The second time we came, they gave us that plus we got to get a full pour from the taps afterwards. That was the best part. They had a stout on tap--which is rare for them and that's my style. Very good Tropical Stout. You can only go in that taproom after the tour. They also have a sour taproom in another location. It's only open every other Friday and Saturday though, so we need to come back to check that out. Too bad it's not in the same location. read more

We went to Schells on a Sunday. It was a beautiful day outside. The beer garden is wonderful. It is shaded and comfortable, with plenty of room for sitting or standing. The band was entertaining and very talented. We tried a few bread baskets, which included some sort of cheese spread and a marmalade-type spread, as well as some cubes of cheese. It was all very good. We found out later, on our tour, that the bread we had eaten was actually made from the spent grain left over from the brewing process. Very cool. After sitting in the beer garden for a while, we went on the tour. It was a great experience. Our tour guide explained the detailed history of August Schell Brewing, including the family structure and the evolution of the brewery. We especially enjoyed the explanation of the various buildings and equipment. It would've been really neat to go inside the mansion as part of the tour, but it is closed to the public. The tour ended in the taproom, where our tour guide assigned our seats, then proceeded to explain each of the beers we were sampling. The oddest part of this was that the samples we were given were directly from bottles, rather than being from the tap. I had never seen this at a brewery tour before. I definitely prefer when the samples come directly from the tap; however, given the large number of people on our tour, bottled samples seem to be the most efficient. We enjoyed the experience and the history. The actually beer is nothing spectacular. Drinkable, but pretty boring. I did enjoy the Schell Shocked beer. read more

My husband and I went on a tour for October Fest. It was so much fun and the shopping was great. I even did some holiday shopping! I would have liked to see more in the brewery. read more

Scenic setting - set right up against a mountain. 2nd oldest brewery in the US, and hence it's neat even just for the history. Nice tasting room and very generous amount of beer. read more

Definitely worth the $3/person. The tour of the facilities is short but informative. The grounds are gorgeous (we were there in the summer). I wish the tour would have included the house, but it was still good. The best part was the beer. We sampled six different (2 oz) varieties and were able to select one 12 oz. at the end of the tasting. Fun! Do it! read more