The Schell's Brewery Story

Have you ever wanted to take a journey back in time and explore the roots of one of America's oldest breweries, the Shells brewery? Join us, Andy Beckstrom and Shawn Field, as we journey back to the 1860s and unfold the rich history of the Shells family, their undying commitment to beer-making, and their resilience through the highs and lows. Sit back as we uncork the tales of the brewery, the fascinating story behind the Shells Hobo Band, and the importance of the OctoberFest traditions. 

We will take you back to the Dakota Conflict era and reveal the intriguing history of how the Shells brewery was spared. As we navigate through history, you'll hear the transformation stories of this family brewery during Prohibition and their ingenious ways to stay afloat. And if you've ever wondered about the Shells family's journey from being on the brink of closing their doors to becoming a competitive craft beer brand, stay tuned. Trust us; their story of survival and innovation will blow your mind.

But there's more. We will talk about the history of Schells beer, how it evolved over the years, and the story behind Shells brewery. Ever wondered about the rise in non-alcoholic beer sales or how a celebration of a royal marriage turned into a worldwide beer fest with record-breaking attendance? Well, we've got those stories lined up for you. So, grab your favorite beer and join us in this intoxicating journey of resilience, innovation, and the love of beer.

Chapters

• 0:12 Diving Into Shells
• 9:55 Shells Brewery
• 16:04 Family Brewery History and Transition
• 22:53 History and Traditions of Shells Beer
• 31:37 Success of Shells Brewery and Acquisition
• 44:15 History and Varieties of Octoberfest Beer
• 53:45 Oktoberfest Attendance and Non-Alcoholic Beer

Transcript

Andy: 0:12

Alright, and welcome in everybody to episode number six. Andy Beckstrom with Shawnn Field here for the two guys in a beer podcast, glad you could join us, for Shells is what we're diving into today.

Shawn: 0:27

Shells at a new all Minnesota.

Andy: 0:29

Another local beer. That's some local ones just upper Midwest, but this is definitely kind of close, near and dear. I guess near-ish, about three plus hours.

Shawn: 0:42

Yeah, probably from our place. Where we reside.

Andy: 0:45

yeah, so yeah, I guess, for those that might not know, we are in Minnesota. So if you did tell us, before my oversets yeah, that's where we're at. But yeah, we're looking at Shells today and continuing. Our theme of the month is October Fest and so we have the Shells October Fest. So if you listened last time and you went out and you got some Shells October Fest, feel free to go ahead and crack that with us and let's get this going. Should be pretty good. Good night.

Shawn: 1:13

This is some pretty good October Fest. I'll have to say I've never tried it before and it's local to us. Really, I'm like the first drink of it. I'm like, hot damn, this is some good shit. It's a good start. Really like holy cow.

Andy: 1:26

It's a good start to the process, then, for sure.

Shawn: 1:29

Well, there's so many October Fest beers out there with craft breweries I just can't get it to them all. And this is one I haven't tried, which is weird because Shells is fairly large. It's a large company. Damn, I think I need a drink some more.

Andy: 1:42

Yeah, it's kind of crazy. Like you said, almost everybody, almost everybody, the brews beer has to have the proverbial October.

Shawn: 1:49

Fest. It's kind of like everybody has an.

Andy: 1:50

IPA or everybody has whatever. But yeah, the October Fest is very seasonal, but yeah, everybody has one.

Shawn: 1:57

Yeah, it's good stuff.

Andy: 1:59

So, yeah, we're diving into Shells today. It should be a fun episode. Lots of information out there on Shells If you've ever spent some time on their website or just Googling them, looking around and you and Shell were talking a little bit earlier there was information that he had found in other places and there's a ton of info out there. Because it is old and I'm not saying that in a negative way it's been around for a hot minute.

Shawn: 2:22

A long time, like the Moose Ed Brewery we did. Episode one was 1850s or 1860s or something like that too. Here's another one that you're pulling up. Here is from what the 1860 it started, I think you said.

Andy: 2:34

It is the oldest brewery in Minnesota and the second oldest brewery in the nation.

Shawn: 2:39

Oh wow, only behind Yingling oh yeah, that's another beer I've never had.

Andy: 2:42

I should say family owned, I guess I don't know. Sure, it's a qualifier and there's anything else there or whatever. But 1860 didn't incorporate until 1902, but we'll get into that a little later but 1860 is when it started. So it's been around for the good times, the hard times, the bad times, some more of the other good times, and it's the largest. Largest, or at least at the time in 2010. And we'll get more into what that means too. But it was the largest producer of beer in Minnesota, nice, and I'm not, you know, like one of those Coors Light kinds or whatever.

Andy: 3:17

I suppose they're a massive one more of a smaller one.

Shawn: 3:19

Yeah, their Coors Light kind of beer is probably. Probably the Greenbelt would be their Coors Light kind of beer.

Andy: 3:25

Yeah, kind of some easy drinking.

Shawn: 3:27

Which Greenbelt is good beer too. We'll probably do that on one podcast one of these days too. Oh, absolutely.

Andy: 3:32

Yeah, that'd be a fantastic one. Are you going to get the Greenbelt Blue for that one, or do you Maybe?

Shawn: 3:37

the standard. I haven't tried the Greenbelt Blue. I've just had the Northeast and the original Greenbelt and I've been looking for the they have like a oh like a Mexican-type themed Greenbelt beer you know, like a Corona or something like that but I can't seem to find it anywhere. But it's on their website. But when I've looked for it I can't seem to find it. But it's like a seasonal, summer-type beer for them.

Andy: 4:01

I suppose, okay, I have to try to keep an eye out for that one for sure, I've had the Blue. It's decent, I mean it's good, but it's very sweet in my opinion. So it's very good for the one. And then sometimes the second one is I'm going to go to someone else, it's enough, yeah, so, but I mean, everybody's got, you know, different levels of desire for that. But yeah, the Northeast was always fantastic. Yeah, that one's pretty good. The standard is really good, but the Northeast is really good, that's probably the best one of them, I think.

Shawn: 4:32

And of course, we talk about Greenbelt, because shells that we're doing here and this podcast owns Greenbelt, so yeah, we'll, yeah, that's, we'll get into the timing of that here in a little bit.

Andy: 4:45

That's. That's kind of a bit of trivia as well, and on that as well. So we'll, we'll, fire up the, the Woyeback machine, dial her up and answer doodoodoodoodoo doodoodoodoo Right, I guess.

Shawn: 4:56

Back to the future Clux capacitor. Right exactly it's going to dry.

Andy: 5:02

So let me ask you this, sean, this is the first thing I got to ask you for your family Do you have a family crest that has the logo and anything like that?

Shawn: 5:11

Well, yeah, who doesn't have a family crest? I don't. I don't we tell them? It's on full display right above my garage.

Andy: 5:18

I might have to do something like that. I might have to.

Shawn: 5:21

I light it up with LEDs and everything. So when the car comes up, it just boom.

Andy: 5:25

So it's not just like a keystone on a bridge or anything, it's a. You know, it's a whole different deal. Yeah, it's modernized. I like it. I don't think you're bringing it, bringing it to now. So the family crest is actually still involved with Shell's beer. It's the deer that's on the top. So if you have the can, if you look at the top of the can there he was born February 15th 1828. We're talking August Shell. He's the original founder of the brewery, born in Durbach, germany, in the Black Forest. Father's a forester and the family crests featured a buck deer which, as I mentioned, is on the can still to this day. So kind of an interesting little factoid, kind of going back on what he was doing.

Shawn: 6:06

And Shell's is still family owned by generation and it's generationally.

Andy: 6:11

It is still. It's a different name, but it's still the family, it's still this, even the same family. So that's that's an incredible part, because we've talked about some of the other breweries that have gone through multiple different hands and sometimes not family owned and then bought back and things like that. But this one's been kind of remarkable with the way the family kind of came and went as well. So it's kind of kind of it'll be a fun meander, I guess, through the ages here. Initially August Shell he believe it or not, he did not start out as a brew master.

Andy: 6:40

Machinist by trade in Germany, then decided you know what. That was enough for him and decided you know what, we're going to the States. I'm out. See you guys later. So he took a ship and went to New Orleans, made his way up the Mississippi River and settled in Cincinnati, which I don't.

Andy: 6:57

maybe at that time it was a fantastic area but you know they probably had some machinist stuff going on you know there. So that was kind of. He apparently worked for Cincinnati locomotive works as a machinist. That's where he met his future wife, teresa Teresa Herman. They got married in 1853, had two of their oldest daughters that fall and sounds like backbreaking work there.

Andy: 7:22

Well yeah it definitely is Two daughters, I'm sure. And that's when they decided that you know what? Cincinnati's probably not the place for me. So he decided to join a group that headed north, led by Wilhelm Fender, of the Turner Colonization Society of Cincinnati. Oh, dropping that knowledge. So next time you're out drinking with the buddies, go ahead and be like do you know where? You know, they can just throw some random stuff out there.

Shawn: 7:50

Maybe they're playing Jeopardy. It could be a final Jeopardy question Exactly.

Andy: 7:54

You never know when this information is going to come in useful. So 1857, they arrive in New Olm and that's kind of where they kind of get set up. August took a job of flour mill grinding and repairing and that's kind of where they set up shop and then had four more kids.

Shawn: 8:10

More backbreaking work.

Andy: 8:12

Exactly so around about 1860, as we mentioned, that's kind of when the brewery started. Because apparently he's a thirsty guy, A lot of German people around that area, thirsty people and apparently. So this is the other part that I thought was kind of funny that they mentioned on their website. Apparently, being a thirsty German does not necessarily qualify you to brew beer.

Shawn: 8:31

Oh, okay.

Andy: 8:33

I thought that that would be like one of the first things would be on the resume, seems like a good way into it.

Shawn: 8:39

Exactly so the especially October fest beer. Oh, naturally, yeah, it's a German thing, a German style.

Andy: 8:46

Yeah, so he had to, you know, find somebody else. So Jacob Bernhardt was a former brewmaster that actually, ironically, worked for the company that ultimately became Minnesota Brewing Company oh okay, which we'll tie back in later with everything we're going to talk about. So he had left them and, partnered with August, they built a small brewery on the banks of the Cottonwood River just outside of town. So built a little thing, threw some bricks out there, got a little thing going and started their first year with 200 barrels, which, again, pretty sizable, just starting 31 gallons of barrel.

Andy: 9:23

So by my math, carry the one we're talking six to 7,000 gallons, I guess over the course of a year. If you have a brewery and you're slinging pint after pint at the local Germans, you know trying to.

Shawn: 9:34

well, they do drink a lot of Germans. I when we talk about some October fest later in the episode we'll get some information on that, absolutely.

Andy: 9:44

So they get going on that and, as I mentioned, a couple of hundred barrels worth of work, and that's when not drama, but the world starts happening. I guess is the way that I'll put it. At the time there was the Sue uprising, the Dakota conflict, a lot of things going on, native American related. We don't need to go into the specific history of all that. But because of that conflict most of New Olm was kind of burned to the ground and destroyed. But they spared the brewery because the family had been good to basically everybody, like both sides, and especially Native Americans. They had given them food and possibly sampled some beer or two, but they were, they were good to them and so they're like All right, not this one, it's, this one can stay, this one can hang out. So it was kind of interesting to be able to see, you know, like they've always had kind of that history of being a part of the community, whatever that community is.

Shawn: 10:38

Yeah, that is very interesting.

Andy: 10:40

So August, at the time as I mentioned split time with Jacob Bernhardt about 1866. Bernhardt gets ill and decides to sell his share of the brewery and this is a kind of an interesting fact that I had to read it three different times when I went back after it. August at the time wanted to make sure that Jacob got the highest possible sale price for the beer because of his illness and just he was part of the thing. You know, you're part of the thing. I want to make sure that you're going to get the best. So he didn't go to him and be like I'll tell you, I'll give you a buck's 380. We'll just make it work and you can stay on the company insurance or something like that or whatever.

Andy: 11:16

No, he put it open to open sale Anybody. So he put the whole brewery open for everything. Wow, but August had the highest bid. So ultimately it stayed with August, but he was still willing to put it out there, took the gamble like to have other people bid on it. Yep, go ahead and bring it. And he bought this with the winning bid of a whopping $12,000. Of course, in 1866.

Shawn: 11:40

Right Back then that's a big chunk of change.

Andy: 11:42

You got to rub a couple of pennies together to be able to come up with that. So, yeah, I thought that was kind of incredible. You don't see that something like for partners, like I'm going to sell it to anybody. No, I want to keep it within the partnership.

Shawn: 11:56

That kind of goes to show what type of people they were. If the Indians and their conflict there spared their brewery but burned new home to the ground because they were nice people and worked with everybody, that just goes to show, right there too, again, the type of family they are and the type of people they are.

Andy: 12:12

Absolutely. It's fantastic stuff learning some of these things with these breweries. But yeah, Shells is, I mean, it's the good beer but it kind of changed not changed, but added a little more enlightenment, I guess, in a way. So over the course of the years, about 1878, everything is going well, brewery flourishing, and then the old arthritis bug starts to show up and I believe in 1878, I don't know that they had a whole lot of the old bear back and body or anything like that.

Andy: 12:41

They didn't have much of that. They didn't have any Tumeric drinks, yeah no, like a Vengate or Rubin to the joints or anything like that. But he didn't want to leave the brewery but still wanted to be involved in it but obviously couldn't do a whole lot with it. So as that got a little bit worse, he invited in Adolf, the eldest son. So Adolf Shell assumed everyday management along with Otto Shell. Otto Shell became the bookkeeper and Adolf kind of ran operations.

Andy: 13:10

So August stayed there and just kept enjoying the hustle and bustle, kind of one of those, the old farm kind of guys, I guess in a way maybe not even far just the older guys that like got to do something, got to get, you know, can't slow down. So yeah, he passed it on basically to his kids but still was in and around doing stuff so didn't really want to give up on that. Over the course of years they also built the Shells Mansion 1885, built that formal gardens and there was a deer park and a lot of that stuff still exists there even to this day. They are also on the national register of historic sites.

Shawn: 13:45

Oh wow their actual house. They're freaking tour. They're freaking tour of the house or tour of the mansion I want to.

Andy: 13:50

It is still something that they've kind of created an area to be able to tour that and like gift shops and things like that. So it's still something you can go and visit.

Shawn: 13:58

So, since you've been to a bazillion breweries, have you been to the Shells brewery and taken a tour? I have not.

Andy: 14:03

I'm a little bit saddened that I haven't. Maybe we should do that here before it gets too cold out. I like, I love that idea. That's a fantastic idea. I see gloriousness in that point. So, yeah, we definitely have to do that, because it's not even that far, like we said, it's a little more than three hours from here. You know because he went up to the Q and A.

Shawn: 14:24

Right, a couple of weekends to go.

Andy: 14:26

Yeah, just, you know, cruise up there Just for the moment, just take a video.

Shawn: 14:29

Yeah, why not?

Andy: 14:31

I should have done that today. It's what I should have. I should have called in sick and, you know, had it down there, it would have been far more useful.

Andy: 14:36

You don't need to make money Exactly yeah, well, sick time it's fine, is that? So arthritis, as I mentioned, kind of slowed him down a little bit, so he got a little bit more into gardening. So that's what part of the gardening with the house started happening and that's where a lot of that came from. 1891, though, at the age of 63, august passed away in September 20th, and so the ownership transferred then to his wife, teresa, who became the owner, the sons again still managing and running the brewery, adolf kind of running things. But he decided you know what, it's too cold here, I'm going to California, oh, wow, so he takes off.

Shawn: 15:12

So he bolted.

Andy: 15:13

And Otto stays and he takes over as the primary managing partner president, I guess, because it's before they hadn't incorporated at this point. So just the guy that's in charge, I guess you know. So Otto is now in charge. At this point in time, otto, though, realizing there's more breweries popping up all over the place, including a new home, decides we need to expand, we need to do some different stuff, let's get some stuff going. And so they were producing at the time about 9,000 barrels a year. Now, remember about. Let's see, this is 1892. So 32 years before that they were at 200. So now they're up to 9,000.

Shawn: 15:48

9,000 barrels.

Andy: 15:49

Quite some expansion over the course of the years. Otto decides you know what? We're going to expand, we're going to double that production and modernize and upgraded some machinery and so took that risk. Clearly paid off. It worked out for him, it sure did. It needed more help around there. So he also summoned his sister Emma and this is going to be key to the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey will join us for the rest of the story. So Otto brought his sister Emma and her husband George Marty, to the brewery to be able to help. Marty and Emma had owned a drug store in West St Paul and after 18 years of that they're like you know what? That's fine, let's go and do that, let's go do the brewery thing. To me it sounds like more fun than a drug store.

Shawn: 16:30

It sounds a lot more fun.

Andy: 16:31

You know that's you never know. So they take the wife and kids and George and Emma come to be able to help out at this new brewery, which is now doing 18 to 20,000 barrels a year, so pretty solid brewery at this point in time. But one of the things that we've talked about a little bit is the different types of beer and the different ways you beer it or you brew it. Beer yeah, you got to beerify it. Loggering is a very temperature controlled, temperature humidity controlled type of process and a lot of German beers have. It's a German logger, so that's what they kind of had to do. So the problem that they would run into is there wasn't a lot of ice that was around. They would try to harvest it from the Cottonwood River and haul it down to Caverns deep beneath the brewery is how they would do it. If you ever go on a tour of I think it's the Miller Coors in Milwaukee- they take you down in there.

Andy: 17:25

That was the best part too. At the very end everybody's like what time is it? And they expected Miller time, but somebody in the back is like tool time. That's the best part. That was great.

Andy: 17:35

They had the same kind of thing going on there where they had to haul everything down, which doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me, 30 gallons at a time. I'm sure I don't know if they carry it in there, how they transport it. They put it in smaller kegs, or probably more work than I would probably want to put in there right now. So they haul it underneath there. The beer would age there and the ice would start to melt in early summer.

Andy: 17:55

Needless to say, that doesn't exactly allow you to brew year round, and so you're kind of limited with what you can do. Refrigeration to the rescue. So around 1900, they invest in some of that and they get a little bit easier they're able to brew year round at that point in time, 1902, they incorporate. Otto had been managing the operations for many years, but it wasn't until 1902 that the board of directors officially decreed Otto shell as the president and Teresa shell as the owner and vice president, and then George Marty as the secretary and treasurer. So all right again, the family, all involved, although George Marty is, as you may remember, is the husband of Emma Marty, but Emma shell that was one of the daughters and eight off is missing out and he's in California Yep.

Andy: 18:43

He's. He's still hanging out in California, wants nothing to do. He's just hanging out surfing and, you know, taking long boards or something like that. Maybe he was in San Diego, where the there's a future brewery who might do. January 14th, though, otto suddenly dies at the age of 49.

Shawn: 19:01

Oh, that's a bummer.

Andy: 19:02

I know I kind of probably should have prefaced that, you know, shouldn't it maybe broken down a little bit better? But the town, the brewery, everybody, the family members, very shocked by that, because he's very active in the community and you, this to say, the way the whole shell family had been up to then, you could about imagine how involved Everybody was, still was in the area. This obviously didn't sit real well on the health and welfare for Teresa shell and she passes away just four months later. So a lot of changing over there. And now, as they kind of transition from there, george Marty, the husband of Emma shell, the daughter, is now appointed president of the operations and as remained, and the brewery Itself has remained in the Marty name ever since.

Andy: 19:47

Okay, so that was where we talked about that. It's still within that same name. It's not a shell but it was the wife. So Same family but just the last name, right? So the other side of it, george and Emma's son, al, returned to the brewery. Alfred is his name. He comes back to the brewery in 1913 to be a bookkeeper. At a short time he decides to move to Montana. So it was there for just a little bit, so there's a lot of yeah, there's a lot of eating out with this family.

Andy: 20:16

But I suppose you know, if you have a big productive thing and you can like, I'm gonna go out to Montana and buy like 3,000 acres and Let some caribou run or something, yeah, I'd still think it'd be more fun to be involved in the family business, though I would think so like like to have that type of opportunity would be just awesome, especially beer brewing.

Andy: 20:34

Oh absolutely, I completely agree. So he he's there for a little bit and then heads out to Montana with his brother Edward. They operated a grain farm and became cattle buyers.

Shawn: 20:44

So why doesn't sound?

Andy: 20:45

anywhere near as fun. It really doesn't, but I think that they came back. Remember correctly. We'll have to. We'll have to check here. Biggest problem though 1919. You remember what happened in 1919?

Shawn: 20:58

No Prohibition oh yeah, hello, Hello, that'll, that'll get you. I haven't had enough October fast yet to come up with some good ideas in my brain, right, so?

Andy: 21:07

after a couple more. So 1919, the 18th amendment changes things. A prohibition which now makes beer illegal kind of hard to sustain a business when you have your a brewery.

Shawn: 21:23

Yeah, that's what you do?

Andy: 21:24

Yeah, definitely Changes things. So, 1920. What are you gonna do? Well, let's try to come up with different things. They start making soft drinks and candy and they make what's called near beer. Near beer typically contained less than 0.5% alcohol and is also known as Coors light. Sorry, I probably take to at some point. We should probably do like Miller Coors as a or even just Coors as ours are Discussion, if any. There's anybody listening from you know Miller Coors or anything. Go ahead and tag us on Facebook or and Twitter. You know any of our social platforms we love. You. Have a challenge? Yeah, you kind of so. Yeah, so they do that. Basically, what that is near beer. That is kind of like what you see now with like an old duals or you know Any any beers like. I really want the taste of beer without the alcohol.

Shawn: 22:14

I wonder if they still make the near beer.

Andy: 22:16

They might still beer.

Shawn: 22:17

That's actually kind of a clever name.

Andy: 22:19

Yeah, at the time that it. I think they probably just call it like an NA now. But here's a go. I actually had a party when I lived a little easy here no, if you were there, not, or whatever but I had a friend that's like oh, I don't drink, but I'm gonna drink o' duels until I get drunk because there's a little bit of alcohol in there.

Shawn: 22:35

I think I'm like 16 of them.

Andy: 22:36

I'm like how are you feeling? He's like I'm just fall. What are you doing? You, early 20s, you really you were saying enough October fest, you're gonna have great ideas falling out. Yeah, early 20s. Let me tell you how many great ideas happen between the two of us.

Shawn: 22:53

I wonder if they still make their candy shells candy, I probably be pretty good That'd be interesting.

Andy: 22:58

Yeah, I bet you they probably got it at the like the gift house. Maybe they do their.

Shawn: 23:03

They probably don't make their own, though I suppose if, if they have any at all with their name on I'm sure it's it's contracted out to some company to make it for them which, uh, that's another failure by me.

Andy: 23:15

They're not doing the research and going down there. I could have had this information right at hand, first hand information. So, if anybody is listening out there, though, definitely check in on various social media platforms and let us know if you've had the candy, or if the candy even still exists, I guess. Let us know if it is near bears. Fine, but let's go ahead and get some speakeasy's going in.

Shawn: 23:34

Let's just keep making the beer and keep doing that.

Andy: 23:36

So they were still obviously getting it out there and still happening, because you can't keep a good thing down, you know they just, they just keep doing stuff. 1921, though brewery is starting to struggle amidst the prohibition. So who comes back? Al that was there for a minute and then left to Montana, so he comes back. He is, he has salesman to help his father and family, trying to be able to help keep the doors from closing and try to keep the brewery going. Other Breweries were closing left and right at the beginning of prohibition. There was about where it is at, 1900 breweries at the end of prohibition in 1933, 13 years, 13 years after somebody's that thought it lasted a lot less than it seemed like it wasn't as long, yeah, but 13 years later, in December of the 1933 so almost 14 years later there was only 600 left.

Andy: 24:26

Wow, shells was one of them. They were able to stay all the way through them because they had used it for a near beer and things related to beer. A lot easier to be able to. Just, all right, guys, let's put the thing back in the bit and Keep her going, make it happen. So near beer kind of, I guess, saved the real beer, I guess. Anyway, speak easy stuff. Yeah, absolutely, which. Have you been to any? Speak easy, sit on.

Shawn: 24:53

I want to and I just haven't been. I know there's one in Duluth.

Andy: 24:56

Okay.

Shawn: 24:56

I want to go to that. I haven't been in, but there's a tune in Oka.

Andy: 24:59

Ironically, like I don't know where, there's a lot of Minnesota, but there's two of them in a no go with like a block and a half away from each other. So they're both pretty cool. They've both got their own kind of thing or whatever, but it's kind of funny cuz. I mean, yes, there was like cocktails involved with speakeasies, but I always think of like speakeasies where they would like take the axe to like the big vat of beer you know what I mean like the barrels of beer, like that or whatever, but there's not a lot of beer on tap at speakeasies.

Andy: 25:23

It's mostly like craft cocktails and old fashions.

Shawn: 25:25

And things like that. So I would think would be just beer. You know, and I think of a speakeasy as being underground in the basement, underneath the roads. You're dark, not very lit up, and then people like Al Capone come walking through the door. You know, maybe some jazz playing in the background.

Andy: 25:41

Absolutely, yeah, that's what I, that's kind of what I always thought, but I don't know, maybe there's a lot of words, I guess.

Andy: 25:47

I wasn't around in the 30s to be able to check it out, but if anybody was, go ahead and mention that. So, 1934, as we move forward here with the history of shells beer, george, as we mentioned before, george Marty had up and the owner at the time Passes away at the age of 77 and leaves the brewery to Emma and their oldest son, al, who, as you remember, took off and came back. He comes back to now be the vice president and manager of day-to-day operations, with their youngest son, edward, being a brewmaster. So now the son. So I think it's Al's Brother, younger brother, edward. So George and Emma's son Edward, in 1934 now is the brewmaster. Al becomes a president after Emma dies in 1940. So now it's kind of still passing, but it's still within that same third generation, yep, so we're into the third generation known as kind of the vice president of things and day-to-day operations.

Andy: 26:48

He was a fun loving sort and enjoyed music almost as much as the beer that he brewed, which is gonna come back in a hobby that was passed on to him from his father, george 1948, the creation of the shells hobo band. Oh wow, still happening today Really. Yeah, interesting, it's absolutely still going on. He gathered some musicians around there, began sponsoring the cruise music with the you know shells logo and financial backing. They were known fondly as the shells hobo band, circus style music and their crazy antics. The band became famous through the years and still entertains crowds, young and old, to this day?

Shawn: 27:24

Wow, that's interesting. We better check that out when we go down there. Absolutely, where do they perform?

Andy: 27:28

Well, and so this is the part that you know. I feel a little bit bad because when I was doing the research I was looking at I'm like okay, so when are the events coming up? When is the October Fest? Because it's a German brewery, they got to have some sort of massive. Well, this episode is probably gonna come out just after October. We just missed it. But they have another event, bach Fest, which is in March. So might try to hit that one up. But if nothing else, in a mid-October is their October Fest. So the hobo band plays. They have all sorts of different things, different events that they have on site. A lot of fun to be had. Tom Fulery and shenanigans Well, next year will be there, absolutely live on location.

Shawn: 28:09

That's what.

Andy: 28:10

Would that be great do kind of like a maybe we'll have somebody from the brewery on to be able to talk about the history a little bit as well. We kind of go over it here, but we could get a little deeper dive into maybe even some of their traditions that they have. Absolutely but we'll put a pin and notate that one for future planning 1969, al, as we mentioned, I had come back.

Andy: 28:28

He gives up his role as president, but he's far from retired. He remained active at the brewery until his death in 1977, but he had passed on the presidency, I guess, if you will, to his son, warren. Warren had been working at the brewery basically his entire life. From when they moved back from Montana it was considered the jack of all trades because he started as a gardener, where worked in the bottle house as a supervisor, was a salesman, a bookkeeper and a brewmaster. Well, so I kind of like it.

Andy: 28:56

I know that there's, especially in the corporate world, there's a lot of people that like I'm a manager, I have an MBA or I have whatever, and like you don't know anything about the thing, but I'm in charge, yeah and it's. You don't see it all that often where you get somebody that like has, you were the guy that was sweeping the floor and then you were in charge of mopping the floor and then you were in charge of Wax it. You know I mean kind of like slowly progressing up, eventually become, especially if you're like part of the family too. You know that's another part of it too. They didn't just like silver spoon them, and you know it's like all right, you're now in charge. It was, you know. He kind of worked his way up and really kind of got into it. That's awesome. So I'm spent some time in World War two. Was a teacher, you know, did a lot of different things, he would be the fourth generation now fourth generation type per se president.

Shawn: 29:42

Fourth generation president of the company.

Andy: 29:44

Yep, yep, he brings a lot of change to the brewery, a lot of things that still are going on today. Again, you'll see that kind of theme too, that there's a lot of stuff that happened a long time ago that is still going on. Warren brought some different things, including Shell's export, shell's light, and in 1970 contracted with Arneson distributing to make 1919 Root Beer. Oh nice, so Shell's makes the 1919.

Shawn: 30:08

Root Beer 1919 Root Beer. That's some good Root Beer too. I had no idea. If you never had that Root Beer man, try that Root Beer Well in your area.

Andy: 30:15

it's really good. Root Beer it's fantastic. There's a lot of things at the State Fair of the year that I always try to go and get and, ironically, 1919 Root Beer float is one of those things I know it's a Root Beer float and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah blah. There's an A&W about 10 miles away from me.

Shawn: 30:29

That's still not 1919 Root Beer, but it's 1919. Oh primo, they actually have 1919 Root Beer at Cambridge Bar and Grill in town, oh on tap On tap yeah, nice yeah, you can get it in a frosty mug and everything too. Oh, it's so good.

Andy: 30:42

That's fantastic. This era is about the time that they also they were part of the forefront, but this was when collecting beer cans became prominent. Like, I collect growlers, as we talked about in a prior prior prior episode, prior episode but yeah, collecting cans was getting becoming pretty prominent, so they started making some kind of unique cans with that as well. Let's see here what else do. We got going on, so they also in 1974, it's kind of oddity A little bit more off the beaten path, in 1974, they also invested in a very large hydroponic garden.

Shawn: 31:16

Okay, in the 70s they're having those type of gardens. Okay, exactly.

Andy: 31:21

Ted, one of Warren's sons, returned to the brewery to manage the gardens. They would grow tomatoes and many other things, and a lot of the workers would actually come in early for their shift to be able to tend to the plants before they would actually start. It's just not something you would all right. This big brewing family you know we're in what the fourth generation, fifth generation like, fourth generation of you know like and they had this hydroponic garden with all the tomatoes.

Shawn: 31:45

What? Okay, I wonder if they use any of those ingredients in any of their beers, the stuff that they grew?

Andy: 31:52

Not that, but we will get there. There is a connection to some of that here coming up, which, of course, great decisions made over beer.

Shawn: 32:00

Right.

Andy: 32:01

That's gonna be kind of like that, especially after a couple, they just get better and better.

Shawn: 32:04

The more you drink, the better they become.

Andy: 32:06

Exactly yeah. All the decisions are their primo there.

Shawn: 32:10

I've never had an idea. I didn't like after a few cans of beer.

Andy: 32:15

That's the carry, the one, yeah.

Shawn: 32:16

The math. That's up on that one.

Andy: 32:17

Yeah, I follow that, yeah, 100%. So in 1975, more breweries had opened up after prohibition, obviously from 1933, but now up to 1975, obviously beer is selling a lot more because people are getting back into it and breweries popping up everywhere. So a lot of the smaller breweries are starting to board up. Mega brewers are starting to dominate the landscape. But Warren, it wasn't going to give up on it and in a last ditch effort decided you know what, on these grounds that August had bought, we have all these big old black walnut trees. I wonder how much the lumber is worth.

Shawn: 32:55

The lumber on black walnut is worth an ass load.

Andy: 32:58

The math adds up on that one too, it's huge Because it kept the doors open at that point in time. Things were tough in the 70s, but that basically saved the brewery.

Shawn: 33:08

That is very interesting. It's interesting you say that because I know a little bit about black walnut lumber, because people have been trying to convince me to plant some of those on some of my property, not for me, of course, because they take a long time to be mature enough to harvest, but for my kids and grandkids and stuff. And I'm like, well, I don't know anything about planting trees so it's probably not in the cards for me. But I looked up how much black walnut lumber, probably about a year or two ago, and I'm like, hot damn, that shit is worth a ton of money. Yeah.

Andy: 33:34

Yeah, it's incredible that it's something like that. You know what I mean. It's like oh, I'm going to sell the lumber, but it's that specific kind of lumber, it's that specific one. Yeah, it's just, I guess, in a way fateful, because that was in 1875, but it was 1860 or 18, even before that that August Shell had picked that land. There's no way or maybe he just had that incredible forethought, but there's no way that he's like there's a lot of black walnut trees. I think this is going to be a good spot for a future investment. He'd probably just like this is a really nice place overlooking the lake. I think that the wife is going to love it here. You know, I mean something along those lines.

Shawn: 34:10

I wonder how many acres they originally bought there. Yeah.

Andy: 34:13

I don't know, I didn't see. It doesn't say, at least on the part that I was looking at.

Shawn: 34:17

But well, when we go there in a few weeks, we'll ask them.

Andy: 34:21

That can be the follow up question.

Shawn: 34:22

How many acres do you have around?

Andy: 34:23

here. Exactly that can be the follow up. I know they have expanded multiple times, which is something that is coming up here in about the 90s about some different expansion things. But yeah, they had to have been a decent amount of land to be able to have at least you know. I mean I don't know if you cut down one black walnut, if it's worth like $3 million or something, but either way it got them through the 70s. So 1984, that's where they start to study a little bit more of the craft beer style.

Andy: 34:53

And one of these sons, ted Marty now this is, I believe, fifth generation if math serves led the charge to bring craft beer to Minnesota. He studied a lot of German breweries and they made their first wheat beer after prohibition in 1984. It's been transformed now into their seasonal heffa-wisen brew, which is still something that they make and distribute, which I've had and I want to say that I kind of liked it. I don't like a lot of heffa-wisen. Some of them they're kind of, they're very weedy, but you know, like that one I thought was pretty good, so pretty solid beer.

Andy: 35:24

So 1984, that's when that came out. Warren retires in Ted at that time again, fifth generation spent most of his upbringing around the brewery and extensive studies under many breweries in Germany brought his entrepreneurial leadership and skills as a brewmaster, with the introduction of a bunch of craft beers and a reason the brewery was still thriving in a mega brewery dominated market. So definitely, you know, like they're not resting on their laurels, they're not just be like oh, we're shells, we've been around for a long time, it's fine. They're like they're expanding and changing and doing a lot of things which you have to do to stay in business.

Shawn: 36:02

If you don't change, you end up like Kmart or something. So, you have to change expand do things differently. Think outside the box.

Andy: 36:10

Sometimes it'll work sometime at one, but you got to be able to make that adjustment. Yeah, it's quite fantastic to be able to see some of the changes they've made. 80s were well received so they decided let's just keep going with that. They start making the alt and the pale ale. Ted's reputation became very solid and of the 38 beers being produced at shells in 1990, 16 of them were actually contracted and sold under different names. Oh, interesting, so they're making 38 beers and really 22 of those were theirs but 16 of them were somebody else or somebody else, yeah we want this guy to make our beer.

Andy: 36:46

I mean, of course it also helps when you have the infrastructure for it too, and that's I think we've talked a little bit about that too. It's like some of the smaller breweries to be able to get a larger distributorship, like I believe it's Linies. They still have their location in Wisconsin, but most of their stuff is brewed at, like Miller Cores in Milwaukee or in other locations, just the nature of the beast Purple style is perhaps exactly yeah.

Andy: 37:09

So the shells has the wherewithal to do it and, of course, the expertise. So bring it on, let's go ahead and let's make some stuff for you. State of the art brew house built in 1999. I was going after a lot of craft loggers, but they were no longer the days of 200 barrels of production. A new state of the art brew house was built into the hillside in effort to increase capacity. Four stainless steel kettles were imported from Germany as an ode to the strong German tradition, still expanding building it into the side of a hill to be able to get more available.

Andy: 37:43

And this starts to get into the early 2000, 2002. This is what we were talking about before. Grain belts was basically filing bankruptcy. At this point, Things were not going well. They were a few months away from closing their doors and shells makes a huge purchase and buys grain belt. But they didn't change it. They didn't just like nope, it's not going to be a version of shells, Nope, it's going to be grain belt. They eventually, years and years and I think it talks about it like later down here, but in 2017 to kind of jump ahead a little bit, they actually, over years of haggling and fighting and arguing and just putting a bunch of money in it. The original grain belt sign they have restored and turned back on.

Shawn: 38:24

Yeah, right, on the other side of the bridge whatever, was it the Lowery Bridge, I think so Lowery Street Bridge or whatever? Yeah, so they put LEDs.

Andy: 38:32

It wasn't like they just, you know, grain belt is just going to be another one that we just make. It was nope, this is going to be it's still going to be grain belt. It's going to be a ring of what we do, so kind of a fun thing. It used to be a rivalry, now of friendship, and at the time, 2002 made shells the largest brewery in terms of production in the state of Minnesota. 2005, they had a hospitality complex which has the visitor center and some of the things we were talking about expand, a gift shop and Employee break room. You know things like that.

Andy: 39:03

2010 generation what do we have? Six now. Yep, generation six. After spending most of his time at the brewery, jace is now in charge. This is gonna be a Jace Marty. So still the Marty name, you know.

Andy: 39:16

After the shells, again, it went from shells to Marty because it was Emma shell. So the husband, marty, kind of went down through that that angle there. So studied in Germany, in Austria, and then coming to the brewery with new ideas and became passionate about Sours and started out the Noble Star collection just a couple years later. So again, continuing to expand, continuing to add different things and Out of the Burliner Weiss, which is a wheat beer, which also had a sour beer, but it's got some sweetness too, also with the Burliner, so never had that one either. I have not had that one at all either, but it's something that you know.

Andy: 39:56

They really wanted to try to Expand beyond what they had, so everybody's kind of putting their own stamp on things, yeah, so, which is kind of fun to be able to see. One of the things about making that type of beer, though, is using wood fats. It allows the beer to breathe just a little bit, which is very helpful with that style of beer. In 2012, they released the Star of the North, and they'd make the decision you know what, with these wood barrels, it'll actually expand that a little bit, and if we're gonna do that, let's go ahead and commit to it. So they build a separate facility for the remainder of the styles within that sour vein, and so they have a land on the north end of town that that houses beers and a tap room that has 10 Cypress wood tanks that are right there lining each end of the hall, and then there's just a bunch of tables in the middle, and that's what the tap room is we need to go there.

Andy: 40:47

You're in the thing.

Shawn: 40:50

We need to go in the thing and try some of these sour wheat beers.

Andy: 40:54

And so it's just fantastic what they've done over the years. And then, most recent thing I mean obviously the most recent thing was the 2017. They let the grain belt sign. Obviously, they had a whole event and you know, yeah, I said one of that.

Andy: 41:06

But in 2016, just before that, it's in farmland. If you've ever been to kind of like somewhat southwest Minnesota, a lot of hills but at the same time, farmland everywhere over a couple of years, there is a decision made between a local farmer and the leadership at the brewery assumedly Jace probably involved in this conversation that within 15 miles of the brewery they have decided to make the Fort Road Hellas, which will be any sampler pack, which is the first beer made with 100% local grown barley from that farm. Oh, just 15 miles away. Well, that's cool. So they do have the beer that is Over local.

Shawn: 41:46

Yeah, I always find it interesting when local breweries use local ingredients. You know they're growing right right where they get it.

Andy: 41:52

Yeah, it's quite incredible, you know, but it's, I don't know it's. It's quite crazy, like the oh, the, the twists and turns of where it's gone and where it is and who's in charge, and, like I said, it's now all under the, the, the heading of J Smarty, the brewmaster in 2010. Hey, that's who's in charge now. So that kind of gets us up to now in 2020. It's just some other notes that I was able to come across here. Obviously, if you've been around over the last handful of years, everybody wants to drink super light things and things like hard seltzers and stuff like that, and so the brewery will be releasing a line of grain belt nicebreakers.

Andy: 42:32

Oh, yeah, I've read about those low calorie grain belt elite, yeah, so I've had that elite before.

Shawn: 42:39

It's actually pretty good. Actually tastes better than grain belt light. Well there we go. It's pretty good. So, or a light vodka type beer.

Andy: 42:46

Yeah, oh, so, yeah, so that, uh, yeah, that's kind of the winding way of shells, which is still family owned to this day, which is, I mean, it's awesome, but it's, you know, it's. It's incredible to me, especially with the handful of ones that we've gone over, that not only still family owned but still family owned by the same family, same family.

Shawn: 43:06

Yeah, that's what's most interesting. I think they Wonder if they'd like to adopt a couple more sons into the family.

Andy: 43:11

I don't see why not.

Shawn: 43:13

We should pitch that to him when we Check out the taproom.

Andy: 43:17

I'm willing to sweep floors.

Shawn: 43:18

Yeah, you know, if you need another son, I'm available. Whatever you need, you can count on me, mm-hmm.

Andy: 43:25

Absolutely so. Yeah, so that's the the history. I'm not sure where you're at with your beer is that night goes along, but that's the history of shells as well.

Shawn: 43:34

We're drinking my cans gone already of the shells, october fist.

Shawn: 43:38

We got some more here. That's uh, it really is a good October fist. I've never had it before and one of the comments on our social media talked about this is being one of their favorite October fists, and that gentleman, nick, was correct. This is by far one of the best October fist beers I've ever had. For sure, I think it's got like a like a sweet malt taste to it. It's pretty easy drinking, it's kind of balanced for an October fist or different flavor beer and it goes down real easy.

Andy: 44:05

Absolutely for sure. Very smooth, very smooth. Mine's not quite there, but I think I spent more time babbling.

Shawn: 44:11

I guess you're representing the great history of this awesome brewery to us. And on the can, it does have a ABV rating of 5.8 percent. Not a ton of alcohol content, but a little more than your basic logger, since 1860 brood to endure pretty good now.

Andy: 44:25

The back it talks a little bit about the story. In every drop it talks about the hobo band, even on the, on the can itself. Well, these on this can, then my other can. I'll talk about something else, so each can has its own story, different yeah yeah.

Andy: 44:38

So I don't know how many different stories there are, but multiple different stories on the can. So whatever can you have, it's not quite as fun as the mickeys where you have to try to figure out the game under the cap. It's still pretty good to be able to kind of come up with something a little bit different great choice of beer for this podcast. Yeah yeah, well, you know, I'm just listening to what the, what the, what the fans want is what I.

Andy: 45:04

Totally, didn't have this picked out beforehand. Thanks, nick, for the suggestion. Yeah, so that's another installment of our Octoberfest style. I think we were talking about doing a couple of different Octoberfest, so I think the next one that we have is also going to be an Octoberfest, if I recall correctly.

Shawn: 45:24

Yeah, next next episode. What we talked about was doing one more Octoberfest to kind of finish out the month of October and celebrating Octoberfest style beer. That one we're gonna do, the Octoberfest style beer from Breckenridge brewery in Lilleton, colorado. That's what's on tap for the next episode.

Andy: 45:42

I've had some Breckenridge, but I have not had the Octoberfest. I have not had either. So it'd be good to be able to get out there and her venture off that beaten path and try some Different stuff. So I mean it's been a pretty good run so far. The bells Octoberfest was pretty solid and this Octoberfest is incredible.

Shawn: 45:58

Yeah, I like this one better than the bells Octoberfest, for sure.

Andy: 46:02

Yeah, it's very, a very solid, very easy drinking. It'd be interesting to see how the Breckenridge Octoberfest kind of comes comes through here. So, of course, octoberfest and, of the German style, I guess, beer overall.

Shawn: 46:15

Yeah, that's pretty much what it is. Yeah, and every brewery has their own Octoberfest beer. You know, it's all called Octoberfest, it's not named anything different, but that's just the style of beer that each brewery seems to make and continue on with that little tradition. It is a.

Andy: 46:30

It's a logger style I guess a Mars and logger styles with shells is. Describing it so. But as far as Octoberfest, I think you had some info on Just the history of Octoberfest, so if people out there it's kind of Experiencing Octoberfest for the first time again, we just missed out on the on the shells Octoberfest party, which would have been a lot of fun to go to, but next year we'll we'll try to be on location for that.

Shawn: 46:57

Yeah, that would have been a lot of fun to go check out one of the Octoberfest festivals. And we did talk on the last episode about sharing with everybody kind of the origins of October Fest, a little bit of history about it. October Fest, you know it is an annual festival. It's held in Munich, germany. That's where the main, the main big festival is, is over in Munich, because you know October Fest Mars, and you know that's a German beer, so it makes sense that that's where the big, massive October Fest is gonna be. And actually this festival, if I remember correctly, it's held over a two week period too. It's not just like a weekend festival, it's a two week festival and usually it ends in the first Sunday of October. So the actual October Fest itself is over for the month of October because that's when it ends Is it okay if I still celebrate it today, though.

Shawn: 47:45

I'll celebrate it every day. I appreciate that.

Andy: 47:47

Especially with the shells.

Shawn: 47:49

Shells at October Fest. It originated on October 12th in 1810. It was back when the first October Fest took place. It was a celebration of marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria, who later became King Louis I. Oh, and he was married to a princess, therese Vaughn. Something, something, something I cannot pronounce, it that's the best.

Andy: 48:08

It's part of the.

Shawn: 48:09

Vaughn trap family. That's the best you're gonna get out of me. Heidelberg's something. That's all I get. Okay, it's all you're getting out of me.

Andy: 48:18

I'm guessing it's not the Heidelbergers that have the auction place over here.

Shawn: 48:21

It is not those.

Andy: 48:22

Heidelbergers no, might be a different family.

Shawn: 48:24

Well, the scholar Therese, there we are. Because that's her first name.

Andy: 48:27

Yep, princess Therese, there we go, queen Therese.

Shawn: 48:29

Yes, so the festival back then was only five days and they only really had some horse racing and they held the horse racing in some open field and they ended up calling that Therese and Weiss because of Princess Therese.

Andy: 48:43

Oh, how about that?

Shawn: 48:45

So the original October Fest had nothing to do with beer or anything, it was just a marriage celebration.

Andy: 48:50

That's depressing.

Shawn: 48:51

I know that's kind of what I thought. I'm like okay. Well, this is kind of boring. I mean I'm glad it's evolved over the years, but hey, it is what it is. I guess the first year. The next year after they continued the celebration and they added agriculture type stuff, a fair, an agricultural type fair, that kind of came in within this the few years after the original celebration of the wedding. So still no beer, no beer, no food. A little bit of horse racing, a little bit of agriculture.

Andy: 49:21

I need me some October Fest beer and one of those giant Bavarian pretzels with some mustard. That's what. I I'm not showing up for the horse racing unless I got some of that Right, which don't bring me no Von Hansen's pretzels. It always tricks me every single time. I'm like Gourmet pretzels and I think it's going to be that and it's like a regular pretzel.

Shawn: 49:37

It's terrible. Yeah, so back in back to the October Fest in 1818 is when they finally added some booths for serving food and drink. There we go, so we finally get our beer in 1818. And after that, of course, it kept growing. By the late 20th century they made large beer halls out of plywood with interior balconies, band stands, and it just continued on and on and on from there. So it's, it was growing larger, larger, larger. There you go, cracking another shows October Fest.

Andy: 50:09

Can't put it down.

Shawn: 50:10

No, no, it's good stuff. Nowadays, of course, october Fest, each brewery in Munich erects one of those temporary structures, with some having a seating capacity to seat over 6,000 people. Oh wow, and they erected just for the two week festival for October Fest.

Andy: 50:25

And the main day I want to go to that.

Shawn: 50:27

Yeah, that would be a lot of fun.

Andy: 50:28

That's Sunday, sunday, well, we could go. Sunday, we could do that to me.

Shawn: 50:32

We got an MX card. There's plenty tickets. Here we go.

Andy: 50:36

We did say after about the second beer, the really good ideas are coming out, they're starting to flow.

Shawn: 50:41

The mayor of Munich taps the first gig to open every festival.

Andy: 50:44

Oh, so that's a reason to run, just right there.

Shawn: 50:47

During the October Fest festival, upwards of 75,800 hectoleters of beer are consumed by us beer drinking folks. So if you don't know what a hectoleter is, I know it. But as I found out later on while I was doing a little research, 75,800 hectoleters equals in American terms about 2 million gallons of beer. 2 million gallons of beer are consumed within a two week span for October Fest in Munich, germany. And you say this is in Germany not in Wisconsin, you are correct.

Andy: 51:19

Ok, ok. And really I'm seeing that in jealousy, not in like little jest, but mostly just jealousy.

Shawn: 51:27

Which is crazy. That is a lot of beer to be consumed in two weeks.

Andy: 51:30

Yes, yes, especially in a short period of time. Wonder how much beer goes through the state fair. I'm sure there's a metric out there somewhere. I bet there is. I mean so state fair, especially lately with the craft beer that they've been doing Like.

Shawn: 51:41

Let me tell you, there's a lot of beer there, it's got to be A lot of beer and a lot of music. It's got to be quite a bit. I wonder how much beer is sold in general, like my country, per year.

Andy: 51:51

Oh, I'm sure there's a thing somewhere that shows.

Shawn: 51:53

I'm sure there's some number somewhere that somebody has. It's probably on the chive or something. That's right, and with all that 2 million gallons of beer. Of course they continue to expand October Fest. Now they have parades, floats, people dress up in the folk costumes, you know, do the dancing, the old, old type of dancing games, amusement rides, all that fun stuff. The last October Fest usually well, not the last one, I'll say. On average it draws more than 6 million people each year to Germany for October Fest Most of them are tourists.

Shawn: 52:24

Sounds right and you know a lot of us. Here in America we celebrate October Fest. There's little festivals and pop-up tents and brewery tastings all over our country and podcasts and podcasts. And it's a beer and German food, of course, that we haven't attended yet, but we plan to. Yeah, it's quite the interesting festival to have over there. We started with a marriage between people. Obviously it's between people.

Andy: 52:46

And how long? What was the time frame between the marriage and when they actually first started serving beer? About eight years, about eight years. So eight years worth of hey. Come and celebrate our wedding, come and hang out a little bit more. Ok, marth, I hope they got some beer this time, because I have to listen to Therese drone on about her horse. That's in the thing Again. I'm just reimagining, you know. I'm sure that's how the conversation's going.

Shawn: 53:10

Oh, I'm sure it was. And then they got to beer, and consuming two million gallons of beer, it's quite the celebration A hundred years later.

Andy: 53:17

I'd be interested, if there's two million people and you said about six million people and two million gallons of beer I'd be interested to know how many of those six million people have any idea that they're helping celebrate an anniversary of a wedding.

Shawn: 53:33

Because I wouldn't. I mean I didn't, and most of them are tourists. So it's not six million Germans over there slugging beer. It's tourists going to be in Germany to check it out and see what all the partying is about and all the fun stuff over there. Last year, so this is actually this current year, 2023.

Andy: 53:48

They had.

Shawn: 53:49

They set a record attendance over there with 7.2 million people who attended October 50th year. Non-alcoholic beer sales were up 50 percent. That's kind of strange. Like what are they drinking over there? I was kind of wondering.

Andy: 54:02

That's it, I mean. I guess I mean everybody's got their thing. But I feel like non-alcoholic beer is like I get all of the belly beer with none of the alcohol. It's not like I'm drinking like. If you're drinking more of, like the, the seltzers or whatever, you get none of the taste, but you also get the benefit of not having, like the, as much of the beer. Gut, I don't know, I can't. I have a hard time wrapping my head around any, unless you just really like to taste, but you're just like alcohol. No, I don't know, but it seems like you're still getting all of the after All, the after stuff.

Shawn: 54:30

Yeah, like the alcohol part is the the important part. You know, it kind of makes it a little relaxed at the time. Yeah, I don't know about the any stuff. Well, I have had any beer before and some of it actually tastes OK. You know, it's all right, it tastes like beer, but it's just not the same.

Andy: 54:48

If I'm going to have beer, I'm going to have beer, I guess. So if I'm looking for non-alcoholic, I'm just going to have like a water or soda pop or something like that, I guess. But that's just me, I mean, some people just really like to taste a beer.

Shawn: 55:00

I don't know Some people. Well, apparently it's the same.

Andy: 55:03

It's 50 percent, it's up 50 percent.

Shawn: 55:04

But 50 percent of what I don't know.

Andy: 55:06

That's true it went from seven to 14. Right.

Shawn: 55:09

It could have went up that much.

Andy: 55:11

Two million six million people there. Nineteen of them are drinking an.

Shawn: 55:15

A beer, an A beer. Yeah Well, so seven point two million people showed up there this year. A lot of things get lost, so three thousand two hundred and fifty items were turned into the lost and found of the two week thing. You want to know what was found at the lost and found. I would love to know. I knew you were just.

Andy: 55:33

I Wait, these are the things that I wait for, and I just hang on.

Shawn: 55:38

It is yeah. Six hundred and forty wallets were turned.

Andy: 55:41

The lost and found Sure. None of them had cash in them anymore.

Shawn: 55:45

Five hundred and eighty articles of clothing that could be good or bad. This is depends on your outlook.

Andy: 55:52

What did you do Kill it?

Shawn: 55:59

Five hundred and twenty ID cards, four hundred smartphones, three hundred and eighty bank cards, two hundred keys, three hundred ten pairs of glasses, one hundred and twenty bags, forty umbrellas and sixty pieces of jewelry, forty umbrellas.

Andy: 56:15

We think that that would be a hire, but I guess there's probably less people that bring them. But it just seems like I'd get drunk and I'd forget the umbrella. But I wouldn't bring one at the beginning. I don't know, that would almost like attach me. You latch on to like the randomness.

Shawn: 56:29

The weirdness, Like why would you even bring that? Like I mean, I guess it's outside and it's raining, but I don't know. I guess I don't bring a whole lot of shit with me when I go out and about and then my wallet and my phone and I make sure it's in my front pocket.

Andy: 56:42

I'd be interested to see and maybe maybe you have this information ready at your fingertips, but I'd be interested to find out, like, what they do with some of that stuff at the. I had a conversation with somebody for the lost and found I had a water bottle that was misplaced by somebody that took it from me at the State Fair this last year and I mean it was like a cheap yeti water bottle, I mean nice yeti water bottle, but it wasn't like it was like $200. You know what I mean. And so it was just a very weird thing to try to steal Like. I went to the bathroom, I said it down outside, went in, came back out it was gone.

Andy: 57:11

Like what, who's the water bottle? Are you kidding me? Well, maybe it got lost, maybe it went down to lost and found. So I called down there and they had like 500 water bottles and hundreds of cell phones and it sounds like at least for there they give it like a couple of weeks after the fair but then, like, all the water bottles get like donated, all of the cell phones after a certain amount of time get flashed blank and then donated to like domestic abuse shelters. Oh, ok, I was like, well, that's I mean. That's not that I want to lose my phone, but like that's a positive place for it to end up, if I don't try to call them and say, hey, lost and found where's my phone after a month.

Shawn: 57:48

At least they make use of what's been lost and not just throw it in the trash or recycle it or something.

Andy: 57:53

And then all the clothes are donated to, you know, various shelters and things like that. So there was one other thing, and I remember what it was. There was something else that they they would sell. It was just other items, I don't remember what it was, but they would sell them and then the money for that would go back into, like the State Fair Foundation for improving the grounds, things like that. So yeah, I'm wondering what they do with that stuff, and not that I care, I mean they can do whatever they want. You know, maybe they just text each other from all the phones or something like that.

Shawn: 58:20

A massive group chat. They probably do something similar, I would imagine. Right, that's a lot of stuff, though Like, oh my God, that's a, that's a couple of full time people just you know, just to go through it all and sort it and do whatever it is you do with it, you know inventory I try to keep track of like all the people that probably call the people that did have something stolen, like I'm sure they're probably calling them, and be like hey, I lost my shift in the flu.

Andy: 58:42

Sorry, we ain't got none of those back here. We got some widgets, but no shift in the foods.

Shawn: 58:46

And they're talking about not throwing everything their shift in the flues and everything into the garbage. They collected 300 tons of garbage on October 5th this year. There's so much garbage is collected.

Andy: 58:57

That sounds right, obnoxiously right, but it sounds right. It's a ton.

Shawn: 59:01

Yeah, the ambulance station had to deal with 7,620 patients over the two weeks. Ben, I can't imagine what for you get 6,000 people there.

Andy: 59:10

You know 6,000, 6 million people there. Yeah, that's, I'm guessing, a lot of stub toasts, because they got, you know, wood benches. You know you're hitting a toe on top. That's probably what. Yeah, they didn't hit anything else. No, absolutely perfectly fine.

Shawn: 59:26

Throwing anything up weren't dehydrated would what up, what to go? Around. The last fun fact from what happened at this Years Oktoberfest, which I thought was pretty hilarious of all those people 7.2 million people Only seven children were lost. Wow, that's it only seven it's.

Andy: 59:45

It's a lot in a way, but at the same time that's not. That's not bad, but I guess how many children were there? Honey, let's go to October fest. Let's bring the little one along.

Shawn: 59:57

Didn't say if they were found, it just said we don't know if they were found that.

Andy: 1:00:04

I suppose that's true, you know. You know that's. There's just seven of them that are gone Now. They'll be the force. Be with you, I guess. Well, that's interesting.

Shawn: 1:00:10

Yeah, that's a 7.2 million people. Yeah, this year's.

Andy: 1:00:14

October fest, but my god, that's a lot.

Shawn: 1:00:17

I bet they have a lot of good food over there to a lot of German food brats, kraut, oh, absolutely Potato salad is so good.

Andy: 1:00:24

I don't even like sauerkraut, but there I would. Just I would eat it too. You know, hype it on there. I'm heaping on there, that's the word. Really good with the English phrases today. Yeah, I'd absolutely try some of that on a German bratwurst for sure Like authentic food.

Shawn: 1:00:39

Heck yeah, like I can't stand sauerkraut either at all, but I would if I was in Germany. I would be eating some sauerkraut on some real authentic German food with some beer and stuff over the heck yeah, I would 100%.

Andy: 1:00:51

If you don't like to taste of that, well, just go ahead and fire back another October fest, you'll be okay. There you go. Yeah, this make me wonder, I wonder. So it's the October fest celebration. They got all these different foods. Do you think they got, like, multiple kinds of beer, october fest?

Shawn: 1:01:07

I would assume they would have other types of beer there, but did you?

Andy: 1:01:09

imagine getting that contract.

Shawn: 1:01:11

They all have their own charge like one brewery.

Andy: 1:01:16

All right, guys. Production level has to ramp up. In six weeks we have October fest. We need two million gallons ready to go. That would be crazy.

Shawn: 1:01:24

That'd be, yeah, that'd be insane the amount of ingredients you would need just just sourcing. Oh my god.

Andy: 1:01:30

Yeah, because it's you know, you think you know like, all right, two million gallons, you're gonna add a bunch of stuff, so it's less gallonage of water, but there's so much you lose with burn-off when you're boiling, yeah, that you know it takes to do five gallons of beer. It takes like six gallons, six plus gallons, to be able to do it. So you're getting almost another full gallon off of that just from burn-off. Yeah, but I don't know. We'll have to chat more about that with. We'll try to get Brandon on the podcast sometime. He'd be able to. He probably just got a stad to a metric right out the top of his noggin that he'll be able to.

Shawn: 1:02:03

Right now and keep track of, so remember to ask him exactly.

Andy: 1:02:06

Yeah, I'll put that in my my two beer. Notate that, try and remember that at this point in time. So somebody in the comments, where our social media pages go ahead and put that in there to remind me, to Make sure to ask him about that. So, yeah, that's our, that's kind of our rundown of shells brewery and kind of the October Fest as a whole. We're gonna again hit Breckenridge next episode. So if you get a chance to be able to head out, go ahead and get your favorite Breckenridge or any Breckenridge or maybe a mix back of Breckenridge. Otherwise, we're gonna be doing the Breckenridge October Fest. So if you want to have that along with us, that'd be a fantastic to be able to go ahead and do that. I go ahead and put your comments in any of our social media platforms. Again, we're on Facebook, instagram, twitter or X.

Andy: 1:02:55

I guess it's weird to say that I just I haven't quite, I don't know, I don't think anybody calls it X.

Shawn: 1:03:01

It's weird, everybody still calls it Twitter.

Andy: 1:03:04

It's, it's weird I don't know it's just not a phrase that like okay, x. Well, you know, you're talking about your X or you talking about Whatever.

Andy: 1:03:12

That's neither here nor but it's still used widely I don't think it's platform, formerly known as Twitter, that one, youtube and rumble course find us on all the major platform soft for download. So the proverbial like, share and subscribe. But yeah, drop a note in the comments. You know, tell us what you thought about this beer, tell us what you think about Breckenridge, and then give us ideas, you know, if you're looking for a certain Brewery that you'd like to know more about. You know, obviously it's pretty easy to just go ahead and Google, but at the same time, if you'd like us to talk about it, we'd be happy to be to bring the information live and in person, right into your earlobes.

Andy: 1:03:49

That's what we're here for. It's one of the many services that we provide. So, yeah, if you have anything you'd like to be able to add or questions for us, question comments, concerns, hope streams, fears, rumors somebody added that to that one time when I was talking to him. I thought that was kind of fun to Know. Yeah, that's, that's our episode with shells brewery and I want to wish all the best to a Jace Marty and his family now taking over the shells brewery and moving forward with that. I congratulations to them as they continue the same lineage. I don't know if Jays Hennie's any kids, but that's what did we say? Six generations, six generation now.

Shawn: 1:04:32

Sixth generation.

Andy: 1:04:35

Yeah, so quite, quite historic and quite incredible. So any Further notes to add?

Shawn: 1:04:41

no, I don't have anything left for today. Just go out and buy yourself some shows. Octoberfest beer it's really good beer. I'm kind of mad. I've never had it before. So I think I'll be having some more of this. And just thanks for listening. Everybody appreciate it.

Andy: 1:04:55

God bless y'all and thanks for listening. My name is Andy. Back from for Sean field until next time. Have a great night everybody.