Every Beer Has a Story: Schell’s Lakemaid
I love browsing the beer sections of liquor stores. In smaller stores it seems as if you can never find exactly what you are looking for, but can always come away with something a little great. Today I ventured into the cooler of a local store and came across a curious 12-pack. A red box, a retro logo, and a half-fish, half-girl decorated a little treasure known only as Lakemaid Beer. The name pronunciation of “lake-made” had me almost moving to the next shelf, but the Schell’s logo had me hooked (See what I did there?). I had to take it home with me; I had to find out the story of this beer.
Lakemaid Beer is produced by August Schell Brewing Company of New Ulm, Minnesota. The beer is actually being co-advertised with Rapala, the fishing lure company, with a tag-line of “The Fisherman’s Lager”. This was a limited release beer for the opening of fishing season back in May, but I believe the brew was rereleased for Minnesota’s ice fishing season. I’m sad to say that I haven’t been fishing in a few years, but also glad to say that I’m not reviewing this beer from the middle of a floating slab of ice, looking into a small, dark hole , while huddling for warmth in -20 degree weather.
The name of “Lakemaid Beer” comes from a legendary fishing myth about freshwater mermaids, known as lakemaids. The Lore of the Lakemaids from Schell’s packaging:
Wherever anglers gather, you’re bound to hear great stories. One of the better known and sworn-to-be-true is the story of the Lakemaids. Long ago, these freshwater mermaids found their way inland from the oceans, down the St. Lawrence Seaway and up the Mississippi, to summer in the cool, pure waters of the lakes of the North country. Each year, on the night of the summer solstice, they reward anglers who have kept their lakes pure, with ice cold Lakemaid beer, made fresh from the deepest, purest water they can find.
How can you say no to that? Exactly. I like trying out new beers from the home-state breweries, even if they are a little silly. When I opened the box, I discovered that each of the twelve beers features a different Lakemaid on the label. You’ll have to fight with your fishing buddies on who gets which lakemaid.
- Miss Northern Pike
Miss Walleye
Miss Smallmouth Bass
Miss Largemouth Bass
Miss Muskie
Miss Sunfish
Miss Sturgeon
Miss Rainbow Trout
Miss Catfish
Miss Perch
Miss Crappie
Miss Salmon
When I popped the cap on the bottle, I noticed one last thing. If you look on the underside of the cap, you’ll see the weight of the fish you just “caught”. I have the bragging rights to a 12-pound Walleye. Feel free to use this weight as a jumping point to begin your own fishing story. Others might turn this into a game.
Though I assume most will consume this one straight from the bottle, I poured the Lakemaid smoothly into a glass with about one centimeter of head on top. Golden, with a fair amount of carbonation. On the nose, it is about what you would expect of an American lager – a grainy smell, no hoppiness. I’m not typically a golden lager kind of guy, so here goes nothing. The taste is pretty good; nothing too special, but certainly better than average. In a world where you must choose between American lagers, this would probably be among my top selections. A solid, if not unexpected, refreshing beer from Schell’s (though I do like Grain Belt). Am I allowed to go halfsies? 3.5/5 from me.
Have any of you had a chance to try out this beer? Do you have a tale to share, from meeting a lakemaid during that week-long summer trip to Kabetogama? You can at least tell me your favorite lakemaid. Give us your thoughts in the comments section, cheers!
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Tara
