About Schell’s
Schell’s Brewery is the second-oldest family-owned brewery in the United States and the oldest in Minnesota, with roots that stretch back to 1860. Founded by August Schell, a German immigrant determined to brew a better beer than what he found in America at the time, the brewery has remained family-owned for generations. In 2002, Schell’s became the largest brewery in Minnesota with the acquisition of the iconic Grain Belt label. Today, Schell’s brings together history, craftsmanship, and Minnesota pride in every beer—offering everything from crisp, refreshing lagers to bold, flavorful brews. Crafted with heritage, brewed with passion, and meant to be shared, Schell’s beers are as rich in story as they are in taste.
Where We Come In
We have been Schell’s digital partner since 2017 when we first teamed up with them to build their website. As the brewery grew, so did their footprint. Distribution expanded, inventory increased, and eventually the original technology couldn’t keep up. We started with an overhaul of their distributor portal and created a software solution to handle their growing inventory and distribution needs. Next a new website with a fresh look was needed. The refreshed site celebrates everything people love about Schell’s: bold, modern branding, deep history, and a strong connection to the New Ulm community. It tells the story of where they’ve been while making room for where they’re headed next.
The Highlights
When we started the project, we asked the client what they’d most like to change on their new site. These are a few of the areas we had the most fun building and the client liked the best.
Beer Profiles & Beer Locator
We started with the most important part of a brewery website: the beer. Each beer got a profile makeover and pour image, and the Beer Locator got an upgrade to be more user-friendly.
The History
You don’t get to be the second oldest brewery in the US without a rich history. We wanted to showcase that history on the new site in an enhanced way, so we have a historical timeline that opens modals to different eras to explore.
Client Impact
How well do you think the site hit the mark on how you imagined?
“The updated site is awesome! The beer locator received a big upgrade and allows our customers to quickly find product near to them. The site navigation is intuitive and less cluttered compared to our old site.”
Have you noticed any good changes since the site launched?
“It takes far less clicks to get rental information. We wanted to move our revenue generators to the top nav so that customers would always be reminded of all we have to offer.”
What’s one thing about the site you’re most excited to show off?
“It’s a tie between the Story page with the timeline of our history, and the individual beer pages. LOVE that we’re able to include slider scales to help define the character of our beers. The template for the beer page is awesome! Now customers are able to see which beers are offered in various packaging counts, and we’re able to give pairing options for each beer to really highlight each product.”
Are there any specific results, metrics, or improvements you’d like to share?
“Just after our homepage, our Bierhalle and events pages have become the top visited pages. Our goal is to drive people to the taproom so we can attract repeat customers. Having quick access to events and the Bierhalle page is crucial to build and maintain our customer foot traffic.”
How did our communication feel during the project?
“The responses from the 8bit team were swift and helpful. CiCi had some great design ideas that really improved the UX. Jesse was able to pull off some technical wizardry to make sure the site functions properly.”
How did everything feel from your side while we were working together?
“The team was really helpful with taking our examples from other sites and compiling them into a custom site for us. We had input coming from our sales and marketing teams, and some of our distributors, on ways to make the website and distributor portal more efficient. 8bit was able to handle requests promptly and offer solutions if something we asked for didn’t work with the new interface.”
How would you describe the quality and style of the design work we did for you?
“It went above expectations. There’s some cool new elements to make the pages more interesting – like the secondary image behind the product image on the beer pages. That allows us to give the product a vibe, rather than just putting the product on the page with no other context. The scrolling feature on the timeline is super cool and interactive for the end user. The story page is much more engaging now that it doesn’t just have huge images for each era. People are able to ‘travel through time’ with the swipe of a finger. It’s awesome.”
We’re always wanting to go the extra mile for our clients. Was there a moment where we really surprised you or went above and beyond?
“Having the ability to view download reports on the distributor has been awesome. Getting that set up has allowed us to follow up with distributors when they haven’t downloaded new content that’s supposed to be in the market. The layout of the flavor profiles is also easily digestible for the reader. Love those beer pages! There’s so much more color, and we’re really able to give each beer it’s own identity with the various content options.”
What’s one area where you’d say we nailed it?
“Improving the UX with custom content and imagery. The use of vibrant colors really helps content jump off the page. Each page tells a unique story.”
On a scale of 1–10, how likely are you to recommend us?
“10. Everyone on the team is always really responsive and delivers helpful recommendations to improve the site.”
The Wrap-Up
Schell’s Brewery is a true Minnesota original, and getting to help shape their digital presence—from a new website to a powerful distributor portal—was something we were genuinely stoked to be a part of. We encourage you to check out their new website – or even better, go visit the brewery and try their beer! Cheers!
