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NEW ULM - Schell's Brewing Company will kick off the celebration of its 150th anniversary on Jan. 2 with a Brewmaster's dinner and a public "pub crawl" through downtown New Ulm

The state's oldest brewery, Schell's is also the second oldest family-owned brewery in the U.S.

Brewery President Ted Marti will host the Brewmaster's dinner, and will introduce the Sesquicentennial Beer, Hopfenmalz. The Hopfenmalz beer is one of the eight Anniversary Draft beers introduced over the past two years, and was the favorite of the online voters on the Schell's web site.

The dinner will be held at Lola's Larkspur Market. Tickets are available at Lola's on a first-come, first served basis. The dinner will be from 6:30 to 10 p.m., and will be a five-course meal, each course accompanied by a different Schell's beer.

Throughout the dinner, Ted Marti will present some highlights of the brewery's history.

There will also be a "pub crawl" through New Ulm, from 8 to 11 p.m. The event is open to the public. Participants can stop in each of the eight bars and sample a different Schell's beer in each bar. The crawlers will be given cards to be stamped after sampling each beer. Once the card is full, the crawler will be entitled to a free Schell's 150th Anniversary T-Shirt. Bottles of Schell's Hopfenmalz will also be available for 150 cents.

Participating bars include George's Steak House, Pub & Patio, Lamplighter, Mowan's, the B&L, Rodney's, Hammer's and the New Ulm Legion. All are located on Minnesota Street in New Ulm.

The brewery will be holding other celebrations throughout the year. The Bock Fest is in February; a special "Tire Shortage" event will be held in March, marking the period during World War II when tire shortages forced the brewery to stop home delivery; the Firebrick Forest Planting will be held on April 30, featuring the planting of 150 trees; the Fireman's Chili Cookoff will be held on May 22; the Schell's Family Reunion will be June 18 through the 20. In July, Schell's will be at Bavarian Blast and the Taste of Minnesota, and in August and September they will be at the Blues Fest, Renaissance Fair and the State Fair.

Throughout the summer, Schell's will be participating in parades throughout the state.

In September, Schell's will celebrate its Anniversary Week, with delivery of barrels in New Ulm with horse-drawn wagons, and a two-day outdoor concert and celebration activities on Sept. 17 and 18 at the Brewery.