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PrintSpoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas, celebrates 100 years
The centennial owes a lot to German ingenuity, a beer called Shiner, and the miracle of modern marketing.
It was a blazing hot summer day in south central Texas, and I was lost in the 2.4-square-mile German-Czech town of Shiner, rushing to make the 11 a.m. tour of the Spoetzl Brewery.
I assumed it would be easy to find — a large brewery in a small town. I eventually found it — I'd missed the turn at the only stoplight in town — and the story of a beloved beer.
Courtesy Spoetzl Brewery
Shiner, home of the 100-year-old Spoetzl Brewery, might be small on the Texas map, but it's big on the Lone Star beer-lover's map. Draw a line directly to the fact that it was founded by German and Czech immigrants who knew a good brew when they drank it.
Enterprising Germans and Czechs had already settled in and around New Braunfels and Fredericksburg in the picturesque Texas Hill Country in the 1840s. For some of them, the railroad and all its opportunities weren't close enough, so they moved closer to a track in the late 19th century to what would become Shiner.
There, in what was then little more than a post office/trading post called Half Moon, a wealthy and generous landowner by the name of Henry B. Shiner had donated 250 acres for a railroad right of way and depot. Around the transportation, the renamed town of Shiner soon grew.
As the little slice of Bavaria in south central Texas became home, some Shinerites decided to re-create another bit of the old country — beer. In 1909 they started the Shiner Brewing Association, eventually choosing Bavarian-born Kosmos Spoetzl, a trained brewmaster who had previously run a brewery in Cairo, Egypt, to lead the way. He came with a recipe for the perfect beer, developed from lifelong taste experiments conducted according to the Reinheitsgebot, or German purity law, which dictates only water, barley, hops, and malt are kosher.
Spoetzl peddled his beer — then, the "premium" flagship that was similar to today's Shiner Blonde — to thirsty farmers for miles around, often with family members or the youths of those who worked for him in tow.
The little brewery eked out an existence for three-quarters of a century. Spoetzl made it through Prohibition — it was one of only 500 breweries still open when the 18th Amendment went into effect in 1920 (compared with 1,000 in 1918) — by making craft sodas and near beer (in which the alcohol is boiled out).
Shiner experienced some popularity over the years, but even up to the '80s, the beer hadn't really made it big. People who remember drinking Shiner back then can vouch — it was cheaper than Lone Star. And then the magic of marketing happened.
In 1989, Acapulco-born beer importer Carlos Alvarez brokered a deal to buy the Spoetzl Brewery. His Gambrinus Company had recently started importing Corona Extra and experienced rich returns for marketing — and pricing — the standard Mexican lager as a premium import for stateside drinkers thirsting nostalgically for their south-of-the-border vacations.
He thought the same thing might work for Shiner because the bock, at least, had gained a good foothold in the Austin, Texas, market. Drinkers outside the city, he wagered, would pay a pretty penny to be reminded of lazy afternoons on the lake. So he reengineered the product lineup to be mostly bock instead of the premium offering that had been the flagship. And it worked. For the first time in its already long history, Shiner started making real money. And the rest is beer history.
Today, Shiner — with its German-immigrant roots and Mexican marketing savvy — is a perfectly American success story. Spoetzl brewmaster Jimmy Mauric will tell you so. Ask him about, say, the revamped dry-hopped Kosmos Reserve in the 100-year commemorative Shiner Family Reunion pack, and he practically leaps out of his chair with beer pride and enthusiasm.
Mauric, who in 2005 became the fourth brewmaster in the tightly knit brewing dynasty that started with Kosmos Spoetzl, credits his brewing philosophy in large part to Spoetzl owner Carlos Alvarez. It was Alvarez, he says, whose idea it was to smoke malts and introduce a new Rauchbier, or German smoked lager. And Alvarez who conceived of last winter's seasonal Shiner Holiday Cheer, brewed with Hill Country peaches and pecans, which Mauric's wife roasted herself — 30 pounds per brew.
The Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Bavarian-born brewmaster Kosmos Spoetzl peddled his first beer to area farmers.
Alvarez, too, who insisted that all Shiner beers be kosher. That meant rabbinic approval for the retired smoker that Spoetzl acquired from a local barbecue joint: Mauric had to scrub it to remove all remnants of pork ribs and brisket before a local rabbi could "do the exorcism" so the smoker could be used to smoke malted barley for the new sommer brew, Smokehaus.
But if Alvarez is the brainchild, Mauric is clearly the executor of their vision. That's a tough job for a brewery that pushes 5 million cases a year, not always in a fully automated way. "It takes all day for me to smoke enough malt for one brew, so they're doing three batches, 300 pounds at a time," Mauric says of the Rauchbier. "It uses real Texas mesquite to give it an interesting note."
That pretty much exemplifies the brewery's taste philosophy: Shiner Cheer and other styles are clearly experimental, but not as assertive as improvisations elsewhere in America. Every region has its terroir and its tastes. Midwestern craft breweries tend to do very alcoholic, strong beers to ward off the cold. West Coast purveyors are ostentatious with their hops.
But in Texas, the oppressive heat begs for satiating drinks that offer salvation. So the smoke that hits your palate quickly recedes. Mauric and company want you to enjoy the Helles-based lager — and taste your barbecue. Which is precisely what keeps the frosty refills coming.
Shiner, Texas
Shiner is in the scenic Texas Hill Country between Houston and San Antonio. You may go for the brewery, but there's more to see and do in "the cleanest little city in Texas."
Spoetzl Brewery
Take a tour of Spoetzl Brewery — the largest independent brewery in Texas — to learn everything about a beer so "refreshingly independent" that the brand has its own music label. Tours given Monday through Friday 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in winter; 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. in summer. Don't miss the gift shop. 603 E. Brewery St., 361.594.3383, www.shiner.com.
Saints Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church
Built in 1891 and moved 11 feet off its foundation just a year later by a tornado, the church was rebuilt with funds from parishioners and laypeople. But members outgrew the church in the new century, and contractors were brought in to create the majestic salmon-red Romanesque Revival structure seen today. And, yes, those stained-glass windows are imported from Bavaria. 306 S. Ave. F, 361.594.3836, www.shinercatholicchurch.org/history.htm.
Shiner Restaurant & Bar
Amazingly, you'll be told that they don't serve beer here — but they're happy to ice yours down for you. In this BYOB spot, the food is well-executed American favorites, like the smoked turkey wrap (from a local barbecue joint we guess) and a fresh, fruity salsa. The dining space is wide, warm, and dark, with historical memorabilia stashed in every fixture. 103 E. 7th St., 361.594.2898.
Gaslight Theater
This late-19th-century opera house was left to oblivion until a local clergy member resurrected it as a center for amateur productions in 1975. Since then, it's been the theatrical toast of the town, lighting up its vaudeville-style stage several times a year for local and roving productions and dinner theater. 207 E. 7th St., 361.594.2079.
Old Kasper House Bed & Breakfast
Cotton ginner John F. Kasper and his wife, Mary, owned the main Victorian house in the early 20th century. Now, with its original furniture and photos, the house is part of several inns and cottages cobbled together to make the Old Kasper House, each little building with its own special décor and theme. 219 Ave. C, 361.594.4336, www.oldkasperhouse.com.
Kaspar Wire Works
Across the street from the brewery, Kaspar makes wire, sheet-metal, and steel products. It's been around since 1898, when August Kaspar started collecting discarded smooth wire — thought to be useless after the introduction of barbed wire in Texas in the late 1800s — and making twisted wire baskets for himself and neighbors to carry hay and corn shucks. Now Kaspar is one of the largest manufacturers of fan guards, fry baskets, and newspaper racks in the world. Tours by appointment. 959 Highway 95 N., 361.594.3327, www.kwire.com.
Edwin Wolters Memorial Museum
Discover Shiner's past here. Open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Open second and fourth Sundays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. 306 S. Ave. I, 361.594.3774.
For more information visit www.shinertx.com or www.texasescapes.com.
Drink it, read it
Shine On, Mike Renfro's book on the Spoetzl Brewery's 100 years of heritage, was commissioned by the brewery itself. Renfro had been friendly with the owners of Spoetzl's advertising agency, McGarrah Jessee, which is why the author of various Texana was tapped to spin the very tall tales in this picture-filled book. With plenty of cowboy swagger, Renfro channels the ghost of Kosmos Spoetzl to provide an interesting and detailed account of German-settled Texas and its biggest claim to beer fame.
