Shiner, Texas

The Shrine of Shiner. For fans of the beer, a pilgrimage to this small town is in order. Admittedly, there is not much else around these days, but the ghosts of the town’s past and the free samples at the brewery are enough.

Shiner, Texas is a small town that you will definitely miss if you blink. Unless you are out exploring forgotten back roads, or looking for painted churches, you most likely will arrive there looking for the oldest independent brewery in Texas. Honestly, there isn’t much else around. Today, the town sits in a bit of a no mans land, but in the not so distant past, Shiner was a bustling railroad town, full of Czech and German immigrants.

In 1887 Henry Shiner donated 250 acres to bring the railroad to town, and with that came the people. By 1890 the town was incorporated, and by 1895 a opera house was constructed, a true symbol of any civilized town. What was missing was beer.

The immigrants of the area were homesick for the brew they knew. There was no dark beer to be found in Central Texas, so in true pioneer fashion, they banded together to rectify this matter. In 1909 “The Shiner Brewing Association” was founded, and soon beer flowed. Herman Weiss of Galveston was enlisted as the companies first brewmaster, with moderate success. By 1914 the founders were ready to offer the brewery for lease, which enticed a Bavarian born brewer from San Antonio to make the move to Shiner.

Kosmos Spoetzl was a German immigrant who had attended brewmaster’s school before spending 8 years at the Pyramid Brewing company in Cairo. He had recently relocated to San Antonio, and he had brought with him his family’s recipe for making Bavarian beer from pure malt and hops. By 1915 he owned the brewery, and was producing his own beer, while retaining the Shiner name. Prohibition crashed the party in 1918, but Kosmos adapted, and remained afloat selling ice and near beer. By the time Prohibition was repealed in 1933, Spoetzl was one of only 5 breweries left intact. He gladly began brewing beer again, and continued to do so until his death in 1950.

While today’s brewery bears little resemblance to the original tin shed, the 1947 adobe portion of the brewery still exists, and acts as a visitor’s center. An incredibly busy visitor’s center, jammed packed with touring senior citizens on the day I visited. So while the kind folks here are more than happy to show you around, I passed in favor of a solitary sampling after they departed to the production area. I have toured modern breweries, and preferred to poke around the relics scattered around the old building.

While the brewery itself was hopping (ha,ha), the town was deserted. The only signs of life were those visiting Subway, the only business that appeared to be open down by the tracks. However, despite being a little worse for the wear, the beautiful architecture remains. The businesses may have long ago closed, fled closer to the interstate no doubt, but the buildings have been largely maintained. A dinner theater has even taken up residence in the old Opera House. Hopefully, one day soon, more buildings will be occupied, hosting the legions of Shiner Bock fans that flock to the brewery around the bend.