Spoetzl had attended brewmaster's school and apprenticed for three years in Germany, worked for eight years at the Pyramids Brewery in Cairo, Egypt, and then worked in Canada. Very filling too. The tour guides are knowledgable, and the setting is pretty. [5] As the brewery gained popularity in the area, the SBA began to look for a trained professional brewmaster. We think our founder, Kosmos Spoetzl, would probably be amazed at our state-of-the art Brew House. Founder: Kosmos Spoetzl. He’d also be happy to know we still brew every drop of Shiner right here in Shiner, Texas. All total we were here for a little over 2 hours. October 26, 2008. However, Shiner 97 proved to be so popular that in 2008 Spoetzl brought the beer back as Shiner Bohemian Black Lager and made it a permanent offering. After each beer's specified production run has ended, that year's beer is retired. "Shiner Introduces Limited-Edition Shiner 96 Commemorative Brew; Texas' Oldest Independent Brewery(R) Celebrates 96 Years of Brewing Tradition", "Shiner Bock: Texas’ Favorite Beer And Oldest Independent Brewery", "New Shiner beer, Prickly Pear, on the Market in Limited Supply", "Shiner Ruby Redbird Returns In New Packaging", "Poling, Travis, ″Bottle & Tap″, ''San Antonio Current''. The brewery is owned by the Gambrinus Company, a family-owned company based in San Antonio, which also owns Trumer Brewery in Berkeley, California. The labels proclaimed Spoetzl's 100th anniversary and include the tag line "Here's to a century of independent brewing. Answered all our questions. Shiner Beer. Please choose a different date. Go on the earlier tours. Spoetzl Brewery. The tour is great, informative, and entertaining. Homespun* – Cream Ale, A full bodied beer. The name of each such specialty beer corresponds to the age of the brewery: Shiner 96 was the specialty beer of 2005, Shiner 97 for 2006, and so forth. Is this attraction a good place to visit on a, Is this a place or activity you would go to on a, Are the prices for this place or activity, Is this a romantic place or activity that you would suggest for, Is this a must-do if you are traveling with a, We visited the brewery on their Shiner Saturday promotion. Lots of history and enjoyable walk through of the facility. The beer samples were a delight. Working with their Austin-based advertising agency, McGarrah Jessee, Shiner's guerilla marketing efforts at the Austin City Limits Music Festival have consistently promoted their brand. [4] Part of the package that lured Spoetzl to Shiner was potential ownership of the brewery. For the first two years, Spoetzl brewed Shiner 96 and Shiner 97 only from September through mid-December. brewery history and production details! [citation needed] Following Prohibition, Spoetzl kept things small and simple, never going more than 100 miles (160 km) for business. They found one in Bavarian-born Kosmos Spoetzl,[5] a onetime soldier who had trained as a brewmaster in his native Germany. In 2007, Shiner 98 was released four months earlier – in May – while Shiner 99 (2008) entered the market another two months earlier, in March. So, starting March 17, the Spoetzl Brewery visitor center will be closed and all brewery tours will be put on hold until further notice. [4] Shiner was originally a "Lenten" beer, only available in the spring. Independently brewed at the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas, since 1909. It is the oldest independent brewery in Texas[1] and one of the oldest independent breweries in the U.S.[2][3], The leaders of the SBA named Herman Weiss of Galveston as the company's first brewmaster. [16], Coordinates: 29°26′01″N 97°10′02″W / 29.433674°N 97.167227°W / 29.433674; -97.167227. [5], Spoetzl created "Devil Beer" in 1987, sold to fans of the Arizona State Sun Devils. 113 reviews of Spoetzl Brewery "I am "geeked" as they say that I get to review the Spoetzl Brewery, home of Shinerbock, first! A great tour with great and knowledgeable staff. Very filling too. For 2009, Spoetzl changed the neck label for all their beers. This page was last edited on 16 September 2020, at 02:12. In 2005, Spoetzl began producing an annual brew in a progressive, anticipatory celebration of its 2009 centennial anniversary. [4], During Prohibition, Kosmos Spoetzl kept the brewery afloat by selling ice and making near beer. Shiner Beer. [6], As of 2012, it is the fourth-largest craft brewery in the United States. The Spoetzl Brewery brews Shiner Beer. The Spoetzl Brewery started in 1909. It produces a diverse line of Shiner Beers, including their flagship Shiner Bock, a dark lager that is now distributed countrywide. Our tour guide, Michael, was great and knowledgeable. Since 1909, every drop of Shiner has been brewed in Shiner, Texas. The book follows the brewery from 1909 to 2008. There were 25 people in Tour #1. In 1914, he co-leased it with Oswald Petzold with an option to buy in 1915,[4] which he did, giving the brewery his own name but continuing to call the brews Shiner Beers. Visited from Tennessee and was not disappointed. Great tastings of all the beers of your choice. The brewery tour was great and they had some wonderful activities outside including a band, cornhole and of course beer sampling! Spoetzl created "Devil Beer" in 1987, sold to fans of the Arizona State Sun Devils. It was EXCELLENT! A food truck on site, Dad's Place, (the name as a I recall) had superb pulled pork sandwiches. The original lyric, "grab a little Shiner Bock" was replaced with "grab a couple Rocky Tops" when Aldean signed a sponsorship contract with Coors. Sorry, there are no tours or activities available to book online for the date(s) you selected. Spoetzl Brewery is a brewery located in Shiner, Texas, U.S. [4], Spoetzl currently produces nine Shiner beers year round and four Shiner seasonal brews per year.[7]. The Spoetzl Brewery brews Shiner Beer. Shiner 100 had the longest run of all the anniversary beers, seeing production all year long in 2009. Great gift shop and wonderful informative tour given by an enthusiastic employee , Norma, 603 East Brewery Street, Shiner, TX 77984. You get free Shiner afterward so that is a great bonus! Not poor just sad, because as of October 21, 2020 they are still not open for tours. The Spoetzl Brewery originally intended to conclude its centennial beer production in 2009, but decided to continue the annual program indefinitely. [15], In 2012, country artist Jason Aldean changed a reference to Shiner Bock a few weeks after releasing the song "Take a Little Ride". Today’s Spoetzl Brewery is a far cry from the old tin shed where Shiner first flowed back in 1909. In 1983, Spoetzl produced 60,000 US beer barrels (7,000 m3) of beer; in 1990, only 36,000 US beer barrels (4,200 m3). This will include an upgraded and larger hospitality suite and logo merchandise store. Plenty of neat stuff in the gift shop. We arrived Friday about 30 minutes prior to Tour #1 (11am). You get several tokens for tastes of beer, and at the end, you get several tastings. Excellent beer and the tour was very informative. This one time, … The company now has 120 employees. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. This will help keep our brewery employees safe and allow us to keep on brewing. My tour ticket was complimentary due to being a vet and that also included my hubby. Mostly we got to view the keg operation, bottle labeling and carton packaging due to on-going construction, which is scheduled to be completed May 2020. [4], In the 1970s and 1980s, the brewery's Shiner Premium Beer and Shiner Bock accounted for less than one percent of the Texas beer market.