Since Tom is from Texas, we both have a special place in our hearts for Shiner beer. Based in the tiny town of Shiner, Texas, the Spoetzl Brewery is best known for Shiner Bock and up until a few years ago, you couldn’t really get it outside of Texas. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Spoetzl Brewery and they actually started celebrating five years ago. In 2005, they issued the first in a limited edition series of Anniversary Beers. 2005 was 96 Marzen-style ale, 2006 was 97 Bohemian Black Lager, 2007 was 98 Bavarian-style Amber and last year was 99 Munich-style Helles Lager. Now, even though it’s still not listed on the Shiner web site, the anniversary beer for 2009 is already available in limited markets (i.e. near Shiner, TX) and various online news sources like beernews.org have announced it:
SHINER MARKS ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY WITH A BOLD NEW TASTE
In 1909, German and Czech immigrants decided to start the Homebrewing Association in Shiner, Texas so they could make the kind of beers they’d left behind in their homelands.
With the arrival of Bavarian-born and classically trained brewmaster Kosmos Spoetzl in 1915, the brewery was on the way to becoming one of the country’s most respected craft brewers.
To mark this important milestone not just for the brewery but for American beer making, we have literally bottled our history and heritage in a new brew to celebrate the centennial of Shiner Beers and the Spoetzl Brewery.
Shiner 100 Commemorator is a rich and robust brew that is a fitting tribute to our legacy of 100 years of handcrafting stylish and flavorful beers. Commemorator is a bold style that would have been very familiar to Kosmos.
One of the highlights of the Bavarian brewing year is the rollout of strong beer or starkbier, developed by monks as “liquid bread” to sustain them through the Lenten season. Commemorator is brewed in that Old-World tradition and embodies the German-Czech heritage Shiner has proudly stood for since 1909.
This 17 % original extract dark lager is a blend of two row Munich and Caramel 60 malt mildly spiced with Bavarian Hallertau Tradition and Spalter Select hops to allow the toasted caramel flavor to predominate.
Shiner 100 Commemorator will be available in select markets on January 1. Like all Shiner beers, every drop of Commemorator is made by only 56 employees of the Spoetzl Brewery make, very near the site where it all started a century ago.
Specifications:
Alcohol by Vol.: 6.8 % Original Gravity: 17.0 % Bitterness: 17 IBU Color: 30 SRM
Real Degree of Fermentation: 60.7 %The Spoetzl Brewery is in Shiner, Texas, population 2,070. In addition to Shiner 100 Commemorator, the brewery produces Shiner Bock, Shiner Blonde, Shiner Bohemian Black Lager, Shiner Light and Shiner Hefeweizen year round, as well as Holiday Cheer winter seasonal. Look for a new summer seasonal in May, 2009.
If you would like to try a doppelbock a little closer to home, don’t forget that Hofbrauhaus is tapping their “Adulterator” (Doppelbock) tonight at 7:00 pm (3rd & Saratoga at the Levee, Newport, KY 41071).