Shiner Beer (Spoetzl Brewery)

[BARBQ]

yeah brewers pride and kosmos are some of my favorite.

I've been guilty of swapping the other varieties out to make a six pack of my two favorites

 

[arsenal610]

yeah brewers pride and kosmos are some of my favorite.

I've been guilty of swapping the other varieties out to make a six pack of my two favorites

lmao..Always wanted to that with variety packs, but never had the balls to do it.

 

[BARBQ]

Funny. I felt guilty doing it, but that went away when I drank the first one.

 

[mjhszig]

the Holiday Cheer is pretty roundly despised on here but I really love it. Dangerously good - its like a six pack of candy.

Why is it that my two favorite Shiner brews(Cheer, Ruby Redbird:rockin are so despised on the web, but me and everyone I know LOVES them?!

FYI- desperately on the prowl for a clone recipe, or experienced insight on how one would be made...

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I like Cheer but I didn't try Ruby Redbird because I'm not much of a grapefruit fan.

I took the tour (which is a waste) around winter the first year Cheer was released so they bragged a little about how it's made. According to the tour guide it's a dunkelweizen (which I assume is a dunkelweizen grain bill but fermented with a neutral strain similar to their hefeweizen) and then they add peaches and roasted pecans that were home roasted by the head brewer's wife at their house (I'm not sure if that's true or marketing).

 

[mjhszig]

hmmmm, that is definitely useful insight, and surely where i will start..... THANKS!

a neutral strain so as to allow the peaches and pecans to dominate the complexity of flavors??

...yeah, that sounds like the tall tale of how it was first invented, i doubt she does all that crap in her kitchen, other than maybe the first time....

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

It was the first year and production was limited so it could be true. I know it was everywhere around Austin but we had a hard time finding it in Dallas. Now it's everywhere.

Cheer, like Shiner's dunkelweizen and hefeweizen are all fermented with a neutral strain in that Amercan "hefeweizen" style like Widmer's hefeweizen. It doesn't have the clove and banana flavors, it's basically just wheat flavor. Cheer definitely wants neutral yeast flavor for the peaches and pecans.

 

[mjhszig]

So like a S-05 perhaps?

So based on that, im thinking slowly roast and crush pecans and add then to the wort at pitching
then make a fresh peach slurry/syrup and add late in the secondary or at bottling or even sub for priming sugar, or do you think they need longer brewing time?
/or dark brown, or caramelized sugar for priming

how does this sound?

*edit, on second thought, i think adding roasted pecans to the mash is a better idea
ive read that the nut oil kills the head, and that some people blanch them to remove most of the oils, but i think that would remove the roasted flavor as well... so im thinking roast, then straight to the mash

 

[TomHanx]

I've been guilty of swapping the other varieties out to make a six pack of my two favorites

lmao..Always wanted to that with variety packs, but never had the balls to do it.

I've just recently discovered that little tactic. But I only do it at Wal-mart really on the 2 or 3 beers they carry I'll buy. Switch out a few diff bottles of Shiner or New belgium to get a variety. It's not stealing. as long as they're all the same price I'm paying for it!

Why is it that my two favorite Shiner brews( Ruby Redbird:rockin are so despised on the web, but me and everyone I know LOVES them?!

beer snobs? I don't know, I love it. i've found there is a very distinct line for that beer online. love it or hate it. I think people in Texas who live in April-October summers can more appreciate it's refreshing qualities than northerners or ale nerds.

 

[HoppyGilmore]

yeah brewers pride and kosmos are some of my favorite.

I've been guilty of swapping the other varieties out to make a six pack of my two favorites

I can't believe I've never thought about this. I didn't really care for the 102 wheat at all. The Bock is decent but I really liked the black lager.

I just moved to TX and I tried a sampler of Real Ale recently too. The brown ale had a sherry/booze flavor and smell that I didn't like at all. I tried the Rio Blanco next, and it had a similar, but not as strong taste and smell. Maybe my palate needed a cleansing, but I didn't care for it. The Rye was drinkable, but overall I'm not impressed with Real Ale. I had a pint of the Fireman #4 at a bar for $6!!! and felt robbed.

 

[mjhszig]

beer snobs? I don't know, I love it. i've found there is a very distinct line for that beer online. love it or hate it. I think people in Texas who live in April-October summers can more appreciate it's refreshing qualities than northerners or ale nerds.

true, true... its even more refreshing as beer slushies! (i think the fruit juice helps it to freeze to just the right consistency...)

 

[mjhszig]

So I'm confused....

How is it a Spring Ale & a Dortmunder?????

-dortmunder is a lager....

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

So I'm confused....

How is it a Spring Ale & a Dortmunder?????

-dortmunder is a lager....

It's possible, but very doubtful, it's a dortmunder style beer but top fermented. My guess is that this is due to Texas and our stupid beer laws. Prior to the Jester King suit decided a month or two ago, a beer had to be given a particular title based upon alcohol by weight, regardless of how accurate it is to the beer's style. So an "ale" was anything over a certain threshold (maybe 5% ABW?) and above "ale" is "malt liquor". It's the same reason New Belgium 1554 is labeled a "black ale" even though it is a lager (according to the brewery tour guide). NB had to conform it's product to Texas because we're such a big market. Shiner, being in Texas, obviously did the same.

Under the court decision Shiner may not have to call it an ale anymore (we'll see if the decision is appealed and overturned) but since the marketing is already years in it may not make sense to change it.

 

[funkapottomous]

You guys are crazy, I loved Smokehaus.

 

[mjhszig]

My guess is that this is due to Texas and our stupid beer laws. Prior to the Jester King suit decided a month or two ago, a beer had to be given a particular title based upon alcohol by weight, regardless of how accurate it is to the beer's style. So an "ale" was anything over a certain threshold (maybe 5% ABW?) and above "ale" is "malt liquor".

WHHHaaaaaaaa??? So in Texas anything over 5% HAD to be called an "Ale"??
Did this only apply to beer brewed in Texas, or anything sold in Texas?
So beer under 5% could been called a lager or ale depending on top or bottom yeast?

Are these types of stupid laws what kept Stella from giving Texans free beer chalices???

 

[funkapottomous]

WHHHaaaaaaaa??? So in Texas anything over 5% HAD to be called an "Ale"??
Did this only apply to beer brewed in Texas, or anything sold in Texas?
So beer under 5% could been called a lager or ale depending on top or bottom yeast?

Are these types of stupid laws what kept Stella from giving Texans free beer chalices???

4%, actually.

anything under 4 was beer, and anything over was ale or malt beverage. There weren't any provisions for lager.

December showed Jester King brewery (from Austin) and a few other companies winning their court case against the TABC for unconstitutional legislation.

one of the things was that, the inability to put percentages on labels, and the gag order that kept brewers from telling consumers where to purchase their beer.

 

[pm5k00]

I love Shiner Cheer, and enjoy smokehaus with bbq but I can't drink more than 2 or 3 in one sitting. The kosmos reserve is pretty good, and I used to really like their kolsh and dunkelweizen seasonals they no longer make. I just tried their newest offering, wild hare pale ale, was excited to try it, less excited to drink it. It defenitly leans more to being an english style pale ale. I get almost zero citrus from it, but it did pair well with the buffalo wings we had at the super bowl party. Shiner 98, 99, 100, and 101 were all good, I can't stand the 102. As for the rest I will drink them but I don't buy any of them, I am very picky about lagers and don't find to many I truely enjoy.

 

[rearview]

The 103 is "Wild Hare" Pale Ale this year and It is pretty good, but still has a bit of a Shiner taste to it.

 

[pm5k00]

The 103 is "Wild Hare" Pale Ale this year and It is pretty good, but still has a bit of a Shiner taste to it.

Wild Hare is not 103, that hasn't come out yet, and 102 is still on the shelves. My oppinion of wild hare is that it's a decent english style pale ale, little to no citrus flavor, even though they say it has some, bravo and us goldings are the hops used. I was a little dissapointed in it as I was hoping for an APA, but in typical shiner fashion they made another drinkable but unremarkable beer.

 

[mjhszig]

Wild Hare is not 103, that hasn't come out yet, and 102 is still on the shelves.

"103" is printed right on the bottle.

Wild Hare IS the 2012 Centennial brew.

And I think it tastes great. Perfect blend of Shiner Lager and Pale Ale, right in the middle, ever so slight citrus notes.

 

[pm5k00]

I had to fish a bottle out of the recycle bin to take a look lol. 103 is on the neck in small print, very different lable design from the last +5 years if it is the 103 anniversary beer .

 

[XtremeBrew]

Wild Hare us NOT their 103. It's the first Ale they've made in 103 years of brewing, thus the number. The actual 103 beer will he out later this year

 

[pm5k00]

Wild Hare us NOT their 103. It's the first Ale they've made in 103 years of brewing, thus the number. The actual 103 beer will he out later this year

Their hefewiezen is an ale, and they have made that for years.

 

[mjhszig]

Wild Hare us NOT their 103. It's the first Ale they've made in 103 years of brewing, thus the number. The actual 103 beer will he out later this year

Seriously????

Shiner Hefeweizen -ALE
Shiner Winter Ale (Dunkelweizen) -ALE
Shiner 96 Marzen-style Oktoberfest -ALE
Shiner 102 Double-Wheat ALE
Shiner Dortmunder Spring ALE
Shiner 103 WildHare Pale ALE

They put 103 on the bottle because its Anniversary Celebration brew for 2012, thus 103.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I believe the 103 on the pale ale label is merely a recognition of the brewery's age. I highly doubt they are releasing 103 with no recognition. Too many people seek out the anniversary brews to miss the marketing opportunity.

 

[mjhszig]

Ya'll can argue all you want, it doesn't change the fact that Wild Hare IS the 103 Anniversary Celebration Brew.

If you don't believe it, call Spoetzl Brewery and ask for godsakes! 361.594.4294

Edit: Just called, and they confirmed it.

 

[jonmohno]

I thought the dortmunder had an mellow light sweet appleyness to it,and is a good theme for a spring release.Sessionable with mild sweet fruit tones-remindes me of spring.

 

[SwampassJ]

I thought the dortmunder had an mellow light sweet appleyness to it,and is a good theme for a spring release.Sessionable with mild sweet fruit tones-remindes me of spring.

Picked up a 6 pack of it today and just tossed one back. I like it, it has a subtle fruitiness that tastes kind of like Perle hops to me.

 

[snccoulter]

I like Shiner good beer...

 

[mjhszig]

Sooo...... anyone know when that "103" is going to be released?