The sixth and final member of the Shiner Family Reunion is the first brew from the Brewer’s Pride collection. Shiner calls this one its Old-Time Alt, or altbier. As far as I know this is the first altbier on Beers and Ears, so let’s start with a description from the bastion of truth and knowledge, Wikipedia. The name Altbier, which means old beer, refers to the pre-lager brewing method of using a warm top-fermenting yeast. Over time the Alt yeast adjusted to lower temperatures, and  [ Read More ]

Shiner Kosmos Reserve, named after Kosmos Spoetzel, is the fifth of six beers in the Shiner Family Reunion six pack. Kosmos Spoetzel was the first Shiner brewmaster and also the namesake of the Spoetzel Brewery. Here’s the label text: Kosmos Spoetzel knew how to brew great beer. Born in Bavaria, Kosmos’ mastery of German brewing carried him as far as Egypt before he found his way to the small Texas town of Shiner. Our proud brewery still carries his name  [ Read More ]

Ed reviewed Shiner Hefeweizen (originally called Honey Wheat) back in December and loved it. Since it’s part of the Shiner Family Reunion, now it’s my turn to try this one. It’s a nice shade of golden orange and a bit cloudy; flavors of wheat and lemon are dominant in this beer. It’s fairly light, but quite refreshing with a good flavor. This would be a good beer for a hot day (every day this time of year is a hot  [ Read More ]

Shiner Blonde is the third beer I’m trying out of the Shiner Family Reunion six pack (previously tasted: Shiner Bock and Shiner Bohemian Black Lager). It’s a pale lager that to me doesn’t impart a whole lot of flavor. It’s a little sweet, a little malty, and a whole lot of meh. There’s nothing wrong with it, but not really anything right with it either. With every sip I find myself wondering what the next Shiner I try will be.  [ Read More ]

Shiner Bohemian Black Lager is the second beer in the Shiner Family Reunion six pack (I previously reviewed Shiner Bock). This beer, also known as a Schwarzbier, was first brewed for Spoetzel Brewery’s 97th anniversary, and is a somewhat unusual style. It’s a lager beer, but has some of the smells and flavor of a stout ale. This is the first Schwarzbier I’ve tasted. It has light scents of coffee and chocolate, and has a similar taste; coffee with a bit  [ Read More ]

I purchased a six pack called the Shiner Family Reunion; it contains six different beers from the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, TX; I also had one of these at the House of Blues the other night when I saw Richard Cheese. Since this is the most common Shiner beer you’ll come across, I decided to start with it. The Spoetzl Brewery, originally called the Shiner Brewing Association until Kosmos Spoetzl took charge, was founded in 1909 and has spent the  [ Read More ]

Wow! I tried this beer at dinner and it blew me away! I LOVED it! If you like Blue Moon, you need to find and taste this beer! I’ll be going back to the restaurant we went to tonight specifically because of this beer! woot!