Brewing beer and spirits that honor tradition, yet embrace tomorrow. Proudly crafted in Shiner, Texas
Small Town, Big Dreams.
Our story is steeped in the rich history of brewing, rooted in the heart of Texas since 1909, but it’s also a tale of constant evolution and anticipation of what lies ahead. From our humble beginnings, we’ve upheld the time-honored traditions of quality brewing that put us on the map. But we’re not content with resting on our laurels. As we journey forward, we’re embracing innovation, exploring new flavors, and continuing to perfect our methods, promising an even brighter future for Shiner Beer.
German and Czech immigrants who had settled in Shiner TX longed for a beer with the old-world quality and taste they remembered back home. After discovering a pure artesian water source, that dream became a reality. They put up a two-story tin shed on the site of the well, with that water becoming the foundation for Shiner’s first beer.
In search of a brewmaster to help them perfect their methods, the settlers located a Bavarian by the name of Kosmos Spoetzl. Kosmos, who was a classically trained brewer from Germany, brought to Shiner an old-world recipe that had been in his family for generations. When Kosmos started making his Bavarian recipe, it was like drinking a sip of home.
Even when prohibition forced other breweries to close their doors, the Spoetzl Brewery remained open producing near beer and ice. Legend has it that Kosmos kept brewing Shiner beer too. As it turned out, he was accused of bootlegging, even serving some time. The folks in Shiner surely agreed the greater crime was to not brew Shiner Beer.
Mr. Spoetzel, at midnight in 1933, gave Gilbert Capster $2.50 to take a pony keg and put it on the back of his bicycle and ride it around town announcing the end of prohibition.
When Kosmos died in 1950, his daughter Cecile “Miss Celie” stepped in as the owner where she ran the brewery until the late ‘60s. During her time as owner, she was the only female brewery proprietress in the country at the time.
In the 1970s Shiner Beer’s reputation began to spread beyond the town of Shiner, eventually rising to fame in the Cosmic Cowboy Capital of Austin, Texas. There, in venues like the Armadillo World Headquarters, an eclectic group of hippies and rednecks enjoyed Shiner for just three dimes a glass. The beer was a hit, and a sign of things to come as Shiner would soon be enjoyed by drinkers across the state.
Shiner beer started selling outside Texas for first time, expanding into 14 states. The Spoetzl Brewery reached the milestone of 1,000,000 cases sold for the first time. To celebrate, the brewery hosted a “Thanks a Million” concert — drawing thousands of music (and beer) lovers to Shiner, TX.
You might say that Jimmy Mauric was born to make Shiner beer. Jimmy started working at the brewery at age 17 (we still don’t know what took him so long). He graduated from the prestigious Siebel Institute of Technology and became our sixth brewmaster in 2005.
Shiner expanded with a new distillery and launched a portfolio of craft spirits. The new stills were handcrafted in Scotland and installed in one of Spoetzl Brewery’s historic cellars. Shiner spirits are crafted using the same malts and artesian water as Shiner beers and each batch passes through the original copper grant used by Kosmos Spoetzl.
GREAT TASTE. GREATER GOOD.
At Shiner Beer, we’ve been leaning into sustainability well before it was “trendy” for companies to do so. We’ll continue to make great tasting beer and minimize our environmental footprint along the way, because that’s just the way we do things in Shiner TX.
Cleanest little city with a heart as big as Texas
A town where respect and support thrive, where unity rejuvenates the spirit. That’s Shiner, Texas, a century ago, and it’s the same Shiner we know today. We honor our forebears’ legacy by brewing a beer that upholds their tradition while embracing the future. We proudly call it Shiner.
