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We’re living in the golden age of Texas beer. Seriously, we are — there are craft breweries popping up all around the state, our major cities are seeing growler-filling shops opening up and giving us the chance to take home brews that aren’t available in bottle or cans, and we’re being graced by multiple beer-centric festivals this month.
With the Texas Senate passing a round of bills that would allow in-state brewpubs the right to sell to distributors and finally letting breweries sell their products on site (though with restrictions, and still pending approval from the House and governor, and knowing our governor who knows what will happen), I started thinking about the new tradition of spending a day touring a brewery, learning about its history and process, and then sampling some of the brewery’s hard work in the form of frothy, delicious goodness.
It’s sort of a goal of mine to go to each brewery in Texas. In fact, I’ve made it a point to drive into the Hill Country to walk around Real Ale’s small operation, I’ve attended almost every tour in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and I’ve even had the pleasure of enjoying a warm pretzel in St. Arnold’s beer hall. But there’s one tour that I’ve always thought to be out of reach, one that I figured would be too much of a hassle to go to, and that was the tour at our state’s most popular brewery, Shiner.
I came of legal drinking age too late for Shiner’s music fests and hometown celebrations, and I’m not nearly confident enough on a bike to attempt the Great Austin to Shiner Peddle. And, to be honest, sometimes it feels as if Dallas is too big to escape — as if the rest of the state is too far away to enjoy. This is a foolish thought, and with a little bit of research I realized that even with some must-stops, Shiner is just six hours away. The decision was made, I was going.
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The drive came together quickly — head down Interstate 35, make a stop in West, pick up TX-130 in Georgetown and then onto U.S. 183 into Lockhart for a bite to eat. From there it’s country roads to La Grange, then TX-95 directly to Shiner. That’s 329 miles, four iconic Texas stops. The only real question was whether I listen to Lift to Experience, Robert Ellis or Slobberbone once I lost The Ticket’s signal.
My first stop occurred about 90 minutes outside of Dallas in West. You are implored to stop in West by everyone whom you tell you’re going to Austin. “OH MY GOD” they say, “You have to stop and eat a kolache at the Czech Stop!” which means you have done this a half dozen times. I for one think we’re overselling the real reason to stop in West; we’ve turned pastries into golden calves while ignoring our state’s best vintage shop. We’ve neglected to insist we stop at the Style Station.
Located on the southern outskirts of West in an old gas station, the Style Station sits on a service road waiting to greet lovers of its eclectic assortment of vintage fashion and art. Long known to hipsters looking for a fashion upgrade, the stop has become sort of a rite of passage for those making the trip to catch a show or festival in Austin. Hell, it’s where I bought my first pearl snap. I duck into the shop to look at its wares, making sure to avoid any political talk with the proprietor. Not finding anything to my liking, I hit the road. Lockhart isn’t too far away, and I’m starting to get hungry.
Listen, I’m not Gavin Cleaver, I don’t write about barbecue, but I know what’s good, so let me sum up Lockhart like so. Barbecue is good, barbecue made in Texas is better than barbecue made anywhere else and barbecue made in Lockhart is good enough to constantly be raved about online, in print and on television. If you’re looking for an in-depth take on whether Smitty’s, Black’s, Kreuz or Chisholm is better, wait for Gavin to make the trip down. (Editor’s note: Check this space next week.) I’m sure the word “wicked” might show up in his review.
Just know you want to stop in in Lockhart if you ever make your way to Shiner, it’s as Texas as Texas gets. Plus you can try to figure out which buildings/businesses were in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Waiting for Guffman. I stopped, I ate ribs, I bought a shirt and I was on my way. You should do the same. You’ll need the energy for your visit to the State’s oldest brewery in La Grange.
Located on the Colorado River, La Grange gained notoriety because of Texas journalistic legend Marvin Zindler’s crusade against the “Chicken Ranch,” a house of ill repute that was famous amongst the young men of Texas in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. The whole ordeal was the basis for the stage and film musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. ZZ Top even made a song about it.
The reason for my stop, and the town’s lesser-known feature, is the historical site of the Kreische Brewery, one of Texas’s first. Located on a bluff overlooking the Colorado, Henrich Kreische started operating the brewery around 1870, and for a time it was one of Texas’ largest producers of beer. Sadly, the brewery fell into disrepair shortly after Kreische’s death in 1882. The brewery is part of the Monument Hill State park along with a tomb and monument dedicated to the fallen heroes of the 1848 Dawson Massacre. It’s a serenely beautiful area that’s steeped in history. Tours are offered on the weekends and the park is open daily. It’s a great way to learn about the state and build up a thirst, and the best way to quench that thirst lies down the road in my true destination of Shiner.
Shiner is pure small-town Texas. The sign greeting you sits close to a group of cacti. Covered in rust and faded by the sun, it proclaims that you’re in “The Cleanest Little Town in Texas” with mention of “half moon days” in small print. There’s a small downtown area with a lonely gas station, an older building, houses, a restaurant and an antique store; these are all background scenery as your eye is immediately drawn to the iconic white façade of the Spoetzl Brewery.
When I pull into the visitors parking lot I notice a small Mazda with out-of-state plates. It belongs to a young couple from Lexington, Kentucky, who are on vacation and made it a point to reach the brewery. Visitors congregate inside the brewery’s gift shop, greeting one another while going over the various trinkets for sale. The guest book I sign features signatures with addresses in Colorado Springs and St. Paul. Mexico appears multiple times. I was surprised to learn that the tour is free and of-age tourists are given four free drink tokens to use on the Shiner brews of their choice.
While you wait for the tour to begin you can duck into a side room adorned with a mural dedicated to the brewery founder, Kosmo Spoetzl. A video made in 1999 plays on a loop, giving visitors information that they’re about to hear from the tour guide. Finally, we’re fetched by Anne Raabe, a longtime Shiner resident and a member of the public relations staff. She escorts our group of 40 or so into the brewery, making sure to remind us that photos are allowed, just don’t shoot any computer screens.
We’re ushered into a combination brew room-observation deck where Raabe gives us an abbreviated history lesson while detailing the brewing process. Through windows we watch thousands of bottles of Shiner Bock be filled, labeled, capped and then packed. We learn that they’re expanding to three shifts to fulfill the demand — 600,000-plus bottles of Shiner were shipped last year, and that number seems to be growing exponentially. A few things I learned while taking the Shiner tour: The longest tenured employee at Shiner worked for 68 years; Ruby Redbird, that beer everyone drank at pool parties last summer, is now in cans; Shiner is now available in New York for the first time; and Shiner Blonde has been retrobranded back to its original name of Shiner Premium. Also, if you’re up for a move, they’re hiring.
Once the tour is over, you are ushered back to the gift shop where you can cash in your remaining tokens for the freshest Shiner you’ll ever have while you ponder which T-shirt to purchase. From there you’re left to consider your options: Do you start the drive home? Do you decamp for Austin or Houston and enjoy more beer? Maybe you jump on U.S. 77 and head for the beach? Whatever you do, don’t rush. Walk outside, look at the brewery and sip your beer. You’re enjoying one of Texas’ real treasures — there will be plenty of time to decide what to do next once it’s done.
