Thursday, January 22, 2009

Shiner 100th Anniversary


Finally back in Houston. We had a great time at the Inaug. and I'll do a post about it along with some beers I had while out there. But I feel like commemorating what we have witnessed, and what's better than Shiner Commemorator, the 100th anniversary beer from Spoetzl.


Beer Log: Right now.

State: chillin, just ate some rice with butter, watching Wheel of Fortune.


Shiner Commemorator

Smells a little bready, a little malty. Red copper color with a quick dissipating white head. I get a little chocolate and syrup on there as well. Taste is a decent amount of malt and bread. The second draught reveals a bit more of the dark malts, like syrup and whatnot, but not as strong as the doppelbocks I've had in the past. It does taste pretty good and just gets sweeter the more you drink it. Medium to high carbonation with a low hop presence. The finish is pretty fast as well. 3 Stars. It could be the alcohol, but the more you drink it, the more you like it.
I was hoping that Shiner would have hit the bricks with that 100th Anniversary. I think it would have been so badass if they just came out with a Belgian Tripel or something. They normally stick with the German and Czech style beers. Of the 5 anniversary beers, I'll have to say this one could be my favorite followed closely by the Helles Lager, Shiner 99. Congrats to Spoetzl and the good folks in Shiner, TX. Here's to another 100 years!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the review! It sounds like a great beer and I'm going to be keeping my eyes peeled to see if it pops up here in West Texas anytime soon.

Lee said...

Glad to find someone else who likes it. It seems like the other Texas beer bloggers aren't too big on it, but I enjoyed it. I agree with what you said about "not as strong as the doppelbocks I've had in the past" – I kind of like that. I enjoy the likes of Spaten Optimator, but that first sip is always a bit overwhelming and it takes time for my palate to adjust. Not so with 100 – I thought it went down just fine from the very first sip.

You know, of all the anniversary beers, the Black is the one I liked the least, yet that is the one they made a part of their regular lineup. I sure hope they'll bring some of the others back into production.

The American Don said...

Thanks for reading my blog. I will agree that Black Label is my LEAST favority of the anniversary beers. I really think the label and bottle are so cool looking, folks are just going to jump all over it. Would Heineken be as popular now if it weren't for that green bottle back in the day? Got to love Capitalism.

Anonymous said...

I'm interested to know what you guys thought of the Holiday Cheer? And what do you think of it replacing the dunkelweizen?

Lee said...

Initially I was uncertain – I liked the Dunkelweizen and I'm always leery of fruit beers. But once I tried it, I loved it. Drank a whole bunch over the holidays.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the link Lee.
I really didn't have a good experience with the Dunkelweizen. I don't know if it was the batch, as other people like yourself have really quite liked it.
When I tried it, it taste pretty decent at the onset, but developed some off-flavours as it warmed.

Either way, the Holiday Cheer is a worthy replacement!

Lee said...

Actually, I liked the Shiner Dunkel until I tried some really good ones. If you're ever in Austin during the winter, try North by Northwest's dunkel or Live Oak's Primus Weizenbock – they're both outstanding. The Primus is like crack to me.

The American Don said...

That Primus is serious. I really enjoyed the Shiner holiday cheer. They did a great job with the peaches in there. We still have a few bottles in our collection and will probably break a couple out here and there over the next few months. Probably my favorite Shiner seasonal.

http://thebeerbrotha.blogspot.com/2008/11/magic-hat-and-christmas-special.html

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the thoughts guys... I'll add the Primus to my wish list. I've never seen any Live Oaks before.

The American Don said...

Yeah if you do not live in Texas, you'll have some trouble finding it as it's not bottled for now, only on draft at various bars and whatnot. They bought a shyteload of land recently, so hopefully they'll start bottling in the future.

Lee said...

According to their website, "Live Oak beers are available at fine restaurants and bars in Alpine, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Marathon,San Marcos and San Antonio.