Shiner Tasting

One thing I figured I should do before leaving Texas was to get out to the Spoetzl brewery. The brewers of the beer, Shiner Bock. I had rough plans to get out and visit the brewery while checking out a baseball game and etc etc etc. Well, those plans fell through. Not for any reason specifically but yeah. Well one of my favorite craft beer spots out here, The Friendly Spot, actually had their whole line up in bottles one night. I figured that drinking there would be just as good as visiting the brewery. I love the environment, the people, and I didn’t have to travel way the hell out of my way to do it.



When I got to The Friendly Spot I looked around at what they had that was new or something I could not resist and guess what I found… HOPTIMUM!!! I have been wanting this one so bad. I could not let it go. But anyway, I had to get the night of Shiner drinking going after this.



I started the night by ordering a Dortmunder Spring Ale, Shiner Blonde, and a Wild Hare. I have had the Wild Hare before but I just thought it would be a decent palate cleanser before moving on…

Dortmunder… Well, It had a decent golden hue and was pretty clean. It was really sweet and floral and had a light carbonation… I guess I can see how this one was meant to be a spring ale but overall I was not a fan of it. The Blonde had a hazy straw colored appearance and a butterscotch nose. The blonde was surprisingly earthy and had a light mouthfeel… again, this made me wonder about this brewery. I moved on to the Wild Hare. Which is just a solid beer. Nothing special but not bad. I have had the Shiner Bock before and the Shiner Black. The only ones that were left for me to try were The Hefe and Blonde Light… I decided to say screw it and got into beers I knew I would appreciate. The night ended up being big… bigger than I would have first thought to believe. I had a Lagunitas Censored, a Leinenkugels Summer Shandy, Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard, 512 IPA, and… Dogfish Head Black & Blue.



I have been looking for Black & Blue for quite some time now. Totally exceeded my expectations. Everything about this beer is just simply amazing. The aroma, the flavor, the mouthfeel. It was just everything that I call classic DFH but in a good way and not the usual they are only doing it because they can. This is for sure one I am going to be coming back to time and time again. I hope I can find some bottles of it in store.

Cheers!