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My 2 Cents
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My 2 Cents
Feb 21 2009
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Celebrate 100 Years of Shiner Beer | 
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The folks over at the Spoetzl Brewery have been brewing beer in Shiner, Texas since 1909. Their flagship brew, Shiner Bock, has been enjoyed by many generations of Texans.
As part of their centennial celebration, they have released their 100th anniversary beer, Shiner 100 Commemorator, which is a classic doppelbock or starkbier with an APV of 6.7%. It was well worth the wait.
I invite you to raise a glass and toast the Spoetzl Brewery's centennial, and if Shiner 100 Commemorator is available in your area, give it a try. I think you'll be glad you did.
Posted by hkkaspar at 3:16PM
May 19 2004
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Spring Is Over (What A Pity) |
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It is a sad time of year, the end of Spring. No more Saint Arnold Spring Bock. This is all the more devastating because the last local producer of year-round
top-shelf bock beer has closed their doors. No the Spoetzl Brewery is still in business, I am referring to the much morned demise in the Fall of 2003 of the Brenham Brewery, of Brenham, Texas which produced a good bock beer (their Schwarzbier or Black Lager beer was much better, but we'll save that for
another post). This disasterous turn of events followed closely on the heals of what was probably the most tramatic occurence, the Saxer Brewing Company of Lake Oswego, Oregon, deciding
that their brief foray into the Texas market was misguided. As a result, their outstanding bock and dark bock beers are no longer available in the Lone Star State.
O.K., you might think I'm just left to crying in my (Shiner Bock) beer, but
fortunately I have German bocks to fall back on. As long as the Spaten-Franziskaner-Br„u and Paulaner Brauerei
breweries continue to produce their world-class dopplebocks, I can always slake my big bock beer cravings with an Optimator or Salvator.
Posted by hkkaspar at 10:22PM
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My 2 Cents (continued)
Feb 15 2004
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Spring is Just around the Corner |
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I know that the weather outside is cold and dreary, but there are signs, for those who know how to look for them, that spring is just around the corner. No, I'm not talking about the prediction of Punxsutawney Phil on Feb 2nd, which forecasts 6 more weeks of winter. I'm talking about the appearance of the 2004 Spring Bock ales at my preferred local malt beverage provider, Spec's
Liquor.
Spring is my favorite season of the year - it's the season of bock beers. Around the end of February each year, the Paulaner brewery in
Munich signals the beginning of the spring season when they tap their world famous Salvator Doppelbock (7.5% ABV). Salvator is the original dopplebock and was brewed to provide sustenance to the monks through their Lenten fast. According to the Paulaner
web site, Salvator was the first Starkbier (strong beer) that the Paulaner monks made. They brewed it each year on the day of death of their founder, Franz von Paula, on the 2nd of April. It served as a substitute for food at Lent. Its original recipe is
today almost the same as it was then. Originally this beer was called "Sankt-Vaters-Bier" (Holy Fathers beer) or "des heiligen Franz ”l" (Saint Francis's oil). However, in the vernacular it is known as Salvator and was patented in Berlin in 1896 under
this name.
Although there is some disagreement among beer experts, the German town of Einbeck is credited with originating the bock beer style. According to legend, bock beer was introduced to Bavaria in the 1600's when the Duke of Brunswick married a Bavarian noble
woman, and served several casks of Einbeck bock at the wedding celebration.
Bock is my favorite lager beer style. The dominant characteristic of the style is malt, and do I love malt.
Ahhhhhhhh! Spring is (almost) here.
Posted by hkkaspar at 5:40PM
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Copywrite © 1998-2012 by Henry Kaspar. All rights reserved.
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