A little town called Shiner Pt. 1

A couple of weeks ago, Margaret's grandparents went to visit some family in San Antonio, TX. On their way they stayed a weekend here with us. Pop, Margaret's grandfather mentioned that they were going to tour the Spoetzel brewery in Shiner and asked if he could bring me something back for my research. I mentioned that they have a particular favorite beer of mine that is only available in the specialty "family reunion" six pack. The beer is a lager called Kosmos Reserve, named after the founder of the brewery.

Being a military man, Pop gladly accepted the mission and completed it with flying colors, bringing me two 12 bottle family reunion packs. The beers included are:

1. Bock
2. Kosmos Reserve
3. Hefeweizen
4. Blonde
5. Prickly Pear Lager (Seasonal)
6. Bohemian Black Lager

Also pictured is the wooden nickel that is the currency used for the beer served on the brewery tour. 

I am pretty familiar with all the beers in the pack with the exception of the Prickly Pear seasonal one. Not sure how I feel about a cactus infused beer. The Black lager and the Kosmos reserve are among my go too beers. Unfortunately the Kosmos Reserve requires a purchase of the other beers. 

Over the next week or so, I will review the beers included. 

For a start, I took a shot with what I believe is the first microbrew I ever had years ago. Being in Louisiana, the flagship Shiner beer, the Bock was typically available in bars in the New Orleans area. It was a nice change of pace from the usual stuff that was on tap. In Louisiana, it has become synonymous with the brewery. I even heard someone recently refer to other beers from the brewery as Shiner Bocks, like Kleenex with tissues or Xerox with copies. 

Appearance: Beer was amber colored which turned to a ruby red when held up to the light. It had decent carbonation, but a very quickly dissipating tan head. Very little lacing was noted.

Smell: The main aroma I got from this beer was a yeasty one, like bread. 

Taste/Mouthfeel: Beer had a bubbly mouthfeel. Some malt flavor was noted. The most noticeable characteristic of the taste was the dry finish. It really dried my mouth out and left me parched. Like the smell, yeasty bread flavor was noted. 

Overall: This beer is not one that I will likely seek out again. It was a novelty when it was among the first readily available microbrews in New Orleans years ago, but in my opinion, it is far from even the best this brewery has to offer. However, I do look forward to trying the other 5 beers in the series. 

Cheers!