A little town called Shiner Pt. 3

Rounding out the Shiner Family Reunion pack are the Shiner Blonde, Hefeweizen and a newcomer, the Prickly Pear Lager. I have had the Blonde and Hefeweizen before, but will be trying the seasonal Prickly Pear for the first time. I will start with the familiar ones.

First for the Blonde.

Appearance: Beer is a clear pale yellow or straw color. As you can tell from the picture, it is highly carbonated, like all the Shiner beers I have had so far. No head at all with this one, and patchy lacing.

Smell: Nothing stands out aroma wise. The best way I can describe it is smelling just like Miller Lite. An fyi, Miller Lite is my least favorite of any macro beer. If I must have a light macro beer, like Harry Caray used to say, "I'm a cub fan and a bud man."

Taste/Mouthfeel: As would be expected, this beer has a bubbly mouthfeel and is very light. Taste is just like the run of the mill macro beer mentioned above. Very thin and watery tasting with a dry dull finish. It is however, easy drinking due to the wateriness.

Overall: Not one that I would seek out again. I did offer some to Margaret and she said that she liked it. If this is any indication, Bud Light is her favorite go to beer. Shiner also makes a "light" version of this blonde. I made the mistake of getting some. I don't know how they made it lighter, but apparently to make it lighter, they added something that gave it an off putting smoky flavor. Not a fan of the light or the leaded version above.

I have since had a Nola Blonde and compared it to the Shiner version. The Nola beer had a much more complex flavor. The hops gave it a depth of flavor including some sweetness, that is lacking in the Shiner blonde. For a blonde fan, the Nola version would be a better bet.


Next, the Hefeweizen.

Appearance: Beer poured a cloudy, chalky looking yellow color. It looked just like the powdered drink Tang, from my youth. Beer was highly carbonated with a very thin white head. It did have some patchy lacing.

Smell: The main aroma I got from this one was one of yeast, like white bread.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Due to the high level of carbonation, beer had a medium, but bubbly mouthfeel. A citrusy flavor of primarily lemon with some orange was noted. Some mild citrus flavor lingered on the tongue.

Overall: Not a homerun, but this beer was pretty good. I liked the mild citrus notes and the fact that it was not very heavy, which helps out on hot summer days. Makes sense that a brewery in TX would have beers that are more on the refreshing side.

Last, but not least, on to the Prickly Pear Lager.

Appearance: Beer pours a dark golden clear amber color. This beer had the best head of any of the Shiner beers tasted, and had some good lacing present. As usual with these I have tried, it was very carbonated.

Smell: Lots of floral notes and aromas with this beer. Also had the smell of a grape flavored candy.

Taste/Mouthfeel: A broken record on the mouthfeel, but due to carbonation it was bubbly and light. Like the smell, the beer tasted like grape flavored candy. It had a sweet dry finish.

Overall: I am usually not a fan of fruit flavored beers. This one is similar in taste to Abita Brewery's Purple Haze, which I have never enjoyed. However this one differs in giving some tartness and a dry finish that gives the sweet candy like flavor some balance. It also had the best head and lacing of any of the Shiner beers I tried.

So now for a recap of the 6 Shiner beers that make up the Family Reunion 6 pack.

1. Shiner Bock - although it is their signature and iconic beer, I would give a thumbs down on it.
2. Shiner Blonde - too light and not very distinctive flavor. This would be my least favorite of the 6.
3. Shiner Hefeweizen - kind of a middle of the road grade. Far from my least favorite, but not likely to seek out over something I have not tried yet.
4. Shiner Prickly Pear - a pleasant surprise and nice addition to the family. As far as fruity beers go, this one is worth a try. 
5. Shiner Kosmos Reserve - I am glad to see I still enjoy this one. Nice complexity of flavor from a lager. My 2nd favorite of the bunch. 
6. Shiner Bohemian Black Lager - this one has been a go to beer for me for a couple of years. Nice malty flavor without being too heavy. My favorite from this brewery. 

So overall this brewery was 3 for 6. Unfortunately, two of the three I like are only part of this family reunion pack. These guys are not stupid and they know what they are doing. Thanks to Pop for doing the legwork and picking up this pack of beers for me. 

Cheers!