Try?
Wow, it's amazing how quickly 100 years can go by. Just
ask the folks at Texas' Spoetzl Brewing Company, whom you likely know better
for their flagship product:
Shiner Bock. They're celebrating 100 years of brewing in Texas with the
release of Shiner 100 Commemorator . As I said, time flies.
In a press release, Shiner claims that "In 1909, German and Czech immigrants decided to start the Homebrewing Association in Shiner, Texas so they could make the kind of beers they'd left behind in their homelands." This is what they're celebrating, and is officially given as the origin point of Spoetzl Brewing (which took it's name from brewer Kosmos Spoetzl, who joined the company in 1915). The beers brewed by Spoetzl were German in style and intended to satisfy the large number of German immigrants in the area.
For a beer enthusiast, small, regional breweries like Spoetzl (which sold ice cream, among other things, to stay alive during prohibition), are particularly appealing. The history of brewing is a piece of our heritage, and as much as I love a good microbrew, I am equally enamored of a glass of beer from a brewery that has been cranking out decent beer for a century.
To celebrate such a milestone, Shiner could have produced a number of styles to commemorate. They took, however, the most logical approach of all: brewing up a stronger, darker version of Shiner Bock, a doppelbock or "double bock" to be precise. Indeed, in the tradition of classic German doppels, the've even added the "ator" suffix to the beer's name. As a doppel, Commemorator has more body and flavor than it's more famous older relative, as well as more alcohol: 6.7% alcohol by volume as opposed to 4.4% for Shiner Bock.
Shiner Bock, while quite an original and interesting brew, is also rather different from most true bock beers. Indeed, some beer geeks give it a classification all its own, "Texas Bock", and as proof that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, brewing giant Anheuser-Busch launched a similar brew, "Ziegen Bock", some years ago.
Shiner Commemorator pours to a dark mahogany color with a
short-lived, fizzy and minimal head formation and a pleasant nutty malty
nose. I'm encouraged by the color and aroma, and so I eagerly imbibe this
dark amber nectar-only to be a bit disappointed by the body. To be fair,
Commemorator certainly has a noticeable mouthfeel, and it's a bit rich and
silky as I swirl it about on the tongue. It's just that what I'm getting
here is more akin to a bock than a doppelbock, and so I'm looking for more.
As with Shiner Bock, the alcohol content is low for the style, too.
I will give Shiner high marks for the toasty, nutty-malty melanoidin flavors I'm getting here. Those are the hallmark of a good bock/double bock brew, and they're especially noticeable if you let the beer warm a little. There's a little chocolate too, and the beer has a hint of alcohol warmth in the slightly sweet malty finish, and you can just pick out a hint of grassy hops too, said hops keeping the beer from being too sweet, which it's not, really.
At $6.99 a six-pack, this isn't a bad beer at all. Think of it as the beer that Shiner Bock should be, and you'll do OK. As a doppelbock, though, it misses the mark in this beer drinker's estimation. Still, it's a very drinkable beer, and if you like Shiner Bock, then you'll love this.
In a press release, Shiner claims that "In 1909, German and Czech immigrants decided to start the Homebrewing Association in Shiner, Texas so they could make the kind of beers they'd left behind in their homelands." This is what they're celebrating, and is officially given as the origin point of Spoetzl Brewing (which took it's name from brewer Kosmos Spoetzl, who joined the company in 1915). The beers brewed by Spoetzl were German in style and intended to satisfy the large number of German immigrants in the area.
For a beer enthusiast, small, regional breweries like Spoetzl (which sold ice cream, among other things, to stay alive during prohibition), are particularly appealing. The history of brewing is a piece of our heritage, and as much as I love a good microbrew, I am equally enamored of a glass of beer from a brewery that has been cranking out decent beer for a century.
To celebrate such a milestone, Shiner could have produced a number of styles to commemorate. They took, however, the most logical approach of all: brewing up a stronger, darker version of Shiner Bock, a doppelbock or "double bock" to be precise. Indeed, in the tradition of classic German doppels, the've even added the "ator" suffix to the beer's name. As a doppel, Commemorator has more body and flavor than it's more famous older relative, as well as more alcohol: 6.7% alcohol by volume as opposed to 4.4% for Shiner Bock.
Shiner Bock, while quite an original and interesting brew, is also rather different from most true bock beers. Indeed, some beer geeks give it a classification all its own, "Texas Bock", and as proof that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, brewing giant Anheuser-Busch launched a similar brew, "Ziegen Bock", some years ago.
Shiner Commemorator pours to a dark mahogany color with a
short-lived, fizzy and minimal head formation and a pleasant nutty malty
nose. I'm encouraged by the color and aroma, and so I eagerly imbibe this
dark amber nectar-only to be a bit disappointed by the body. To be fair,
Commemorator certainly has a noticeable mouthfeel, and it's a bit rich and
silky as I swirl it about on the tongue. It's just that what I'm getting
here is more akin to a bock than a doppelbock, and so I'm looking for more.
As with Shiner Bock, the alcohol content is low for the style, too.I will give Shiner high marks for the toasty, nutty-malty melanoidin flavors I'm getting here. Those are the hallmark of a good bock/double bock brew, and they're especially noticeable if you let the beer warm a little. There's a little chocolate too, and the beer has a hint of alcohol warmth in the slightly sweet malty finish, and you can just pick out a hint of grassy hops too, said hops keeping the beer from being too sweet, which it's not, really.
At $6.99 a six-pack, this isn't a bad beer at all. Think of it as the beer that Shiner Bock should be, and you'll do OK. As a doppelbock, though, it misses the mark in this beer drinker's estimation. Still, it's a very drinkable beer, and if you like Shiner Bock, then you'll love this.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
