Shiner Holiday Cheer

As today is Thanksgiving and, by most standards, the start of the ‘holiday season’, I thought I’d give this Texas brewery’s holiday brew a chance. I’ll probably need a lot of them once the Christmas carols start in earnest, a month before the actual day arrives.

Spoetzl Brewery
Shiner, TX
Holiday Cheer

The color is deep copper – almost garnet, and the head rushes up the confined base of the weizen glass and creates a tan pillow at the rim.

Caused little cheer in the house of the Brew Yorker

The nose is somewhat diaper-like, but sweet, negating any unpleasant association. Certainly, the peaches that Shiner claims to add are evident in the nose and create much of the very sweet, but not saccharine, aroma. There is no real hint of wheat, though perhaps more than an inkling of hops. The brew is supposedly a Dunkel and supposedly has pecans in it as well, but the sweetness overwhelms any hint at nutty or roasty notes.

The mouthfeel is reasonably good – full, to start – but gives way to a thinner fruity spread. The sip is surprisingly complex with a semblance of hop character on the sides of the tongue and a malt-coating quality. The initial peach-and-apricot flavor overwhelms the finish but, after a few slightly squeamish sips, settles down a bit to let the rest of the brew come out.

There might be an inkling of pecans in the top of the palate, but it is quickly washed away in a flood of soft, pitted fruits. The surest hints of a wheat beer are in the bubbles – the effervescence matches an active bottle-condition wheat, but there is no soapy banana and bubblegum touch; neither the tangy zest that you get when you sip a golden wheat nor the surprisingly buttery cleanliness of a dunkelweiss.

The beer would succeed more, I think, without the fruit essence spoiling the finish. This is more akin to Magic Hat #9 than any German dark wheat, and Spoetzl needs to tone down the sweetness. Try one, it’s not unpleasant. In fact, you may love it, but this one’s not for me.

Saint Arnold Elissa

Saint Arnold Brewing Co.
Houston, TX
Elissa IPA

Now that I’m in the Great State of Texas, I’m trying as many Texas beers as possible. Here’s one from Saint Arnold, a brewery with about ten selections, and which claims to be Texas’ oldest craft brewery. I’ve tried a couple of these while out at night and so far they’ve been good.

The pour immediately jumps up with a good inch of orange-tinged head that’s rocky and lively. The clarity is excellent and the carbonation is a steady string of pearls feeding the now slightly dissipated but still frothy head. The color is copper and orange, like a setting sun, but with les retinal burn.

The nose is very sticky and floral – this beer smells like West Coast hops all the way. Grapefruit and a fragrant and resinous sweetness out of what is sure to be a great hop bite. The mouthfeel is excellent. The malt kicks in at first but is quickly swept to the back of the palate by a wash of crisp hops that snaps but doesn’t sting. Those hops really impart a luscious citrus body that is complex and full but still refreshing and not overwhelming (at least not for a hophead like me).

This is as close to Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale as any bottle I can think of offhand. Perhaps it lacks some of the heavyweight punch that Sierra carries (I’m biased), but this is a truly wonderful example of American IPA. A thick trellis-work of lacing hangs around the glass, too. This beer is a must for hop lovers.

Southern Star Pine Belt Pale Ale

Southern Star Brewing Co.
Conroe, TX
Pine Belt Pale Ale

From a can and from Texas, this beer was just asking to get consumed by the ol’ Brew Yorker in Dallas. I tried Southern Star’s Bombshell Blonde the other night and enjoyed it once I fumbled the name on the first try and finally ordered it. This can of Pinebelt is a 16oz, though. It’s like a normal can, but better.

The head billows up to a fine and active orange-hued inch and isn’t going anywhere in a hurry. The clarity is hazy, which is always exciting for a pale ale – I’m willing to bit at least a little bit of dry-hopping occurred. As I write, the head has started to subside a bit and leaves behind a tight webbing of lace.

The color is a deep amber orange – an almost tortoise-shell roan. This is a beautiful brew. The nose is smells like melted orange candy slices covered in crystallized sugar. The malt is very biscuity, not heavy and bready. There is a vinous quality to the nose – certainly not unpleasant – and may indicate a high ABV. Likewise, aroma of resin emerges, much like the beer’s name hints at.

The mouthfeel is great, the beer is full, but even. Bitter spices dry the top of the mouth quickly, followed by a roundhouse of hops that don’t hit a citrus note so much as a pine note, but you are not overwhelmed as is the case with many American Pale Ales.. The result is a woody finish that is supremely dry, like a desiccated pinecone, but one that is not unpleasant. The lacing hangs about the glass like snow drifting on the boughs of those same evergreens.

This is not a typical thrashing of hops, but most hopheads will be intrigued by it, if not impressed. The beer is like Gregory Peck – dry, but with character.

So far, Texas beers are kicking ass and taking names.

Shiner Bock

Spoetzl Brewery
Shiner, TX
Shiner Bock

Brew York City has moved! After much deliberation, your friendly neighborhood Brew Yorker has moved to Dallas. Despite my southern sojourn, this blog will stay the same After all, Brew York City is an ideal – that good beer can be enjoyed by all, anywhere. Even Texas. I thought it fitting that my first Texas review be the iconic Shiner Bock.

With its yellow label and elegant goat-head bottle top, it is a lovely example of local production. Bocks are typically celebration beers, first brewed in the German town of Einbeck in the 1300s. I always like bocks as they are a nice departure from my hoppy exploits. Bocks are usually strong and malty. A not-too-soft pour develops a just off-cream white head that is rocky and flies up to about an inch, settling quickly to an even coating of white over the top of the beer.

The color is amber and deep caramel, shading towards a light cola brown, but sitting more in the orange range. The nose is almost all malt. There is a carob and brown sugar aroma that carries through on a cantaloupe lightness that seems it would dull what would ordinarily be a hefty brew.

The mouthfeel is good, very much like a pub lager. The effervescence swells like a pilsner, but the hops are not present at the beginning of the sip. The first thing you notice is a real Viennese breadiness that is at once fulfilling and slightly chewy, but light and not overwhelming. The sip is not sticky, though the flavor subsists well on the tongue. A faint grassiness cleans up the swallow and leaves the malt and molasses behind. There is not a lot of lacing, but what is there is crystalline and weighty.

For a cheaper beer, I will take this over almost any of the bigger affordable brews any day. I would certainly recommend this with some BBQ, I think the clean malt would accentuate the brown sugar sweetness of the food, while the grassy ending would help to tamp out any flames that might accompany your ribs or brisket. I like this brew!