Trip to Shiner (1)

My Prince and I took a trip to Shiner, Texas, earlier this week. We've always wanted to start seeing Texas whenever we got the time. Time flies, it seems, and we decided we'd never get the time unless we made it. So, we went to Shiner for a couple of nights.

The major attraction in Shiner, of course, is the Spoetzl Brewery, where Shiner beer is made. We are not big drinkers, indeed we hardly drink at all, but we do know a good beer when we find one. Naturally, we toured the brewery.

Seeing the big copper kettles was fun. Even more fun was getting to see the bottling and packing machinery. We learned about the origin of ice cubes (the brewery made near beer and ice during Prohibition). We were pleased to hear about the inclusion of Texas products, including bottles, in the manufacturing process.

The point of a beer tour for most folks is the Hospitality Room. No matter what it is called, this would be the place where samples of the product are available for tasting. My Prince and I agreed that we didn't need the 4 cups (4 oz., I think) of beer that we would be allowed; instead we would choose what we wanted to taste and split the cups between us.

• We tried the Spezial Leicht, a low carb beer that tasted really nice. It had the full beer flavor and, we were told, 3.2% alcohol, although we never seemed to feel any effects from it.
  
• We tried the Hefeweizen, an unfiltered wheat brew. I didn't much care for it, but My Prince thought it was pretty good.
• We tried the Bohemian Black Lager, a "black beer" typically brewed in Germany. My Prince liked this, too, but I loved it. Indeed, I drank most of the cup we "shared" and part of another one--which is one of several reasons why I don't drink much. Nope. But it did taste wunderbar!

So we turned in half of our tokens and didn't drink any more. We'd had enough to feel comfy, and it was time to move on to lunch. . .