Today is my brother Taylors 22nd Birthday, and to celebrate, since I can’t be there with him in D/FW… I will choose a beer that we both enjoy, and that is nearly as Texan as we are. Today, I present my steadfast, my failsafe, my alltime favorite, and the beer that began it all. Shiner Bock. My first brewery tour was of Spoetzl years ago, a pilgrimage for myself and my buddy Michael. A great day that I would relive again and again. Many of my friends have made the trek since that day, and everyone loves it. In fact, in typing this I want to plan another trip down there.

Shiner Bock is possibly not the best beer ever made, but dammit, it really and truly is. A bock that has been crafted in Texas since 1909. Older than any of us still drinking it. The brewmaster for which the brewery is named was a man named Kosmos Spoetzl, the same man after which I named my Border Collie Kosmos.

Enjoy, on this 25th day of January, an ice cold Shiner.

For your viewing pleasure, I have a pair of old/er bottles from my collection to share.