Brewery featured on KSAT news program

Viewers of San Antonio’s KSAT-12 television station learned last weekend that the Spoetzl Brewery, Home of Shiner Beers, is also now home to quite a bit more.

That’s after David Elder—host of “Texas Eats,” San Antonio’s newest food show—stopped by in Shiner last week for a quick visit with the folks behind the all-new K. Spoetzl Distilling Co. and K. Spoetzl BBQ Co.

Those are two of the latest ventures to build on the legacy of the more-than-century-old Spoetzl Brewery, launched in 1909 by Bavarian brewmaster Kosmos Spoetzl, who not only made Shiner his home but his beer as well.

“After 114 years, the Spoetzl Brewery decided to make spirits, and so we’re just having a blast with this because beer is the basis of all spirits,” said Tom Fiorenzi, director of brewery and distillery operations.

“What we’ve done is we established some recipes already to make special brews for special types of spirits. For example, we can make a gin for a gin and tonic, or we can make a brew just for a martini.”

To get things started, Fiorenzi told Elder, Spoetzl’s folks traveled to Scotland, the birthplace of many a fine whisky, to find the best possible still to serve their distilling operations.

“If we’re going to get a great a still, then we’ve got to get it in Scotland,” he said. “The first time I saw it being created—all of it hand-malleted, them doing all the work on it by hand—we just fell in love with it right away. We have a pot still made in Scotland that we can make single malts, we can make bourbons with it. And we also have column stills that we can actually make a fantastic vodka or gin.”

Then there’s the bourbon, sealed in white American oak barrels to age. “We can’t wait for this to come out,” Fiorenzi said. “It’s going to be absolutely fantastic.”

“So, these are just babies right here, right?” Elder queried, patting one of the pale barrels gently.

“These are all our little babies,” Fiorenzi agrees.

With that, Elder sets up for his next scene: “We can’t just talk about it, we’ve got to drink it. So, we’re going to head on over, and we’re going to do some cocktails. We’re going to try those out.”

Enter innovation manager and head distiller Jessica Michalec, a fourth generation Shiner resident and the head of the distilling operations.

“So, we started with vodka because that’s the first thing that comes off the still,” says. “We have 23 rectifying trays, meaning we can make the most silent vodka you’ve ever tasted.

“Then there’s the gin,” she continues. “We have sourced Texas botanicals, and kind of paid homage to the Texas roots that we do with our beer. And then the moonshine is actually made with the bourbon mash bill that is aging currently, so this is a bit of a sneak peak before the barrel magic happens as to what it’s going to taste like.”

She reviewed the four house cocktails now offered at the brewery, each based on a barroom classic with a bit of Shiner spin:

• Half Moon Mule—Half Moon, of course, is what the community was called before it was dubbed Shiner. As to the drink itself, “super-refreshing” was how Elder described it.

• Kosmospolitan—Shiner’s take on the classic pink concoction, with a nod to their founder, Kosmos Spoetzl. “It’ll wake you up,” says Elder after one sip.

• Bea’s 19 th Hole—Shiner’s take on the John Daly (described as “like an Arnold Palmer, but boozier”). Michalek: “There’s a locally sourced sweet tea that’s kind of famous around Shiner;” Elder: “That’s my No. 1, right there. That is fantastic!”

• Spoetzloma—Shiner’s version of the Paloma, and Elder once more. “This, too, I like, and I’ve just got to say, everything here is just so smooth.”

The official grand opening for the spirits tasting room will be Memorial Day Weekend 2023, where patrons can both sample the spirits and purchase bottles to take home.

Elder also visited pitmaster Tommy Schuette on the recently opened K. Spoetzl BBQ Co., an establishment we featured here in our pages just last month.