| In the 1840's, German immigrants began to come to | | | | Spoetzl, a Bavarian whose family had a beer recipe |
| Texas in large numbers, and because of that, beer in | | | | that dated back several generations. To this day, the |
| Texas was not far behind. Texas beer has become a | | | | Spoetzl Brewery makes its Shiner and Shiner Bock |
| favorite of beer lovers in and out of the state. | | | | beers using the same formula. And most tasks of |
| When Charles Nimitz, who was the grandfather of | | | | the brewing process are still done by hand, using one |
| Admiral Chester Nimitz, acquired his frontier hotel in | | | | of the smallest commercial brew kettles in the United |
| Fredericksburg, Texas in 1855, he felt it was natural | | | | States. |
| to have his own beer brewery. Residents of | | | | Both Pearl and Shiner survived Prohibition, at a time |
| Fredericksburg, as well as noted guests such as | | | | when most breweries did not. This was because |
| Robert E. Lee, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Ulysses S. | | | | they sold other products temporarily, such as "near |
| Grant thought the brewery was a great idea. This | | | | beer" and ice. After Otto Koehler's death, his wife |
| establishment became the focal point for the town, | | | | Emma guided Pearl through those tough times. In |
| and to this day is considered the beginning of Texas | | | | 1933, and just 15 minutes after the repeal of |
| beer history. | | | | Prohibition, more than 100 trucks and 25 boxcars |
| Scholz's Garden, the old watering hole in Austin | | | | loaded with beer rolled out of the Pearl plant to |
| Texas, has been serving beer since 1866. About that | | | | destinations throughout the state. |
| same time, City Brewery of San Antonio, under | | | | Within 10 years, the Lone Star Brewery joined Pearl |
| owner Otto Koehler, built a small plant that became | | | | in San Antonio, and became the third of the major |
| the headquarters for Pearl Beer in 1885. Pearl later | | | | breweries in Texas, and continue to produce and |
| became the first beer of Texas to be distributed | | | | distribute beer which Texans enjoy today. |
| outside its immediate area. Pearl purchased its | | | | These were not the only breweries in Texas coming |
| formula from a brewery in Bremen, Germany that | | | | from German influences, however. In recent years, |
| called its beer "Perle" because of the bubbles that | | | | the Dallas Brewing Company, a new microbrewery, |
| would rise in the glass when the beer is poured. | | | | began to release a series of barley-malt beers made |
| German and Czech farmers near the small town of | | | | under the traditional German Purity Law of 1516. The |
| Shiner, Texas started another Old World brewery | | | | German brewing heritage is still very strong in Texas |
| back in 1909. To make the kind of beer they | | | | after 150 years, and appears likely to thrive for many |
| wanted, the founders of this brewery hired Kosmos | | | | more years to come. |
