E-Malt.com News article: USA, TX: Spoetzl Brewery expanding bottling and brewhouse operations

Anywhere Spoetzl Brewery brewmaster Jimmy Mauric goes, he sees his product, Victoria Advocate reported on January 8.

"Whenever I travel and see the beer, 'good product,'" he said he hears. "When you're in Vegas on Fremont Street and get Shiner Bock, I say 'man, we've arrived.'"

The 36-year brewmaster at Spoetzl Brewery and Shiner drinkers might begin to see double in the next few years. The brewery is expanding its bottling and brewhouse operations, giving it the capacity in late 2015 to make twice as much of the product, which can be found nationwide.

Additionally, the site will have a new hospitality space and gift shop.

The brewery ended 2014 having produced about 600,000 barrels of beer, Mauric said. When its state-of-the-art machinery is working in full effect, it will be able to produce 1.2 million barrels.

"We've got some growing we can do," Mauric said. "We've been growing here throughout the years. There's been a huge demand for our beer."

Shiner got its start in 1909 in Shiner and continues to be brewed and bottled at Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner. Now, the city and the beer's identity are used interchangeably.

"Shiner Bock put us on the map," Mauric said.

Shiner Mayor Fred Hilscher said the brewery is a staple in the community. It's a financial juggernaut for the community, having had its hands in student scholarships, disaster relief and sponsorship of local events.

"They do a lot," the mayor said. "They give a lot back to the community."

The brewery's expansion is a testament to its success, he said.

"It's a great symbol of what they are and what they've accomplished," the mayor said.

Part of the beer and brewery's allure comes from its being small and connected to a small town, the brewmaster said.

"People can relate to us," he said. "We're in the middle of a pasture. It doesn't get any better than that."

The drink also gained a pivotal following with college students, including University of Texas students, Mauric noted.

"They drank it, it was smooth, and they started to like it," he said. "They graduated, and they took Shiner with them."

Mauric said he wasn't sure about how Shiner would be received in New York but drinkers fell in love, he said. The same thing happened in Chicago and other cities across the country.

"There are a lot of Texas Exes," he said about the school's alumni.

Through the years, the brewery's production steadily has increased.

In the 1970s, the site produced an average of about 20,000 barrels annually. Then in 1989, 30,000 barrels were produced. The facility's production has grown 20 times in 25 years.

Mauric said he's astonished by the progression of the brewery

"It's just unbelievable. Like a proud daddy," he described himself.

And guests, he said, will enjoy its new features.

"We are really going to have a show piece that people will come from all over to see," he said. "It'll be worth the drive."


09 January, 2015