Shiner Beer Marks 100th Birthday

HOUSTON - Hoist a glass to Shiner Beer, which is celebrating its 100th birthday.

The beer is synonymous with its hometown of Shiner, Texas, where an association of home brewers kick-started their craft back in 1909.

By 1915, the association had a brewmaster: Kosmos Spoetzl, a German immigrant whose name is now on the brewery.

But this beer business struggled and almost folded in 1989, when it was purchased by Carlos Alvarez of San Antonio.

Under Alvarez's leadership, Shiner Bock became the brewer's flagship product.

Today, Shiner Beer comes in more than half a dozen flavors and it's available in 41 states, plus Mexico.

More than five and a half million cases are consumed every year, all of it made by the 75 employees at the Spoetzl Brewery.

If you're going to toast Shiner's success, you might as well lift a bottle of "Shiner 100," a brew specially created to commemorate the centennial.