Spinning wheels and burning gas. As of late I’ve been running around the 4th largest City in the U.S.A doing my thing trying to reel in anything old, interesting, and considered collectible. A rare sealed jazz funk lp, some vintage tube audio equipment, and a lot of “that’s just kind of cool” has helped me to pay a barrage of fiscal necessities that appear every 6 months. Most notably in mid April. I may be a free spirit at heart but that doesn’t mean I’m irresponsible.
Work has become a constant for me and life a little too routine. I figure I can go for another two months before routine living drives me crazy. Around that time I should be good to go roam back out into the wild blue yonder, the next chapter.
Last weekend I made a day trip, two hours away, to a fine Texas institution, the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas. It was established in 1909 by Czech and German Settlers. At First they were having a tough go at it because they really didn’t know how to brew beer. That’s when they put the word out and found a guy by the name of Kosmos Spoetzl. He was a German immigrant who had devoted his life to the craft of brewing. Kosmos had even gone so far as to spend time in Egypt where beer was apparently first brewed.
Things really turned when Kosmos came on the scene and Shiner began to produce a desirable beverage. Somehow the brewery survived prohibition by selling ice, soda, and near beer to a loyal local population.
In the 1970’s all of the small breweries in America were either shutting down or being bought up by the larger breweries to the point where there were only around 40 brewing companies in the states. Spoetzl Brewing kept plugging along catering to a loyal central Texas customer base. The brewery was very small and easy to manage.
With the 80’s came the advent of Micro brewing which was born in the Pacific Northwest. Small breweries and brew pubs slowly began to open across the U.S.A. to the point of now where there are thousands of little companies brewing beer to one extent or another.
The few original small breweries that survived the buy outs and fierce competition of the 1970’s hopped on the Micro band wagon and started experimenting with variety. Spoetzl brewing was sold to an individual who poured marketing into a once limited seasonal flavor to make it a year round success, Shiner Bock. The brewery has expanded steadily in recent times while Shiner Bock makes its way to becoming available throughout most of the United States. The brewery remains privately owned by a Texan.
Like most Americans I’m a mixed mutt of European heritage but I do have a healthy dose of Texas Czech blood which makes me especially appreciative of the little brewery in Shiner, Texas.
Aside of work, a side trip to Shiner, and brisk 12 mile runs on Sunday mornings I recently went for a drive on the beach. Surfside was a mess. I have no idea where all of the tree debris came from but I know the summer drought last year killed a lot of trees. I guess a lot of it was washed down into the Gulf via the Bayous. See photos below.
No comments:
Post a Comment