Shiner Bock

'Shiner Bock is a distinctive, rich, full-flavored, deep amber-colored beer with an inviting smooth taste without excessive bitterness.'

Shiner Bock is an easy to drink dark lager, which is saying quite a bit. Many of the Bavarian style dark lagers I have had have had far too much carbonation and there was too much yeast in the aftertaste. Shiner Bock still has those attributes and they are anything but understated, they just don't dominate the beer in general. In fact Shiner Bock sacrifices much in the way of flavor in order to make it that much more drinkable. Personally I am fine with that, not every beer needs to be some artistic endeavor in taste. I don't want to make it seem like this beer is boring or flavorless, it just doesn't take too many chances with the formula. Sometimes a beer is a beer is a beer. At those times Shiner Bock will do just fine.

This is not my favorite beer in the Shiner line, but it is damn good no matter the circumstance. I could pick up a sixer of Shiner Bock year round and walk away satisfied. Recommended.

Shiner Bohemian Black Lager

'Here in Shiner, Texas (pop 2,070), We've been handcrafting beer since 1909. The passion of our original brewmaster , Kosmos Spoetzl, continues to inspire our efforts today. First brewed to commemorate our 97th anniversary, this Bohemian Black Lager remains true to the old-world heritage of the German and Czech Saaz and Styrian hops, and select roasted malts make this 'Schwarzbier' our darkest brew yet. PROSIT!'

'This handcrafted Bohemian black beauty is brewed with select roasted malts and imported hops'

Well I toast to this Kosmos gentleman for inspiring this beer. This is an aromatic beer that has a very strong flavor with a slight malty aftertaste. This beer is thick but not anywhere near as muddy as many 'black beers' often are. Shiner Bohemian Black Lager has a nice dry nature to it you rarely find as the carbonation to it is a perfect level and brings out the flavors wonderfully. This same dry taste adds a little kick that might offput many people who prefer their beer smooth but I enjoyed it as a nice change of pace. I like the 'hometown pride' feel of the Shiner brand and I am very intrigued as to how their other products taste. Even though this beer was not one of the best beers I have drank recently it is very still very much an individual among its peers. Recommended.