giving everybody's favorite texan brewery another chance

okay, so everyone talks about how good shiner is.

i've had shiner hefeweizen, and its fucking abysmal.

i've tried shiner bock, which everyone raves about, and thought it was okay but nothing special at all.

but i was looking at beer today at the store, was going to stick with something cheap, but saw a shiner beer i hadn't tried before....the "bohemian black lager" (their take on a schwarzbier)

so i figured i'd give it a shot. i'm halfway through my first one.....and.....


its okay. not bad at all, but not great. i didnt have very high expectations, so i'm not too disappointed, but schwarzbier is one of my favorite styles.

its kinda thin and watery, a touch of a metalic undertaste to it.

i think i can understand it, though. texas is hot. very hot. you would need a very refreshing beer in texas. this is my theory, anyway.

but its like when i'm in key west....as much as i love beer.....all i can seem to stomach in that hot weather is cold, cold watery beers like yeungling or pbr or something.

 

shiner beers are ok. they have a metallic taste to em but they're cheap and decent. there are definitely better breweries in texas... have you tried real ale?

 

Hahaha... well, most of the people I've heard raving about Shiner are college trendies from Austin who only think they know what good beer is. I've never heard beer aficionados giving high praise for this beer.

 

There are a lot of people in the northeast who rave about how great Yuengling is. It is good, but nothing compared to many other beers. I think it's really just a local/regional pride sort of thing

 

in general i agree. i'm not talking about people who really know beer. but i know TONS of people in ohio who fucking love the stuff.

the schwarzbier is okay. certainly a drinkable beer. but i wont likely buy it again unless i'm on vacation somewhere hot or something

 

I think Shiner is OK. It seems kind of "normal" and in fact you can get it at convenience stores here that usually only have Bud, Heneiken, Miller etc

 

Saranac makes an excellent schwarzbier called Black Forest.

 

i could see that, but i think you have to keep it in context. most people have never even heard of a saison or an eisbock or anything. most people haven't got much experience with beer beyond what they can get at any grocery store or gas station.

for what it is, yeungling is very good. it's flavorful, its light and refreshing, its inexpensive, and it's just all around an enjoyable beer. i wouldnt say its phenomenal, but it IS great for what it is: an affordable "every day" brew.

 

I'm not big on it, myself. Tastes just like any other low quality beer I have drank. Of course I am biased and have unfortunately become quite the beer snob.

 

it is very good. better than the shiner. samuel adams makes a pretty decent schwarzbier, too. i think they just call it "black lager." in my opinion, its one of the best beers they have.

 

They don't even distribute Shiner in NY... at least not in Western NY.

 

you aren't missing out on much.

they don't distribute yeungling in ohio or indiana. this saddens me. its good enough and cheap enough that i'd drink it often if i could get it. its not that i think its amazing, its that i think it is among the best values out there in terms of price.

 

fuck Shiner. but... Lonestar, now thats a beer.

just kidding. drink Real Ale or Saint Arnolds IPA and you're good to go.

 

luckily i also got two 50ml bottles of highland park scotch, so i have two glasses of scotch waiting for me when i decide to drink them. so i wont have to stick to this beer if i dont want to.

 

alcohol sounds terrible right now. i'm hungover.

 

definitely closer to a real beer, right there.

 

my first shiner was shiner hefeweizen. that should have been a big giveaway.

shiner hefeweizen is NOT a hefeweizen, and doesnt even approach it. its your typical bland american wheat beer. it could be fixed very easily and affordably by switching to an appropriate yeast. theres nothing wrong with the malt or hops, but the yeast is all kinds of wrong.

 

you are such a hefe snob. american hefes can be good too. though i'm not saying shiner's is.

 

Pyramid Hefe 4 lyphe.

am I the only one who is in love with it?

 

yes