As long time Texas residents, we wanted to tour the iconic Shiner brewery for a while. Finally, one hot summer day we decided to drive to Shiner, TX to check out the brewery and sample the refreshing Shiner beer. Shiner is a small town with the population of just under 2,200 people. It is a long drive from any major city in Texas. It takes about 1.5-2 hours to drive from Austin or San Antonio, about a 2.5-hour drive from Houston, and a 4.5-hour drive from Dallas. The brewery’s official name is Spoetzl Brewery, and it is probably the biggest attraction in Shiner, TX. You can also check out Edwin Wolters Memorial Museum and Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church if you are looking for additional things to do in Shiner. The brewery is beautiful, clean and very modern, even though it was founded in 1909. The tours are hosted daily from 10:30am till 4pm, and on Sundays from 12:30-4 pm. The cost of the tour starts at $10, and most people pay $15-20 per tour to get some swag such as branded beer glasses and sunglasses. Reservations are recommended, especially on the weekends. For example, we drove t0 Shiner on Saturday, got stuck in traffic, arrived late and missed our original appointment. We had to wait for almost an hour until we got admitted to the next tour. We suspect the brewery is not as busy on weekdays. Another benefit of touring the brewery on a weekday is you will get to see the workers/ factory belts in action on the assembly line. The tour: The tour starts with an informative black and white video projected on the doors of the brewery. You will learn about the history of Shiner and Spoetzl Brewery and proceed to a spacious well-lit room with a showroom kitchen and copper stills. You will see what ingredients are used in Shiner beer and why each of them is so important. The folks who work at the brewery exude pride in Spoetzl Brewery and Shiner, and they celebrate employees’ tenure. For example, they have a cute hat display to honor employees who have worked at the brewery the longest. Next, you will proceed to a room with a long screen to see a fun aminated video about Shiner beer. Your kids will love it because it looks like a cartoon. The next destination is probably the most interesting part of the tour. You will see a few beautiful sculptures made with beer bottles, beer cans, and a vintage yellow truck among other attractions. Remember to take pictures while you are there! This area also offers visitors a full view of the entire assembly line, including pasteurizing, boxing, and labeling areas. Your tour guide will tell you about the beer production process and speed, and she will try to package a box of beer herself in a fun experiment. You will pass by a map of “Shiner fans in Taxes and beyond” to see the visitors from all over the world. We learned a lot of interesting facts about the brewery and its sustainability practices. It was great to know that 97% of brewery’s waste is recycled. Also, the brewery donated millions of dollars to local communities and a variety of charitable organizations over the years. In addition, they provide scholarships for deserving students with financial need who are graduates of Shiner High School or Shiner’s St. Paul High School. The final tour destination is a museum with all beers ever crafted at the brewery. It looks like a yellow bar with lots of memorabilia, posters, photos, and several glass displays with rare beer bottles and cans. You will exit to the room with copper stills and kitchen to conclude your tour. On the way back, remember to check the brewery’s cool gift shop that has tons of t-shirts, hats, glasses and other trinkets and paraphernalia. Tips for families:
The brewery has a nice outdoor area with picnic tables and live music on the weekends. Your kids will have plenty of space to roam around while you enjoy Shiner beer. You should probably plan to spend 2-3 hours at the brewery, and we highly recommend thinking about your food options in advance. We toured the brewery on Saturday, and we saw a couple food trucks with sweets and seafood. If your kids are picky eaters, remember to pack enough snacks for them because food options are limited in Shiner. Surprisingly, lots of restaurants are closed on weekends in Shiner, and we had a hard time finding healthy lunch options after we finished the tour.
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Seguin is a small town in Texas with the population of about 29,000 people. Seguin was founded in 1838, and it is one of the oldest towns in Texas. Seguin was named in honor of Juan Seguín, a Tejano Texian freedom fighter and early supporter of the Republic of Texas. Seguin’s rich history put its downtown district on the National Register of Historic Places. We enjoyed touring Seguin’s downtown and nearby neighborhoods. It has a lot of charming restaurants, shops and historic buildings. Our daughter had fun tossing a coin in the Alfred H. Koebig art deco fountain at Seguin’s Central Park and running up and down in the gazebo in front of the courthouse. We highly recommend going on the Heritage Village tour at Los Nogales. Kids will get a kick out of the Dietz Doll House on 415 South River Street. In addition to historic houses, wells and churches, we saw a wheeled calaboose with barred windows that hauled prisoners to work on country roads. We also toured Seguin’s Power Plant restaurant and the adjacent Max Starcke park. Seguin’s Power Plant built on the Saffold Dam has truly majestic views. The park and dam were designed in 1938 by Robert Hugman, the architect of the famous River Walk in San Antonio, TX. The power plant is no longer working; however, most of its machinery is still in place. The city leased the abandoned building to The Power Plant Grill restaurant and to a tube launching venue for floating the river. Seguin also has a state-of-the-art playground, Kids Kingdom Playscape, located across the road from the golf course and Seguin Wave Pool at Max Starcke Park. The park used to be a pecan orchard prior to the park's dedication in 1938. The park also has natural fishing area, paddling trail, walking trail (0.8 miles), tennis, basketball and volleyball courts, and the Little League baseball-softball complex for kids. Interesting facts: In the 19-th century, Seguin had the largest concentration of concrete buildings in the United States. An esteemed inventor Dr. John E. Park moved his family to Seguin in 1846 to work on his special recipe of concrete also known as limecrete. Seguin had all materials necessary for concrete production such as gravel, sand, lime, and clay. By 1870-s the town had about a hundred buildings made of limecrete, including the courthouse, churches, schools, houses and structures like cisterns and walls. About 20 of these buildings are still standing today. Port Aransas is a city on Mustang Island that has one of the best beaches in Texas. This small town with the population of slightly above four thousand people is one of the most family-friendly destinations on the Texas coast. Less than 4 hours away from Austin and Houston, and 6.5 hours away from Dallas, Port Aransas is within a reasonable driving distance for most Texans. We found Port Aransas quiet and charming. We loved that it has a few high-end communities like Cinnamon Shore or Palmilla Beach that offer very nice cottages, houses and condos on par with Florida’s Rosemary Beach. For budget travelers, there are plenty of vacation rentals on Air B&B and VRBO for a fraction of the cost. You can even camp out on the beach or bring an RV for up to three nights. Thing to Know Before You Go:
Our Favorite Kid-Friendly Activities: - Surfing and swimming - Flying kites - Fishing - Building sand castles - Building a fire on the beach (allowed if no larger than 3 ft. x 3 ft.) |
AuthorFamily-friendly travel tips from the Hupps ArchivesCategories |