The Three Kings of Texas Beer

Those of us who have grown up in Texas know these three prominent names of Texas beer: Lone Star, Pearl and Shiner. They have been around since the 1800s and hanging in against the national beer brands and the new craft beers of today. So Suzanne and I decided to see what has happen to these iconic Texas beers in a three part travel blog. I hope we can jog your memory and put a smile on your face as you remember your first Lone Star Beer or Pearl Beer or Shiner Beer.

Part 1

Lone Star Beer, the National Beer of Texas, may be the best known of the three Kings of Texas Beers. Adolphus Busch, of St. Louis beer fame, and his partners built this large mechanized brewery in San Antonio, Texas in 1883 and began selling beer under various names. In 1940, the formula developed by Peter Kreil of Munich, Germany was brewed and named “Lone Star Beer”. The National Beer of Texas was born!

The brewery looked like a castle against the backdrop of the Hill Country sky. One can only imagine the hustle of the workers as they brewed the famous beer and got it out the door to make another hard working Texan happy after a long day of work. A tall, cold longneck was just waiting to quench the thirst of a dry-mouth cowboy at his favorite old watering hole. Unfortunately, those days are past.

The old Lone Star brewery in San Antonio closed in 1993 and has been converted into The San Antonio Museum of Art. The Museum is a great place to visit when in San Antonio. The museum exhibits include American, Asian, and European art, but somehow the neon lawn chair seemed like the best fit for a Lone Star building. In 1956 the Lone Star Brewery of San Antonio purchased the Buckhorn Saloon collection of horns and wildlife and created the hospitality and sampling room. The Buckhorn Hall of Horns is forever linked with Lone Star Beer. However, the Buckhorn collection was sold in 1996 and moved once again to a new home in San Antonio as a private Museum.

Although Lone Star beer has been sold and owned by various out-of-state breweries and sold outside of Texas, it still rings true as a beer Of Texas, By Texas and For Texas. Singers have sung about Lone Star beer and it has been featured in movies about Texas. Who doesn’t remember the red, white and blue armadillo with the emblem of Lone Star Beer on its side? The National Beer of Texas’s historic shield and star reminds us what a great state we live in as we travel and see Texas Thru My Back Door!