Shiner Brings Home Three Medals at the Great American Beer Festival; Shiner Bock, Shiner Light and Shiner Dunkelweizen all honored.

SHINER, Texas -- An international panel of brewing experts honored the Spoetzl Brewery, home to the award-winning portfolio of Shiner Beers, with three medals at the 2005 Great American Beer Festival, held Sept. 29th through Oct. 1st in Denver. More than 2,300 beers from 307 breweries were judged in the prestigious competition, and Spoetzl Brewery's three medals reaffirmed what consumers have known for years - that the "little brewery" in Shiner, Texas brews some of the best beers available in the country.

Receiving medals in the prestigious competition were Shiner Bock, with a Silver Medal in the American-Style Dark Lager category; Shiner Dunkelweizen, with a bronze medal in the American-Style Wheat Beer category; and Shiner Light, with a bronze medal in the American-Style "Light" Amber Lager category.

"We are very proud of our recipes that consumers have been enjoying since 1909, so to receive three medals from the largest competition in the country is very gratifying," said Jimmy Mauric, Brewmaster for Spoetzl Brewery. "We still handcraft our beers in small batches with the same pride and careful attention to quality that we have since the beginning. We're thrilled to share our beers with consumers in 35 states and the Cayman Islands, including the judges and beer fans at the GABF."

The Spoetzl Brewery is especially proud of the medal awarded to Shiner Light, since the brew was first introduced only two years ago. Shiner Light is a full-flavored, deep amber light beer, brewed with a blend of choice Munich malt and select hops to create a brew that is lower in calories, but full of the rich flavor that Shiner drinkers have come to expect. "Shiner Light was a major achievement for Spoetzl Brewery, because it wasn't easy to make a light beer that lived up to our standards of taste and quality. We are honored to receive this recognition and we're looking forward to more great things to come for Shiner Light," remarked Shamus Hanlon, Shiner's Brand Group Director of Marketing.

Shiner Dunkelweizen (formerly Shiner Winter Ale) is a Bavarian-style dark wheat beer that is brewed using the precise, old-world technique called Krausening, which results in exceptionally smooth flavor and body. Shiner Dunkelweizen's subtle flavors come from the brew's malted wheat, malted barley and two distinct hops, Saaz and Cascade. Shiner Dunkelweizen has built a reputation as one of the best beers in the world, winning a Gold Award at the 2004 World Beer Cup, a Silver Medal at the 2004 Australian International Beer Awards, Silver Medals at the 2001 GABF and the 2000 Brewing Industry International Awards (BIIA), and Bronze Medals at the 2002 and 2004 Great American Beer Festival. Shiner Dunkelweizen is the only BIIA silver medal-winning seasonal brew available in America.

Shiner Bock, the beer that made Shiner famous, is a classic American dark lager that has grown into the #4 specialty beer in America. Shiner Bock has won medals in a number of international competitions, including Bronze Medals at the 2001 and 2002 Great American Beer Festival and Bronze at the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Australian International Beer Awards.

Shiner's "Texas-sized" showing at the GABF was not only due to the strong results in the judging competition. The Spoetzl Brewery, Texas' oldest independent brewery(R), also wowed festival attendees with the amazing Shiner booth, complete with a 15' tall replica of the brewery's historical facade. Lines stretched out the door of the impressive display as beer connoisseurs from around the world lined up to taste the award-winning portfolio of Shiner beers. If the three medals from the 2005 Great American Beer Festival are any indication, consumers should continue to line up at stores around the country to buy the world-class beers brewed in the little town of Shiner, Texas.

About The Great American Beer Festival

The Great American Beer Festival has been held every year since 1982 and is presented by the Brewers Association, a not-for-profit educational, trade association for small and craft brewers. Its mission is to make quality beer and brewing knowledge accessible to all. Visit the website: www.beertown.org to learn more. The Association also hosts the bi-annual World Beer Cup (R) and is based in Boulder, Colo., U.S.A.

About The Spoetzl Brewery

The Spoetzl Brewery is the oldest independent brewery(R) in Texas and boasts a world-class, award-winning portfolio of beers. The historic "little brewery" brews four year-round brews and two highly popular seasonal products: Shiner Bock(R), the country's #4 selling craft specialty beer; Shiner Blonde, a Bohemian-inspired natural golden lager; Shiner Light, a full-flavored amber light beer; Shiner Hefeweizen, a bottle- and keg-conditioned, unfiltered Bavarian-style wheat beer; Shiner Kolsch, a German-style Kolsch bier and Shiner's summer seasonal offering; and Shiner Dunkleweizen, a widely-lauded dark wheat winter seasonal beer. During the past two years, Shiner beers have won 10 awards at major worldwide beer competitions, including the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup. For more information on the Spoetzl Brewery or the Shiner family of beers, please visit the brewery on the Web site at www.shiner.com, or call the toll-free hotline at 1-800-5-SHINER.