Shiner Wins At Great American Beer Festival Two Years Straight; Back-to-Back Wins Cap Off Spoetzl Brewery's Most Decorated Year Ever!

Business Editors

SHINER, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 10, 2002

On Saturday, Oct. 5, an international panel of brewing experts bestowed back-to-back wins on two Shiner beers, confirming what consumers have known for years--the little brewery in Shiner, Texas, brews some of the best beers available anywhere.

For the second year in a row, the Spoetzl Brewery came home with two medals from the Great American Beer Festival(R)(GABF(R)), in Denver. Shiner Winter Ale, a seasonal brew due to hit shelves this week, won a bronze medal in the American-Style Wheat Ale category. And the brewery's flagship beer, top-selling Shiner Bock, won a bronze medal in the American-Style Dark Lager category. Both of these beers won medals in the same categories last year, a feat unprecedented in the brewery's history.

But the Spoetzl Brewery is no stranger to acclaim. In all, Shiner beers have received a total of six awards this year -- a record number for the oldest independent brewery in Texas -- from some of the world's most renowned beer competitions, including one at the Brewing Industry International Awards (BIIA), three at the World Beer Cup, and the two most recently won at the Great American Beer Festival, the nation's largest and most prestigious competition.

"The Great American Beer Festival is clearly superior to any other competition because of the quality of judging and diversity of products," said Paul Gatza, director of the Institute for Brewing Studies, America's leading educational association for the craft-brewing industry.

Shiner beers competed among a total of 1,820 beers from 393 breweries representing almost every state in the country to win these back-to-back awards.

"It's been a blockbuster year for all of us at the Spoetzl Brewery and we're very proud that our beers have achieved so much recognition," said John Hybner, Spoetzl Brewery brewmaster for 30 years. "We take pride in the care and quality we have put into each brew for the past 93 years, and we're honored to accept such overwhelming approval."

The Spoetzl Brewery was established in 1909 and offers three year-round brews and two very popular seasonal products. In addition to award-winning Shiner Bock and Shiner Winter Ale, consumers can also enjoy Shiner Hefeweizen, a bottle-conditioned, unfiltered Bavarian-style wheat brew, Shiner Blonde, a Bohemian-inspired natural golden lager, and Shiner Summer Stock(R), a German-style Kolsch bier.

For more information on the Spoetzl Brewery or the award-winning Shiner family of beers, please visit the brewery on the Web at www.shiner.com, or call the toll-free hotline at 1-800-5SHINER.