Sunday Night Suds - Shiner Light

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Shiner Light lager.

When I was in high school Budweiser ran a series of commercials where someone asked for a light and then received something other than a beer at which point he said, but I wanted a Bud Light. Why do I mention this when I am not reviewing Bud Light? Because some people cannot seem to tell the difference between a good beer and just a beer.

I was talking to a co-worker the other day who was telling me that when they went out to eat and asked for a Blue Moon the waitress brought a Corona. When another person at the table asked for a Yuengling they brought a Harp. Now its one thing when the restaurant tells you that they don't have something and offers you a similar beer as an alternative. Its completely different when they don't have a clue what they are serving. For example, when we took my brother out to a steak place in NYC before his wedding I asked for a Heineken. The waitress told me that they did not have any Heineken but offered me a Stella Artois instead. Of course, I wound up liking Stella better than Heineken, but that's not the point. If you have a liquor license you should have some understanding about the liquor you are serving beyond the fact that the item is an ale or a lager (or a whiskey for that matter).

Which bring us to Shiner Light. Yes, it is a light beer so there is some tradeoff of less taste in exchange for fewer calories. The beer claims to be 120 calories and 4% abv. It does not have a strong lager taste and if consumed by itself does not really seem to have any alcohol content. I had mine tonight with some burgers and it was like drinking a beerlike soda - you can drink it with your meal and not get filled up, but still have a beer flavor. On the other hand, its miles ahead of the Silver Bullet and other macro light beers.

One other interesting quirk about the Shiner Light. The label on the back of the bottle mentions that the residents of Shiner take pride in the Shiner beers and the bottle was actually signed by a resident of Shiner, Texas (population 2080). I took another Shiner Light out of the box and surprisingly it was signed by a different resident of Shiner Texas. I wonder how many different residents have put their names on the beer.

Shiner Light is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit, although the brew does not bear the Va'ad symbol on its label. If you would like me to e-mail you the Va'ad LOC for Shiner Light, send me an e-mail and I will gladly oblige.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about Shiner Light, please follow this link http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/143/12415.

As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

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