• Aprill Brandon •
• Originally published September 29, 2009 at midnight, updated October 2, 2009 at 9:27 a.m.

• Kosmos Spoetzl

  1914-1950

  The man who started it all, this Bavarian immigrated from Germany before landing in Shiner and working with the Shiner Brewing Association with his family recipe for a hearty malted beer. The brewery bears his name in ...

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Kosmos Spoetzl

1914-1950

The man who started it all, this Bavarian immigrated from Germany before landing in Shiner and working with the Shiner Brewing Association with his family recipe for a hearty malted beer. The brewery bears his name in tribute.

August "Gussie" Hasselbeck

1950-1966

With Spoetzl's death in 1950, his daughter hired Hasselbeck, her cousin, to continue the Shiner beer brewing tradition.

William "Bill" Bigler

1966-1968

A respected brewmaster from San Antonio, Bigler bought the brewery in 1966, bringing with him a wealth of expertise.

Chester Terpinski

1968-1972

Originally from Ohio, Terpinski bought the brewery and led the way for several innovations at the brewery. The Yankee fell so in love with the area that when it came time for him to retire, the Ohioan settled down in Shiner.

John Hybner

1972-2005

The longest serving brewmaster ever, this legend was hired by Spoetzl's daughter Miss Celie. He learned the ropes from the bottom up and became brewmaster at age 32. He retired in 2005.

Jimmy Mauric

2005-Present

Just as his predecessor, Mauric began working at the brewery at 17 and worked his way up. A native of Shiner, he learned under Hybner and is carrying on his legacy.

*All information from www.Shiner.com

Shiner - He describes himself as just a country boy from Shiner. But since 2005, Jimmy Mauric has held the esteemed title of brewmaster for Spoetzl Brewery, which produces Shiner beer.

Mauric started out at the plant 31 years ago, when he was just 17. For the next few decades, he worked from the bottom up at the brewery under the legendary former brewmaster, John Hybner.

"Yes, I always joke that I was an intern for 27 years," Mauric, who is the brewery's sixth brewmaster, said. "It was never my goal to be brewmaster. When I started, I was looking for employment, you know, a way to make my car payment. I never dreamed I'd be brewmaster someday."

After learning the ropes from Hybner, who spent a whooping 39 years as brewmaster, Mauric took over in 2005 and has been loving his job ever since.

"At a big brewery, the brewmaster is in charge of operations, but at a small brewery like ours, you do a little bit of everything. You wear a lot of different hats," he said. "I do a little bit of everything, from human relations to recipes to packaging."

Of course, what kind of brewmaster would Mauric be if he didn't drink Shiner beer? Shiner Blonde is his personal favorite, he admits, although he takes his duty very seriously and is sure to try them all.

"It's a part of my life. I drink all the products. After working at the brewery so many years, it's like second nature," he said with a smile. "I also have Shiner T-shirts, hats, jackets. My family and I are walking billboards wherever we go. We take pride in what we do here."

Shiner beer is now shipped out to 38 states and has increased production from 40,000 barrels in 1989 to over 400,000 barrels today. In addition, Shiner beer has also been making appearances in movies, especially Texas movies, but even in blockbusters such as "The Hangover," Mauric said.

"We're continuing to grow, even in this economy. And even though we are branching out to other states, Texas is still 75 percent of our total volume," he added. "There's something to be said in that. We're taking care of our own state."

As for big plans for its 100th anniversary, the brewery has events planned throughout the year in various locations. As for the local celebration in Shiner, however, they plan to keep it low-key.

"We'll eventually do something here in Shiner but it won't be elaborate. It's our moment here in Shiner, the place where it all started, and so we'll be putting on more of a family-style birthday party," Mauric said. "That's our style."

Related stories:

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Spoetzl Brewery timeline

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Aprill Brandon does what she does best...drink beer

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