Shiner Bock?

After spending a prolonged period of time in Texas a few years back I've developed quite an affinity for this beer.

My problem? As best I can tell, they still don't sell it in Illinois. It's commonly available in Iowa and Wisconsin according to sources in both states, but still not here.

Am I offbase in thinking this, and I've just not looked in the right places? (I'll even admit to stopping at random liquor stores to check, when I have a moment and I see a new one.)

Does anyone have any insight as to why they might not sell it here?

Hi,

This was discussed last year on the listserv. Illinois has only a handful of liquor distributors, the largest is Judge & Dolph, Ltd. owned by Arthur Wirtz who also owns the Blackhawks.

To engage any of these distributors is a substantial economic hurdle, which some firms like your favored beer choose to opt out. Fortunately, Wisconsin is only 50 miles from Chicago.

I'm sure there are others here who will happily fill in the details.

Regards,

I had a surprisingly delicious and refreshing Shiner Bock ice cream at Amy's Ice Cream in Austin in the spring of '03... I opted for the fresh strawberry add-on- the citric tang was a great foil for the creamy hoppiness of the confection... highly recommended if you're in the area and they have a batch.

I found it at grocery stores in Milwaukee.
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I've had Shiner Bock many times, and it's good. But another, similar, arguably better better bock comes from Huber in Monroe, Wisconsin. And it's available around here. Try this:

http://glunzbeers.com/portfolio

and look for BERGHOFF/HUBER BREWERY

Huber also makes the beers for The Berghoff on Adams

I developed a real affinity for this beer when I was at the University of Texas. And I too miss it a lot.

Don't label me a heretic, but I actually think the Michelob Amber Bock might not a bad alternative. I am pretty sure that the Michelob product is just Ziegen Bock relabeled for national sale. Ziegen Bock was a beer that A-B developed specifically for the Texas market to try to compete with Shiner Bock, which has a pretty significant market share in Texas. I haven't tried Michelob Amber Bock, but I think Ziegen Bock is actually a pretty decent facimile of Shiner.