Archive Shiner beer is giving up Bocktoberfest to invest in expanding the product in other states. Some big acts had played the festival in past years.

The only thing that could kick up a party with hundreds of kegs, half a dozen rock and country bands and more than 20,000 people is to throw it in the Mecca of Texas beer-drinking.

That used to happen in a dusty field every October in Shiner.

But after 13 years of Bocktoberfest, the fall festival that celebrates the glorious existence of Shiner beer, the owner is pulling the plug on the concert.

“I was very disappointed because it was my favorite music and beer event,” said John Rea, a Shiner devotee who has attended the past four years. “It's a good thing I hadn't bought my plane ticket yet.”

Rea lives in Chicago. Last year, he flew down just for the Bocktoberfest weekend.
Gambrinus, the San Antonio-based company that owns the 98-year-old Shiner, said it's nixing the Texas fest to focus on expanding the beer in other states.

Some fans think this tactic could backfire. Shiner may get a few outsiders to drink the beer, but it may lose thousands of proud Texans whose fond memories of Bocktoberfest keep them reaching for the yellow ram label.

“I think fans just enjoy what Shiner stands for,” said Michelle Hahn, who has made the past two festivals. “They have to consider the amount of customers they're gaining from this event. They might lose some Shiner loyalists.”

Sure, it's not a typical polka-infused, brat-serving German Oktoberfest, but it's a place where the young and the old, the locals and the wayfarers, the rock and the country fans can chill and enjoy some of the finest beers around.

Bocktoberfest started in 1994 as a way to say thanks to its fans after the brewery sold its millionth case of beer.

In recent years, the fest has been bringing in huge names: Godsmack, Kid Rock, Audio-%slave, Nickelback, Pat Green, Clint Black. Those bands have attracted mass fans, but, of course, they've cost more as well.

So, rather than going back to its original Texas roots with stars such as Robert Earl Keen, Jack Ingram and Roger Creager, the festival that is everything Texan has been axed altogether.

“I think it's the perfect representation of the state,” Rea said. “It's a perfect caption of what Texans like to do.”

Creighton A. Welch | 210SA contributor