Finding Shiner Bock

This morning I found myself on an epicurean mission. I decided to track down a case or two of one of the best craft beers in the country, that star in the Spoetzl Brewery crown, Shiner Bock. (Shiner Blonde, a lighter sister, is a close 2nd place favorite for many.)

Obviously, it's a beer not distributed in Indiana. (Kahn's says they have at least one request a month for it.) But I figured I had to be able to locate it *somewhere*. And I'm always up for a challange. After calls to Sam's (the megawine/beer warehouse in downtown Chicago) and a few other places, I struck out in Illinois and the Chicagoland area. Someone at the brewery thought it might be distributed in Ohio. A call to the good folks at Kahn's led me to The Party Source -- a venerable Cincinnati beer seller with only one problem -- they're actually in Kentucky. They pointed me to Jungle Jim's -- also a beer megamarket, but in Ohio.

I'm happy to report that after much calling and research, I now have two cases of Shiner Bock on order at Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati. They did caution me that their Shiner has been ordered for some time and no beer has actually appeared yet. Their current order is already a month late. Even so, it was the best news I had all day. (And it was so much better than my backup plan which involved trying to talk someone at home in Oklahoma through purchasing and shipping it to me.) As soon as it arrives, I'll be making an impromptu drive to Ohio to collect my precious brew. (And with end of month birthdays for fellow fans, I'll be sharing it out.) I'm hoping the lovely folks in Shiner, Texas don't keep us waiting too long!