Spreading Holiday Cheer

Shiner brews local love into every Texan’s favorite holiday beer

A toast to the holidays.

Shiner Beers/Facebook

It’s the most popular beer of the year: Shiner Cheer. Yes, Spoetzel Brewery’s holiday dunkelweizen is more popular than even its flagship Shiner Bock beer, a fact that’s extra incredible when you remember that Shiner Cheer isn’t sold year-round.

The brewery’s shortest-selling yet largest-volume seasonal beer usually releases around October, when you start to see its festive red and white label popping up in grocery stores, specialty beverage shops, bars, and restaurants all over Texas.

The beloved seasonal brew is made with Texas peaches and pecans, with caramelized malts providing the rich base. Knowing that it’s the largest craft brewery in the state of Texas, Spoetzel does all it can to use local products, supporting the state as much as it supports them.

Watch the video to learn a bit more about Shiner Cheer.

video promoted craft-beer

Farewell, ElRo

Creative Montrose pizzeria will shutter after only a year-and-a-half

ElRo restaurant pizza

Photo by Julie Soefer

ElRo Pizza & Crudo

An acclaimed Houston pizzeria will soon serve its final pies. ElRo Pizza & Crudo will close after service on December 31.

In a post on Instagram, chef-owner Terrence Gallivan thanks his staff for their dedication and his customers for their support. “We hope to see you all over the next couple weeks. Come celebrate with us,” he writes.

Open since June 2023, ElRo intrigued diners who enjoyed Gallivan’s work at pioneering Houston restaurant The Pass & Provisions. At ElRo, the chef served a modified version of the Provisions pizza recipe alongside crudos and shareable small plates such as arancini and housemade sausage. It earned four nominations in this year’s CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, including Best New Restaurant and Chef of the Year.

Sadly, Gallivan tells CultureMap that business has seen “a steady decline in business for many months.” Recently, the restaurant had tried a number of initiatives to draw in diners, such as steak night on Tuesday and fried chicken on Saturday.

The early announcement gives diners two weeks to make one more visit (or two) to the restaurant before it closes. Customers may want to time their visit for happy hour, which takes places from 3-6 pm Tuesday-Friday. It includes half-off glasses of wine, $4 draft beers, $9 select cocktails, and food specials.

Gallivan adds that he doesn’t know yet what his next move will be. Hopefully, he’s got one more comeback in him. Houston is a more fun town to dine in when Gallivan is cooking in it.

news-you-can-eat pizza closings

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