Shiner, Texas
Set in the rolling farm country of Lavaca County, Shiner sits roughly 55 miles southeast of San Marcos in an area settled largely by German and Czech immigrants. The town is best known as the home of the Spoetzl Brewery, the maker of Shiner Bock, whose brick brewhouse has operated in Shiner for more than a century. Agriculture and the brewery anchor the small community, which draws visitors traveling between the Hill Country and the Gulf Coast.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- City
- July 2025 population
- 2,165
- Change from 2020 base
- +2%
- Land area
- 2.5 sq. mi.
- County footprint
- Lavaca County
Place type, county footprint, and land area use the Census Bureau's January 1, 2025 geography. Population uses Vintage 2025 estimates through July 1, 2025; change compares that estimate with the April 1, 2020 estimates base. Geography file | Population file
Property here runs through the appraisal district and tax office for Lavaca County. The homestead exemption, appraisal cap, protests, and any MUD, PID, or special districts all sit at the parcel level.
Official routes
Use the office for the parcel address; a mailing city is not always the governing city.
Local character
Start with Shiner itself
A few landmarks, stories, and everyday places that help give Shiner its shape.
Old Recreation
Mules dug the pool that made Sulphur Park a gathering place
A mule-dug pool, sulphur well, ball field, dance floor, and crowded opening day built a recreation stop between Shiner and Moulton.
Railroad Town
The railroad made Shiner, but Half Moon did not vanish at once
The railway shifted commerce from Half Moon to Henry B. Shiner's land, though the older community kept gathering after the depot opened.
Then zoom out to Lavaca County
Settlement History
Lavaca County has deep Czech and German roots
German and Czech immigrants shaped Lavaca County in the late 1800s and their influence is still visible in local towns, churches, and food traditions.
Property Tax
Two offices handle your property taxes in Lavaca County
The Lavaca County Appraisal District sets your property value; a separate tax assessor-collector office collects what you owe.
Rivers & Creeks
Two rivers split Lavaca County's drainage map
The Navidad drains the east within the Lavaca basin, while the Lavaca crosses the county's center and carried an old colony boundary.
Nearby
Places near Shiner
Nearby counties
Local notes for nearby counties
Next steps for Shiner
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