In Texas, especially in the summer, it’s all about beer and tequila. Decades of commercial advertising featuring rugged cowboys or wealthy patróns, along with memories (both real and imagined) of throwing back tequila shots with beer chasers in Border-town bars have enshrined both beverages in the popular culture. These days, the latest innovative coupling of the two is what is called the “beer-rita.” This concoction is the gravity-defying delivery of a 7 ounce mini or “pony” bottle of beer (Mexican brands creatively labeled with the diminutive Spanish suffix “ita” or “ito” as in Coronita and Modelito), with the bottle turned upside down into a frozen margarita and served in a large goblet. The beer-rita is the perfect tribute to our dual heritage from native Mexicans and early German immigrants here in South Texas — and trust me, it is delicioso!

     But the real subject here is beer, specifically Lone Star Beer or “The National Beer of Texas” as it has historically been called. The Lone Star Brewing Company was founded right here in San Antonio back in 1883 by a group of local German-American businessmen and “one other,” a silent partner. This turned out to be none other than  Adolphus Busch, the beer magnate of Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis. 

     According to a brief history that appeared in the San Antonio Express-News, before the wave of German immigrants came into Texas in the 1840s, most beer was made at home. These were heavier ales and stouts that didn’t need aging.  In 1855, hotelier William Menger opened the first commercial brewery in the State in San Antonio, the Western Brewery, that produced a lighter, lager beer German settlers preferred, but it closed in 1878 just as the railroads were arriving. By then, Northern breweries were already taking advantage of the growing Texas market by shipping beer by rail. Thus, the Busch operation, The Lone Star Brewing Company, saw a competitive opportunity by opening a local brewery bottling lagers, thereby cutting down on shipping costs and catering to local tastes. (“Lone Star Brewing Co. brought mass-produced beer to San Antonio,” SA Express-News, Paula Allen, 1/3/2018)

     The Lone Star Brewing Company opened in a wooden structure on the San Antonio River down on Jones Avenue in 1884. It didn’t take long, however, for success to require expansion. A new four-story building designed in an Italianate Romanesque style with towers and parapets was completed on the site in 1885. The original building is still located there. As the operation continued to expand,  the 20 acre campus on the banks of the San Antonio River became a model of the “science of brewing,” and a private rail spur right at the front door made Lone Star a model of shipping efficiency!

     The brand’s heyday came to an abrupt end, however, with the enactment of Prohibition in 1919. Over the next several years, the brewery complex had many non-alcoholic reincarnations,  but it gradually fell into disrepair until it was rediscovered in 1972. The brewery was purchased by the San Antonio Museum Association, added to the National Register of Historic Places, and eventually transformed into the San Antonio Museum of Art, which is what it is today. When it was christened in 1977 by then Mayor Lila Cockrell, a bottle of beer rather than a bottle of champagne was used for the ceremony. When the Museum officially opened to the public in 1981, its advertising announcement was “We’re Brewing Art.”

     Today, the San Antonio Museum of Art is the only accredited museum of art in the United States that originally served as a brewery. Examples of adaptive reuse among art museums in Europe are fairly common — the Louvre, formerly a palace of the kings; the Musée d’Orsay from a Paris train station; and the Tate Modern in London from a power plant — but SAMA is a notably rare example of such reuse in America. 

     Acquisitions and expansions since its opening has made SAMA a world-class museum that the City points to with pride. It houses the outstanding Nelson Rockefeller/Robert Winn Latin American folk art collection; stunning works from the ancient Mediterranean World including Egyptian, Greek and Roman art; an extensive collection of Asian art and Chinese ceramics; extensive European and American paintings from classic to contemporary; and a 7,000 square foot special exhibition space (where I was first encountered the fabulous art glass of Dale Chihuly many years ago). There is even a lovely restaurant serving Tuscan fare called Tre Tratttoria across the courtyard right on the River..”

     Just recently, in honor of the Lone Star Brewery’s original inception 140 years ago, a new exhibit opened at SAMA dedicated to the history, art and architecture of the museum facility itself (see poster above) Not surprisingly, the slogan for this special exhibit is “Still Brewing Art,” which is consistent with the Museum’s stated mission to “… preserve, exhibit, and interpret significant works of art representing a broad range of history and world cultures, which will strengthen our shared understanding of humanity.”

     I am proud to be a member of this Museum community, but I also must admit to a personal memory of Lone Star. You see, after Prohibition closed the Jones Avenue facility, the Muchlenbach Brewing Co. of Kansas City bought the name and began producing Lone Star beer down on what is now 600 Lone Star Blvd. on the South side of San Antonio. Lone Star beer was made there from 1940 to 1996. When I was an undergraduate student here in San Antonio years ago, my friends and I used to go over to that Lone Star brewery on Saturdays to enjoy the free (and liberal) tastings offered there — no questions asked about ID. 

     Lone Star Beer is still produced here in Texas (by Miller Brewing in Ft. Worth, I believe), but it isn’t always easy to find, and almost impossible to find in other states. But, to my nostalgic delight, at the opening of “Still Brewing Art” a couple weeks ago, they served — what else? — Lone Star beer! And they didn’t ask me for my ID this time either.