Between Houston And San Antonio Is A Historic Charmer Called The 'Cleanest Little City In Texas'

It's a cliché, but it's true: Texas is different. Call it a state of mind (or a "vibe," as the kids say), chalk it up to the former republic's notorious independent streak or to a self-reinforcing identity feedback loop shared by its locals, but the Lone Star State truly is unique. And you can see that uniqueness in even the state's smaller towns — like Shiner, a community of under 2,200 residents that sprouts up from the state's Blackland Prairies, just over 90 miles east of San Antonio and 127 miles west of Houston.

Odds are you've never been to Shiner, Texas, but there's a solid chance you've heard its name before. One of the reasons could be because it's also the name of its most famous product: Shiner Bock, the iconic Texan beer that the Spoetzl Brewery has been whipping up since 1913. This amber lager put the town it's named for on the map, and its brewery tour is very popular, topping TripAdvisor's list of activities for the town. Another reason, however, could be its nickname as "The Cleanest Little City in Texas."

The town behind the oldest beer in Texas is a quaint charmer with a fascinating history, delicious food, and of course, a major rep for cleanliness. And while it might be surprising that a town best known for its beer is also famous for its tidiness, serious drinkers know how to keep up appearances. And that's something Shiner is great at. We even named it among the 5 best small towns in Texas.

Shiner prides itself on staying tidy, or so the story goes. Nobody's quite sure when or how it got the nickname of "The Cleanest Little City in Texas," but the residents of Shiner apparently take it seriously. As Eric Moreno of My San Antonio notes, both the people of the town and official city-run cleaning crews ensure that Shiner lives up to its spotless reputation. It almost sounds like Disneyland cast members, who are trained from top to bottom to pick up any trash they see in the park. Simply put, it seems Shiner residents know how to keep the place clean. The result isn't just a neat marketing gimmick to tout in travel brochures; a tidy town is an inviting one and one you'll feel comfortable visiting, and that's true with Shiner.

Wellhausen Park, the grassy, monument-strewn field on the western edge of downtown Shiner, stands out not just because of its vital role to the community, the history it celebrates, or the events it holds, but also because you're less likely to see the kinds of public messes you'll often find in other public spaces. It'd be impractical to think you'd never see a stray soda can on a Shiner sidewalk, or a fast food wrapper flapping in the wind on Wellhausen's lawn, but by all accounts, it's less common here than in most modern American towns, which just makes it easier to enjoy everything else Shiner has to offer.

A big part of that "everything else" is the interesting history of this part of Texas. Shiner's most famous export is a German beer because it was heavily settled by Germans in the late 19th century. More Germans immigrated to Texas from Europe than any other ethnicity, and millions of Texans today claim German heritage. The state's significant German influence isn't as well-known as other stereotypical signifiers of Texas culture, but it's a crucial part of its identity — especially in Shiner, a town heavily populated by German and Czech immigrants.

Today you can taste this Texas town's German flair at the state-favorite brewery, but also at a place like Maeker's Sausage and Processing. Founded in Shiner in the 1960s, Maeker's remains a family-owned purveyor of sausages and other meat products that can be bought throughout the state or enjoyed at their shop in Shiner. They even make sausage out of the deer bagged by local hunters, which is simultaneously about as Texan and German as it gets. It's a pillar of a local food scene that also includes Bea's Place, a deceptively tasty dealer in classic Southern food (BBQ, fried chicken, chicken fried steak) inside a convenience store, with a separate sweet shop and meat dealer.

If you really want to immerse yourself in Shiner's charm, stay in one of its adorable motels or rentals. The Shiner Country Inn is a classic motel located right next to Wellhausen Park. The Shiner Brew View rental is a tastefully restored 1921 house mere steps from the brewery, and you can sleep in rustic splendor in the glammed-out barn at the Byrd's Nest Chick-Inn Coop. Wherever you stay, make sure to sidle up to the bar at the Palace Saloon to get a taste of Old West character. A state as big as Texas contains multitudes, obviously, and the charming German and Western history of Shiner is proof.