New book examines Lone Star Beer history, identity

Zoom in: "Lone Star Beer: A History of Two Iconic San Antonio Breweries" by Jeremy Banas explores how the brand came to be. It's available now on Amazon and from local independent booksellers, as well as from Arcadia Publishing.

Flashback: In 1884, locals launched the Lone Star Brewing Co. on the banks of the San Antonio River, where the San Antonio Museum of Art now sits. It became part of St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, but the brewery closed in 1919 with Prohibition and did not reopen.

• After Prohibition in 1933, brewer Karl Haegelin moved Sabinas Brewing from Mexico to San Antonio. It was later reborn as Lone Star Brewing in 1940, making the Lone Star Beer that we know today.

State of play: Lone Star became the self-proclaimed "National Beer of Texas" and it retains that branding today.

• Its marketing campaigns, including giant armadillos attacking Lone Star delivery trucks, are still talked about.
• San Antonio-based Pabst Brewing Co. has owned it since 1999.

What they're saying: "If you ordered a 'long neck' beer at any dancehall, juke joint or honky tonk in Texas, they would hand you a Lone Star," Banas said in a statement.

• "Through music and marketing, the beer became part of the image and mythos of Texas. They wanted [the] message to be that if you are drinking a Lone Star, then you're a Texan."

Context: Banas began writing about beer in 2007. He co-authored "San Antonio Beer: Alamo City History by the Pint," released in 2015, and has written a book about Pearl beer.

What's next: Otto's Ice House at Pearl will host a book launch and signing Wednesday, 4-7pm.