Shiner owner gifts $1M to Alamo makeover

A foundation created by beer magnate Carlos Alvarez, owner of the Shiner beer brand and the man who brought Corona Extra to the U.S., has donated $1 million toward the long-planned makeover of Alamo Plaza.

Alvarez’s Impetus Foundation made the gift to the Remember the Alamo Foundation. It was announced Thursday by the Alamo Trust, the nonprofit that operates the historic site under contract with the state of Texas.

In recognition of the donation, a second-floor terrace in a new Alamo exhibition hall and collections building will be named the Alvarez Family Terrace. The 24,000square-foot building is scheduled to open later this year. It will hold a collection of Alamo artifacts donated by rock star Phil Collins.

The terrace will be available for special events and gatherings to raise funds for the preservation of the Alamo, the trust said.

“My family and I are proud to be a part of this effort to preserve and enhance the historic Alamo site so that future visitors ... have an appreciation for the role these treasures played in the history of San Antonio and the State of Texas,” Alvarez said in a statement.

Alvarez is CEO and owner of Gambrinus Co., a leading craft brewer that operates the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, where Shiner beer is brewed.

Alvarez grew up in Acapulco, Mexico, and worked in sales for Grupo Modelo in Mexico City. By the late 1970s, he was the company’s export director. He persuaded Modelo to sell its Corona Extra brand in the United States beginning in 1981. Within four years, sales had reached 5 million cases. Corona is now America’s top imported beer.

Alvarez and his family moved to San Antonio in 1986. He acquired the Spoetzl Brewer in 1989. Gambrinus also owns the Trumer Brewery in Berkeley, Calif.

The $400 million, public-private makeover of the Alamo mission and battle site is being overseen by the city, the Texas General Land Office and the Alamo Trust.