What animal is on the label of Shiner Bock beer?

The animal on the Shiner Bock beer label is a bighorn sheep. Its large curved horns can make it look like a goat, but the label’s familiar animal is identified as a sheep, specifically a bighorn sheep.

Shiner Bock is brewed by the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas. The brewery traces its roots to 1909, and Shiner Bock was first brewed in 1913. It began as a seasonal beer before becoming a year-round favorite in 1973.

The goat confusion has a linguistic explanation. “Bock” is associated with a German beer style, and the name is often linked to the German word for a male goat. Because of that connection, goats and horned animals commonly appear in bock-beer imagery. Shiner’s label, however, uses a sheep rather than a goat.

The bighorn sheep is also a recognizable North American animal, especially in the western United States. That makes the label’s design memorable while preserving the visual association with the beer’s bock name.