A 1962 advertisement for Pearl beer featured the tagline “From the country of 1,100 springs,” making it known that its crystalline water, filtered through miles of underground limestone shelves, was the brew’s main selling point. Over the following decades, the brand changed hands several times, finally selling to the Pabst Brewing Company in 1985. At one point, production was even moved to Fort Worth and Austin before halting altogether in 2022. Yet that famed water, lying underneath Pearl’s original San Antonio site, has remained unchanged.
That’s why, in 2024, new owner Silver Ventures had the epiphany to start canning the prized, mineral-rich product. Packaged in 16-ounce aluminum cans, Pearl Water is drawn directly from an artesian well located in front of Stable Hall. Currently available throughout the Pearl Brewery complex at businesses such as Pullman Market and Larder at Hotel Emma, it’ll soon receive wider distribution across the city.
“It’s this really high-quality mineral water that has these amazing qualities without us having to do a thing to it,” says Michael Joergensen, chief marketing officer at Silver Ventures. “Really, our job is to not mess it up.”
With an unparalleled clarity that’s further enhanced with naturally occurring magnesium, calcium, and potassium, the water is comparable to high-end market leaders like Evian and Liquid Death, according to Pearl CEO Mesha Millsap. “The water is coming straight from the Edwards Aquifer,” she says. “We wanted to be able to tell the story of water here, in San Antonio, and how important the Edwards Aquifer is to all of the community. But specifically to Pearl. It’s really why we’re rooted here.”
Alongside the sale of Pearl Water, the company is further illustrating the importance of the aquifer to San Antonio through the development of its plaza, 1100 Springs Plaza. Located just north of the wells and adjoining a 10,000-gallon tank (enough to fill 80,000 16-ounce bottles), the outdoor space features native aquatic plants in the center and rectangular pools built from recycled materials on the periphery.
“This is a way for us to tell the history of the brewery, but also just celebrate the importance of water in the city,” Joergensen says of the company’s recent efforts. “It’s neat to see people interact with the bottle and then read the story and start asking questions.”
While the team at Pearl is currently using its campus as an “incubator” to test the potential of the new product, they’re forecasting big things ahead. For instance, they recently launched an ad campaign, they’re soon to introduce new sizes and a sparkling version of the water, and they have their eyes set on a broad Texas takeover.
For more than a century, the Pearl name was synonymous with beer. Now the water has a chance to shine on its own.
