Houston’s Saint Arnold Brewing has a new beer; a year round offering that pays homage to the brewing traditions of the Czech Republic. The new beer is called 5 O’Clock Pils, a beer named for the popular saying that it’s ‘always 5 o’clock somewhere’ and hence always time for great beer.
Saint Arnold Brewing’s inspiration for this new beer release is can be traced to the brewery’s annual excursion to the Czech Republic. Saint Arnold sends some of its personnel to this Eastern European country each year to seek out hops and other discoveries. This year, the employees rekindled their love for the Bohemian pilsners that have helped define this region for centuries and decided it was time to spread that love to the brewery’s loyal fan base.
5 O’Clock Pils emphasizes the great taste of Saaz hops and the fine pilsners that the Czech Republic has brewed since the style was first introduced to the world almost 300 years ago. This beer was first brewed by Saint Arnold in 2013 and was released as part of its Icon series. The Icon release was a huge hit with craft beer fans and as a result, the beer is back as a year- round release.
Saint Arnold Brewer/Founder Brock Wagner sees the new beer as a perfect fit with the brewery’s lineup of year- round brews.
“We released Saint Arnold Summer Pils 19 years ago, and it is a 6-time medal winner at the Great American Beer Festival, so we have been brewing lagers for a long time,” said Wagner. “Saint Arnold 5 O’Clock Pils is the Swiss Army Knife of our beer family – it is appropriate for a lot of different occasions and accessible to a lot of different palates.”
As every craft beer fan is fully aware, craft pilsners are a rarity at local breweries. Pilsners represent only about 2 percent of total craft beer sales and there are many good reasons for this. One is the fact that lagers are more difficult and time consuming to brew and perfect. Another is the simple fact that, with so many large breweries churning out so many millions of barrels of lager, the style is perceived somewhat negatively by the craft beer crowd. But Brock Wagner and others like him believe the tide is about to turn.
“A big reason craft lagers and craft pilsners are growing is an appreciation for brewing tradition and an increased understanding of how difficult it is to consistently brew high quality craft lager,” said Wagner. “Brewers tend to gravitate towards enjoying light, flavorful beers at the end of the day. Actually, at any time of the day! Saint Arnold 5 O’Clock Pils is perfect for that.”
Saint Arnold 5 O’Clock Pils is brewed with an original gravity of 1.053 and final gravity of 1.011. The beer contains a modest 5.2 percent alcohol by volume and has 40 IBU of bitterness. It is available in 12 ounce cans and in draft throughout Texas, Florida, and Louisiana. The beer has already been brewed and shipped so craft beer fans can expect to find it immediately throughout these three states. Grab a serving or two and enjoy the taste of great American pilsner, courtesy of Saint Arnold Brewing.
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