St. Arnold Recently Moved to a New Facility. Let’s Check it Out…
Located at 2000 Lyons Av., in Houston, Texas, St. Arnold Brewing Company is Houston’s only microbrewery. Founded by Brock Wagner and Kevin Bartol in 1994, St. Arnold has been brewing good quality craft beer and quenching the collective thirst of Houstonians for a long time. Recently, St. Arnold transferred operations to a new facility, closer to downtown, in order to accommodate its growing fan base and increased demand for its products. Let’s take a closer look at this Houston establishment:
The Beer:
St. Arnold Brewery offers several different beer styles, packaged in bottled form or served from the tap. These include bock, amber ale, IPA, stout, wheat, brown ale, kolsch, and several seasonal products. The brewery even makes its own rootbeer so that teetotalers won’t feel left out. The root beer, as well as the bottled beer products themselves, are offered at many Houston retail outlets from grocery stores to beverage specialty stores and beyond. In fact, St. Arnold beer is offered in many other Texas cities, both large and small. Unfortunately, you can’t buy St. Arnold in other U.S. states (as of the date of this posting). However, the large size and population of the state of Texas means that a substantial percentage of the U.S. population does have access St. Arnold and its many craft brewed products.
The Tour:
St. Arnold offers weekday open houses/tours at 3pm and weekend open houses/tours at 11am. This schedule is different from the St. Arnold of old, which offered a tour only on Saturday afternoon. The new schedule and new agenda means you can visit St. Arnold, sample some brew, and then take an optional tour if you wish. The gathering area is large, with multiple rows of picnic tables, wide open spaces, several running taps, and a gift shop area where you can purchase glassware, t-shirts, and more.
The price of admission to the open house/tour is seven dollars and it includes a small glass and four tokens for four glasses of the St. Arnold beer of your choosing. The glasses are not very large, but there is a way to increase your volume of beer: Buy a larger St. Arnold glass. The glassware is sold right there, at the gift shop counter. You can then use this larger drinking receptacle for your four glassfuls of St. Arnold brew.
The Experience:
St. Arnold is a nice craft brewing operation with a loyal following in the Houston area. I have been to many different breweries, but few can match the turnout at St. Arnold for the Saturday open house. There can easily be 100 to 200 people or more at a tour- a number that far eclipses the usual microbrewery tour turnout. St. Arnold loyalists make the Saturday open house part of their weekly routine. They arrive week after week with their pint glass in hand, ready to sit down, enjoy some food (you can bring your own food to the open house), and imbibe four pints of their favorite St. Arnold brew.
St. Arnold beer is generally good, with some definite standouts in the pack. Everyone will have their own preferences, but my favorites are the Elissa IPA and Amber Ale. I also like some of the seasonals, like the Christmas Ale and Divine Reserve. Each one of these products- and the others- offers a taste that is Gemran- like and pure, with only the basic beer ingredients (malted barley, hops, water, and yeast) used in the brewing process. I would like to see the brewery expand its offerings even further, with an even broader array of styles. It seems like only a matter of time until this happens, given the success of the business and the recent expansion to the location on Lyons Avenue, close to downtown Houston.
St. Arnold isn’t widely known, but beer lovers in Houston know it well and it enjoys an almost cult- like following in the local area. Pick up a six-pack if you find yourself in the great state of Texas and add a visit to the brewery to your agenda if you happen to visit the city of Houston. The open house/tour is an enjoyable, relaxing experience with plenty of good brew, friendly volunteers, and a pleasing beer- hall like atmosphere. It’s all here, at Houston’s tribute to the Patron Saint of Brewing, St. Arnold.
Rating: 8 Cheers out of 10
good read, I will be back