St Arnold Brewery tour

[EllisTX]

Anyone know what's in the tap room right now?

 

[thezepster]

http://saintarnold.com/beers/index.html

 

[EllisTX]

Lol. I wasn't too clear but I was wondering if they have anything on tap that is solely in the tap room. A bit more rare than their usual.

 

[Yooper]

I'd love to go to St. Arnold's! That sounds like a great time. Bob hates Houston, though, and will NOT go. In fact, when we came home from S. Texas this year, we drove out of our way (to Austin!) to avoid Houston. So, please do it and post pictures so I can visit it vicariously through you!

 

[EllisTX]

You bet Yoop. I'm going to try my damnest to go next weekend. A local pub had a cask of their Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout a few weeks ago. It was the best beer I've ever had. It was a stout/chocolate milk/bourbon combo from heaven above. I'm kinda hoping they have one there. I either want to go ther or to the Real Ale brewery. They claim on their website that they do quite a bit of cask conditioning and one of their favorites to age is their ESB. Decisions

 

[calebawilson]

St arnolds has just the regular stuff on tap in the tasting room which is the Lawnmower, amber, brown, weedwacker, Elissa ipa, and there seasonal which right now it's there summer pils. The burbon cask stuff is usually only served there during special occasions like St pattys day.

 

[EllisTX]

St arnolds has just the regular stuff on tap in the tasting room which is the Lawnmower, amber, brown, weedwacker, Elissa ipa, and there seasonal which right now it's there summer pils. The burbon cask stuff is usually only served there during special occasions like St pattys day.

Thanks. That's got me leaning towards the Real Ale tour. They've actually got an anniversary party going next weekend I think.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks. That's got me leaning towards the Real Ale tour. They've actually got an anniversary party going next weekend I think.

Where's Real Ale? I thought it was by San Antonio.

 

[pm5k00]

Its in Blanco, TX, it's NW of San Antonio, and SW of Austin.

 

[Yooper]

Its in Blanco, TX, it's NW of San Antonio, and SW of Austin.

That's what I thought. Well, I thought "San Antonio". I think that in February, I'm going to go for a visit. I'll stay in Hondo overnight, so that should be pretty close I assume. I have a friend in Hondo that I can stay with, and I'm pretty sure he'll let me bring my dog!

 

[Homebrewtastic]

I'd love to go to St. Arnold's! That sounds like a great time. Bob hates Houston, though, and will NOT go. In fact, when we came home from S. Texas this year, we drove out of our way (to Austin!) to avoid Houston. So, please do it and post pictures so I can visit it vicariously through you!

Can't say I blame him. I spent a month in Houston one night.

That said the St. Arnold brewery is pretty awesome. Also when you come visit Texas again make sure you visit Jester King brewery. Their beers are great. And the brewery is really cool.

 

[pm5k00]

If your in San Antonio you need to check out Freetail (BrewPub) and Ranger Creek Brewery.

 

[Ravenshead]

Houston's actually not that bad traffic-wise. More importantly, in one of the "burb's" is a new brewery worth trying. No-Label brewing is in Katy and they have a great Hefe.

St. Arnold's doesn't suck either. :rockin:

 

[Yooper]

If your in San Antonio you need to check out Freetail (BrewPub) and Ranger Creek Brewery.

Yeah, it's a long drive but I think we'll do that and stay with our friend in Hondo. I think it's about a 3 hour drive to San Antonio from the house we rent on the coast.

 

[Runyanka]

If... you're ever near the Dallas area I would highly recommend the Franconia brewery tour, or the Rahr tour. Both aim to please the people on the tour. Franconia is $5 for the tour and $5 for a their pint glass, and you will get at least 4 to 5 refills during the tour. The owner used to be the regional brewmaster for two rows restaurant.

 

[calebawilson]

No label brewing in Katy is awesome!

 

[thegerm]

Don't hate on houston. It's nothing fancy, but it's certainly not terrible. It's just a big sprawl of strip centers and suburbs. We can't all come from some ubercool place cool like austin, the northwest or NYC I suppose.

I attended a company christmas party at st arnold's way back in like 2002. That was well before I gained an appreciation for good beer though. Wish I could do that party over with the proper respect for beer that I have now.

-A Texan in New Jersey

 

[Homebrewtastic]

Don't hate on houston. It's nothing fancy, but it's certainly not terrible. It's just a big sprawl of strip centers and suburbs. We can't all come from some ubercool place cool like austin, the northwest or NYC I suppose.

I attended a company christmas party at st arnold's way back in like 2002. That was well before I gained an appreciation for good beer though. Wish I could do that party over with the proper respect for beer that I have now.

-A Texan in New Jersey

Actually for me it's just the humidity... And the strip malls.

 

[MyNameIsPaul]

Yoop! Don't hate on Houston! Sure, the traffic is pretty gnarly and the zoning laws leave a little to be desired, but it's a great place with a few good breweries and tons of awesome restaurants. I travel Tx for work, and drove right through Blanco last week, but Real Ale wasn't open. I'll be in Dallas/Ft. Worth all next week, hopefully I'll get to swing by Rahr!

 

[Yooper]

Yoop! Don't hate on Houston! Sure, the traffic is pretty gnarly and the zoning laws leave a little to be desired, but it's a great place with a few good breweries and tons of awesome restaurants. I travel Tx for work, and drove right through Blanco last week, but Real Ale wasn't open. I'll be in Dallas/Ft. Worth all next week, hopefully I'll get to swing by Rahr!

I don't hate Houston! It's Bob- he hates the stripmalls and traffic beyond belief. He will NOT go near it, through it, or even around it, any more. He also drives miles out of his way to avoid St. Louis and Chicago whenever we travel. So, it's not personal against Houston!

Anyway, I'll check out Real Ale next spring for a fun weekend trip to San Antonio. Thanks!

 

[stat]

Whats with all the stripmall hate, it has never even occurred to me that there was something wrong with them.

Also I've never been on a st. arnolds tour but all the beer they have in stores is really...boring and bland.

 

[lambeths]

Come on, St Arnolds has some really drinkable beers. Favorite right now is Weedwacker, but their Lawnmower is a great kolsch. They also have some really solid seasonals (my wife loves their Christmas Ale). The more "interesting" beers are done in small batches through their Divine Reserve series, which are hard to find (these are more of the stronger-hopped beers, otherwise a lot of the regular SA beers have pretty mild hops with some obvious exceptions).

More than anything they do a great job getting the Houston community into craft brews. The tours are a lot of fun, very classic bierhall atmosphere with everyone hanging out at long tables talking, playing board games, etc. Kids running around sometimes. Their founder is pretty into supporting craft brewing in Texas, and unfortunately the bill he was pushing to allow craft brewers to sell their beer on-site got killed (I think in the Tx Senate).

As a local Houstonian... yeah, the strip malls suck, but all in all Houston is a pretty cool place to live. Give us a break!

 

[Yooper]

Come on, St Arnolds has some really drinkable beers. Favorite right now is Weedwacker, but their Lawnmower is a great kolsch. They also have some really solid seasonals (my wife loves their Christmas Ale). The more "interesting" beers are done in small batches through their Divine Reserve series, which are hard to find (these are more of the stronger-hopped beers, otherwise a lot of the regular SA beers have pretty mild hops with some obvious exceptions).

More than anything they do a great job getting the Houston community into craft brews. The tours are a lot of fun, very classic bierhall atmosphere with everyone hanging out at long tables talking, playing board games, etc. Kids running around sometimes. Their founder is pretty into supporting craft brewing in Texas, and unfortunately the bill he was pushing to allow craft brewers to sell their beer on-site got killed (I think in the Tx Senate).

As a local Houstonian... yeah, the strip malls suck, but all in all Houston is a pretty cool place to live. Give us a break!

I haven't had that many of St. Arnold's brews (just what I picked up at the local H.E.B) but every one I had was a solid beer. The Lawnmower beer was pretty good, especially out fishing. I liked the amber, although I'd like to see more hops in it! I thought the IPA was good, too.

BTW, I just checked out their website to see if I had any other beers I forgot about, and I see they're looking for a brewer! Anybody in Houston looking for a brewing job? :cross:

 

[El Pistolero]

Also I've never been on a st. arnolds tour but all the beer they have in stores is really...boring and bland.

If by boring and bland you mean not over-hopped to the point of being undrinkable, then yes, I'd have to agree with you. St Arnold's doesn't seem to push any limits, but they do make very good, extremely drinkable beers...this years Summer Pils is the best Czech Pilsner I've had outside of Prague.

 

[g-love]

I lived in Houston for a few years. Actually their first brewery was like 2 miles from my house their tour was free at one point and always gathered a fun crowd. I think a lot of their beers and the owner/s were really cool to talk to. I think it's only one of the two original owners now, but if my memory serves correctly I believe they were investment bankers turned brewers. Pretty cool jump if you ask me.... all in all, I'm a St. Arnold's fan.

 

[stat]

If by boring and bland you mean not over-hopped to the point of being undrinkable, then yes, I'd have to agree with you. St Arnold's doesn't seem to push any limits, but they do make very good, extremely drinkable beers...this years Summer Pils is the best Czech Pilsner I've had outside of Prague.

I've never had pliny the elder or hopslam, the only stupidly hopped beer I've had was the majarajah. I actually didn't really like it. By boring and bland I mean their regular line that's in all the grocery stores around here tastes like eating something that hasn't been seasoned properly. I'm not sure if I'm making sense. It's like eating a steak that hasn't been salted.

I took their lawnmower and my kolsch and drank them two fisted one sip after another. The overall taste was the same but my beer tasted like a steak that had gotten the salt if you know what I mean. Was theirs drinkable? Sure but so is water. I just did the same with their weedwhacker and my hefeweizen that I'm not so sure came out right. (fermentation temps got a little crazy) The result was the same, same background flavor theirs just had very little.


What I really wanted to know however was why everyone hated stripmalls, seriously. I don't even know what the alternative is.

 

[El Pistolero]

What I really wanted to know however was why everyone hated stripmalls, seriously. I don't even know what the alternative is.

I don't think it's the strip malls themselves, just the fact that Houston appears to be 2500 sq. mi. of solid stripmall, floating in a sea of sticky gooey traffic jam.
It really isn't like that, but it does seem that way when you're driving thru. Heck, in my neighborhood alone we've got three or four vacant lots with no strip mall on them (yet) and the traffic really isn't that bad (from 2:55 am to 4:15 am on weekdays).

Oh, and run over to Ginger Man and try some Summer Pilz on tap, or the cask conditioned Elissa...might make you change your mind about St. Arnold's.

 

[thegerm]

Houston traffic is tame. I went to college in austin... austin traffic was way worse... there were just fewer roads.

and now i'm living in northern new jersey and I miss dealing with houston drivers and traffic.

 

[Homebrewtastic]

You know that weedwacker isn't a hefe, right? It's their kolsch fermented with hefe yeast.

 

[slawre5]

I went yesterday for the tour actually. They had brown, amber, elissa IPA, weedwhacker, and lawnmower.

If you go, bring something to eat and some friends and a board game to play in the beer hall.