Texas Lou

In my post yesterday, I talked about how my sister brought me some Saint Arnold‘s Oktoberfest from Houston.  Saint Arnold Brewing Company is Texas’ oldest craft brewery.  My family and I have been to their old facility and their new one in Houston several times for the tastings and tours.  It’s always a treat for me to get some of their beer since it’s only available in Texas and Louisiana.  Every year, they produce a limited amount of their Christmas Ale and we tend to buy several 6 packs of it when we are home for the holidays.  A couple of years ago, my brother and I both packed up some Christmas Ale and brought it back with us in our suitcases to our respective non-Texan residences.  For my wedding, my friend Cody drove from Houston to Virginia to attend the party, so he brought me an assortment of Saint Arnold brews as a gift.

When you go in for a tasting, you pay $7 and get a souvenir Saint Arnold glass to keep.  You also get 4 tokens that you can trade in to have your souvenir glass filled with different draft beers brewed right there on the spot.  Patrons are encouraged to bring snacks and food and enjoy the company while sampling the different beers.  In addition, if you bring in the cardboard six pack cartons for them to recycle, you can trade them in for cool Saint Arnold swag.  You can also upgrade you souvenir glass to a larger pint glass or even larger boot glass or mug and use your tokens to have those filled instead.

It really is a great brewery in a great city in a great state and I always enjoy going there with friends and family.  Here are just a few pictures of some good times had enjoying tasty Saint Arnold beer.

I got to try Santo, a black Kölsch, when I was in Texas last Christmas.

I bought this Saint Arnold Texas pint glass on one of my trips to the brewery in Houston. On this particular day, I was enjoying a Summer Pils that my friend Cody brought me from Texas as a wedding gift.

This is a 2012 Oktoberfest that my sister brought to New York from Houston for me to try.

Saint Arnold prints messages on the bottom of their bottle caps. This one from a Saint Arnold Lawnmower I enjoyed a few weeks ago describes my exact feelings about craft beer.

My friend Josh, my brother Mikey, my mom, my friend Charles, and I made a trip to the brewery during Christmas break of 2007. Notice my boot that I’m drinking out of!

Mikey, Mom, and I most likely enjoying the seasonal Christmas Ale in the winter of 2007.

There are still a ton of beers that Saint Arnold brews that I have yet to try.  I’d love to get my hands on some Winter Stout, Divine Reserve, Pumpkinator, and Endeavor (I believe named for the space shuttle) so I’ll just have to keep making trips to the brewery whenever I’m in Houston visiting.  And for those who aren’t crazy about the taste of beer or who prefer to indulge in non-alcoholic beverages, they brew a delicious Root Beer.

If you’re not in Houston, be sure to check out the Saint Arnold Brewing Company website and if you are in Houston, get to the brewery ASAP!