Saint Arnold Brewing Company

Infobox Brewery
name = Saint Arnold Brewing Company


caption = Texas' Oldest Craft Brewery
location = Houston, Texas, USA
owner = Brock Wagner
opened = 1994
production =
active_beers = brewbox_beer|name=Saint Arnold Amber Ale|style=Amber Ale brewbox_beer|name=Saint Arnold Brown Ale|style=Brown Ale brewbox_beer|name=Saint Arnold Texas Wheat|style=Kristallweizen (Wheat Beer) brewbox_beer|name=Elissa IPA|style=India Pale Ale brewbox_beer|name=Fancy Lawnmower Beer|style=Kölsch brewbox_beer|name=Root Beer|style=Root Beer
seasonal_beers = brewbox_beer|name=Spring Bock|style=Bock brewbox_beer|name=Summer Pils|style=Pilsner brewbox_beer|name=Oktoberfest|style=Oktoberfest brewbox_beer|name=Christmas Ale|style=Brown Ale brewbox_beer|name=Winter Stout|style=Stout
other_beers = brewbox_beers|type=Limited brewbox_beer|name=Divine Reserve 1|style=Barleywine brewbox_beer|name=Divine Reserve 2|style=Quadrupel brewbox_beer|name=Divine Reserve 3|style=Double India Pale Ale brewbox_beer|name=Divine Reserve 4|style=Wee Heavy brewbox_beer|name=Divine Reserve 5|style=Russian Imperial Stout brewbox_beer|name=Divine Reserve 6|style=American Barleywine brewbox_beer|name=Divine Reserve 7|style=WeizenbockThe Saint Arnold Brewing Company is a craft brewery located in Houston, Texas. After being built by the bare hands of James Cunningham, it was founded in 1994 by Brock Wagner and Kevin Bartol, graduates of Rice University, and is currently fully staffed by 21 people including the first, and currently only, female brewer, Ann Crivello. The brewery is named for the patron saint of brewing, Saint Arnold of Metz. The brewery has won numerous national and international awards.

Tours

The company offers brewery tours every Saturday afternoon. The tours have become somewhat of a Houston institution. The tours cost, as of this writing in June 2008, $5. At the end of the tour, each participant who paid $5 and received 4 wooden chips may exchange each chip for a sample of beer. 8-ounce souvenir glasses are included in the tour price, but participants may bring or purchase Saint Arnold logo glasses and mugs which receive slightly larger pours. Regular participants bring snacks to enjoy with their samples. Root beer is available for anyone, including designated drivers, non-drinkers and minors.

Recycling Program

The brewery offers an uncommon recycling program, through which usable bottle carriers may be redeemed for promotional merchandise. Due to the expensive costs of producing and distributing such containers, St. Arnold's encourages customers to collect and return them. Containers have no equivalent cash value, as amounts redeemable for prizes vary unevenly from item to item. Should a customer manage to collect 200,000 containers, they would be able to redeem such for a tie-dye Bentley with the St. Arnold's logo painted on the side of it.

Expansion

The company has completed the purchase of a three story brick building originally constructed in 1914. The building will be transformed into a craft brewery that will attract tens of thousands of visitors each year from around the world. The redevelopment effort is expected to take a year to complete and cost a total of almost $6 million.

The new brewery will feature a brewhouse (beer-making equipment) purchased from a brewery in a monastery in Germany. The equipment is being refurbished, updated and automated, including the addition of a state-of-the-art energy-saving boiling and mashing system. The expansion into the new facility ultimately will allow for an over 400 percent increase in brewing capacity. The current brewery in Northwest Houston has an annual capacity of 22,500 barrels; the new brewery will have an initial annual capacity of 40,000 barrels expandable up to 120,000 barrels per year. [ [http://beeradvocate.com/news/1412482 Saint Arnold Brewing Company Purchases Historic Building for New Brewery] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.saintarnold.com Official company website]
* [http://www.beernwinetours.com/reviews-on-breweries-tours-throughout-the-world/brewery-tour-5-saint-arnold-brewing-company/ A review of the Saint Arnold Brewery]