Christmas in July: Saint Arnold Brewing Offers Something to Celebrate
Oldest Craft Brewery in Texas Ships Special Batch of Saint Arnold Christmas Ale
HOUSTON, July 2, 2007 -- Saint Arnold Brewing Company, the oldest craft brewery in Texas, is flipping the calendar ahead and releasing a special summertime batch of Saint Arnold Christmas Ale. A centerpiece of the brewery''s celebration of "Christmas in July," the special batch consists of approximately 30 kegs and 600 cases -- a fraction of a typical seasonal release. Cases will be available in Houston and Austin and special draft promotions will occur in pubs in Houston, Austin and in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.
"Over the years, we''ve learned that some of our customers go to the trouble of storing Saint Arnold Christmas Ale and break it open in the summer, which is a great idea," said Brock Wagner, founder of Saint Arnold Brewing. "It is a way to create some excitement and let our customers know we don''t believe in playing by the rules."
Saint Arnold Christmas Ale is not the typical light and refreshing summer beer. Big and rich with a malty sweetness and pleasantly spicy bitterness, its full flavor and relatively high alcohol content is due to the generous use of five different malts. Introduced in 1995, Saint Arnold Christmas Ale was the brewery''s first seasonal brew and remains one of its most beloved.
As excitement builds for the brewery''s latest twist, Wagner reports that sales of Saint Arnold Summer Pils, the brewery''s current seasonal offering, are stronger than ever. The crisp, Bohemian-style pilsner will remain on store shelves until Saint Arnold Oktoberfest is released in August.
Saint Arnold Christmas Ale is scheduled to return to the market for its normal two-month holiday run in late October.
Editor''s Note: A photo of Brock Wagner in the brewery''s tasting room is available for download at www.keeneypr.com/files/56"10 great places to see what''s brewing in beer." It is located at 2522 Fairway Park Drive and its brewery tour and tasting is offered every Saturday at 1:00 P.M. For more information on Saint Arnold''s five year-round and five seasonal beers as well as root beer, log on to www.saintarnold.com.