Thursday 14th of October 2010 05:09:23 PM

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www.saintarnold.com

Saint Arnold Brewing is Texas' oldest craft brewery and after outgrowing their previous facilities in NW Houston, purchased, renovated and moved into the old HISD Food Services building just north of Downtown (2000 Lyons) in late 2009. The "newery" is much larger than the old and has allowed for added production capacity as well as an enlarged and improved tasting room.

Brewery tours are now held on weekdays at 3pm ('til 5pm) and on Saturdays from 11am to 3pm. For a $7 entry fee, you get an 8-oz souvenir sampling glass and 4 tokens, each good for a refill of beer. Visitors who bring or buy their own larger Saint Arnold glass are welcome to use those and they tend to get a little larger pour, but don't expect to get 4 32-oz pours just cause you're packing giant glass.

Saturday tours are big events now, often with 800-1000 attendees, but the volunteers manning the taps do a great job of keeping up with the demand. Beer lines can get long on a crowded day, but they move. Actual tours of the brewery are led by a Saint Arnold employee and happen at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm.

Guests are welcome to bring food and games to the tours and make an event of it. It's a great place for a birthday party or just a gathering of friends!

You'll almost always find 6 beers on-tap, the 5 year-round brews (Amber Ale, Fancy Lawnmower Texas Wheat, Brown Ale and Elissa IPA) plus the current seasonal (rotating among Oktoberfest, Christmas Ale, Winter Stout, Spring Bock, Summer Pils). Plus you'll find pitchers of Saint Arnold Root Beer out for free self-service.

The new beer hall is loud with concrete ceilings and hard tile floors, but it just adds to the party atmosphere.

Families are welcome and you'll see a number of toddlers.

Sunday 30th of March 2008 12:37:43 AM

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NOTE: This review is of the former location on Fairway Park Dr
This has to be the place to be on a Saturday afternoon in Houston. Typically nearly five hundred people show up; many bring lunch or snacks, games to play etc. There is music and informal brewery tours. There are several tap locations and quite a few picnic tables in the main tap area but those fill up quickly. Basically, they just open the entire brewery to visitors and everyone wanders around wherever.
It happens every Saturday at about 1 pm and goes until around 3:30. You pay $5 to get in which includes an 8 oz tasting glass and 4+ tastes. Actually most regulars bring their own St Arnold glassware which gets you larger tastes. They also bring in their six pack carriers and the brewery “buys” them back with merchandise. There were 5 styles available when I visited and I got a couple tastes of most. I particularly enjoyed the Elissa IPA and their signature brew, Amber Ale. They were already well into brewing summer stock so the darkest available for tasting was a Brown Ale. The owner, Brock Wagner, welcomed the crowd while late arrivals waited to get in (don’t arrive after 1:15) and then spent his time making sure everyone was having a good time. I managed to get him to break away and let me into the back room to get a picture of the tie-died Bentley. There are also a good number of volunteers (mostly home brewers) manning the taps and giving tours so there is always someone nearby if you have a question.
The current brewery has only a 30 barrel brewing capacity but they keep it “hopping” and there are a large number fermenters so they can come close to meeting demand. They are moving into a new facility which will more than double their brewing capacity. A large percentage of what they brew makes it into bottles which include nearly a dozen styles plus some special reserve recipes. They also brew a root beer which is free to kids and DDs at the “Tour” so it is a family friendly event.