Saint Arnold in Houston

Yesterday I was travelling along the Interstate 10 on the way back from Louisiana and spotted the Saint Arnold brewery in Houston. I hadn't know where it was before, so it was a chance sighting and another example of seeing things jump out at you when you are interested in them.

At dinner time in a hotel in Houston, that shall remain unnamed, I was asking the waiter what craft beers they had available. 'Beers?' he asked, and then rattled off the usual list of bland, uninteresting, mainstream, nation-wide-mega-brewhouse insipid products.  I started asking for specific brands of beer that have gone mainstream in the US with the hope to fish something out of the situation. Once, again, the real challenge here was a traditional hotel setting with a wine menu, but not a beer menu, and a waiter with no clue about beer.

Out of desperation I went around to the bar and asked them to start unpacking beers so that I could look at them. This is a common problem. People behind a bar expect that you know what you want to drink and expect you to be able to ask for it by name. Fortunately they had some beer from Saint Arnold's brewery and I selected the IPA, one of my favourite styles. 

I can honestly say that I was delighted with this gem. The colour was a rich amber and the aroma was fragrant leading to sensory anticipation before the first sip.  The beer is well hopped. It tasted quite complex and had a long, drawn-out, bitter tail that whipped my thirst away. I found it easy to savour and nursed it through the duration of my dinner, which is probably just as well because the alcohol content was a little higher than what I was expecting. 

Looking at the producers webpage for this product, the Elissa IPA, they have done a fantastic job of describing the beer, listing it's awards, sharing the ingredients, stating the specifications (e.g. bitterness 52 IBU, alcohol 7.1% by volume) and adding some character by discussing relevant history and trivia about the beer and it's name.  

Typical for the American market, this beer has a 'citrusy flavour'.  They make 'three hop additions in the kettle as well as a large dry-hopping in the fermenter'. It sounds like a lot of hops and certainly tasted like it, although the IBU rating is not as high as I thought it may be. I'm going to have to hunt out some really bitter beers to educate my palate. 

When I'm back in Houston I'll be hunting for more craft gems and I'll have to try squeeze in a brewery tour.