Saint Arnold Is Coming To BR!

I'm thrilled to pass on word of a new arrival to the craft beer scene in Baton Rouge... Saint Arnold out of Houston, TX.  

 

 

Here's their press release:

Saint Arnold Brewing Co. Beers Now Available in Louisiana

After 16 years, the oldest craft beer in Texas finally goes East

HOUSTON, December 2, 2010 - Saint Arnold Brewing Company (www.saintarnold.com), which has long staked its claim as "the oldest craft brewery in Texas," is now the newest craft beer in Louisiana. Beginning this week, Saint Arnold will begin distributing Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower Beer and the brewery's current seasonal brew, Saint Arnold Christmas Ale, to stores, restaurants and bars in many of Louisiana's metropolitan areas. Later in December, Saint Arnold Christmas Ale will be replaced by Saint Arnold Winter Stout.

"We have had a lot of requests over the years to distribute our beer outside Texas but we have turned them all down. Our focus has always been and continues to be on ensuring freshness and focusing on our region," said Saint Arnold Brewing's founder and brewer Brock Wagner. "Louisiana has been the one state we thought we might expand into since it is closer to us than most of Texas. With our newly added brewing capacity and having found great distribution partners in Louisiana, we decided that now was the right time to expand our territory."

Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower Beer and the brewery's seasonal offering will be distributed in Louisiana by Southern Eagle Sales & Service (New Orleans), Champagne Beverage Company (Covington), Mockler Beverage Company (Baton Rouge), Southwest Beverage Company (Lake Charles) and Schilling Distributing Company (Lafayette).

Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower Beer is a year-round brew that is the brewery's biggest seller. It is a four-time medalist (two Gold and two Bronze) in the German-style Kölsch category at the Great American Beer Festival. Saint Arnold's seasonals also have earned praise. Oktoberfest, Summer Pils and Winter Stout have each won the medals at the Great American Beer Festival. In fact, Saint Arnold Oktoberfest won the Silver Medal in the Scottish-style Ale category at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival.

The rough schedule for Saint Arnold's seasonal beers is below:

* Saint Arnold Christmas Ale - Released late October
* Saint Arnold Winter Stout - Released mid-December
* Saint Arnold Spring Bock - Released early February
* Saint Arnold Summer Pils - Released early-April
* Saint Arnold Oktoberfest - Released mid-August

"Lousiaina is known for appreciating quality and full flavor in its food and drink, so we couldn't be more excited about expanding the Saint Arnold community to include our neighbors to the East," said Wagner.

Saint Arnold wouldn't be my first choice for new breweries in our market, but as the same time, any new breweries in our market is a good thing!  And I'm proud that they chose Louisiana as the first expansion outside of the state of Texas.  I know it's on tap at a few places already and look for bottles in the stores soon!