St. Arnold Christmas Ale

As a snob I like Deschutes (had a black butte porter yesterday) and love Rogue. Anderson I've had something from but can't remember. Lagunitias is sometimes weak sauce.

My favorite Northern California brewery is easily North Coast. Some of their stuff is really awesome. I favor the Old Rasputin Imperial Stout and the Pranqster Golden Ale.

 

Seriously though, I've never had this beer. I will be tasting it soon.

Hopefully, I'm not "hard of tasting". You know, for Max's sake.

 

i like the pecan harvest, but feel like it lacks flavor.

had a few more shiner cheers this weekend and i really do like that brew... sammy smith's winter welcome is the shiz, just picked some up yesterday

 

i dont think st. bernardus makes a bad brew period.

same with unibroue

 

I went on a tour at St. Arnold's brewery last Saturday. I can't remember whether or not I tried the Christmas Ale. I do remember having some of that disgusting lawnmower though.

 

Well crap. I was about to pour myself a nice glass of ice milk and cuddle up in bed with a book. Instead, I'm cracking open my last Christmas Ale. This bbs drives me to drink! Damn you Max!

 

Another seasonal ale I really enjoy that you can find at most grocery stores is Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. It's not quite as hearty as the Saint Arnold's, but it's yummy none the less.



I've been wanting to try the Shiner Holiday Cheer, but the fact that I've only been able to find it in 12 packs has scared me away. That and the whole peach thing.

 

I just had this at Flying Saucer. It was ok. I think it tasted plain because I just had a Bear Republic Stout.

I do need more trappist beers in my diet, though.

 

the shiner cheer is exceptionally fruity, but not overwhelmingly sweet... i really dig it, and i usually dont like fruity beers.

anyone try this years anchor merry christmas & happy new year?

 

Some thoughts on Abita Pecan Ale:

Good beer - not much pecan flavor. I was happy, but unimpressed.

Abita Christmas Ale was suitable, but not up to par with St. Arnolds.


My home-brewed christmas ale is usually decent, but too heavy on the spice. Tough to get that right. Failed to make it this year, thanks to my demanding 1 yr old. But I do have a mead ready for bottling.

 

I agree. I want St. Arnolds to do well as it is a local company. But it isn't like their beer is great or anything. All of their beers are just like different variations of the same thing.

I have been to the Saturday tour. It is really a fun experience. For those who have never been, you get in the brewery, pay 5 bucks and get 2 tokens and a small glass. You sit through a spoken history of the company, beer, the latest happenings and then they unleash you to the bar and stations where you can trade the tokesn for samples of their beers. Also you can buy St. Arnolds swag like T-shirts, mugs, pint glasses, bumper stickers, etc. The best part is if you buy a St. Arnolds pint glass you can bring it back at a later date to get THAT glass filled with beer. Which means you will get maybe 3 times as much beer for the samples. It is a fun afternoon. A great place for a date if your girl likes beer.

St. Arnolds has an annual homebrew contest, organizes trips to Astros games, supports events like the art car parade and local festivals. They also organize pub crawls monthly. Like I said I like the company, just not a huge fan of their beer.

 

I agree. I'm dissappointed

 

Max...you drunken sot you.

 

Oh sorry. Just one of those stream of thoughts in my post. Just saying in general I love trappist beers (which are beers brewed by trappist monks). Obviously St Arnolds is not that. But I just had it again without any other beers mixing with the taste from my mouth. It's good. I like it.

 

Also one of the larger team sponsors for the MS-150. My brother rides on the team. I volunteer at the 1/2 way point in La Grange. Nothing like sitting around drinking free St. Arnolds for hours watching the riders come in.