A Saintly Beer From Houston
Written: Oct 08 '05 (Updated Oct 15 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: really nice cask conditioned
Cons: limited distribution
The Bottom Line: a fine beer from Houston
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| fuche_bu's Full Review: Amber Ale |
The quest for beer is a lifelong pursuit. My goal whenever I travel is to try as many local brews as possible. I like to seek out beers that are not readily available in my hometown. Recently, I had the pleasure of going to Austin for the Austin City Limits Music Festival. This meant some great live music and a golden opportunity to down some St. Arnold beers.
Saint Arnold Brewing Co is a microbrewery from Houston. They were among the early craft brewers in Texas. My experience with Saint Arnold is minimal since they don't make it up to Pennsylvania all that often. I figured a trip to Austin should make their beers more accessible.
It was rather easy to find their beers in the downtown bars. A visit to The Ginger Man provided a chance to try the Saint Arnold Amber Ale cask conditioned. These are beers drawn from a hand pump and served at cellar temperature. Cask conditioned beers give one the chance to try beers in a more traditional serving. It also can allow different nuances in a beer to emerge.
I am not sure what to make of beers defined as "amber ale" because that doesn't necessarily connote a specific style of beer. It could be a mild, an ESB or an alt without stretching the point. In this case, the beer seemed to have a lot of characteristics similar to a pale ale. There was a really nice hop presence in both aroma and taste. It is a good beer regardless of how you decide to categorize it.
It is not always easy to judge beer on color and nose when drinking in a bar. Often time, there are distractions. Fortunately, I was in the bar early afternoon before the crowds came in. The lighting was good so I was able to discern the amber hue. It's not a bright amber though. I found the color to be a bit muted. It was a medium body beer. I was picking up the hops in the nose when I brought the glass close. Some hints of pine came shining through. There was a bit of a caramel malt nuance that also came through in the aroma.
The hops come through strongly in the flavor. There is a nice citric quality in the flavor. I was picking up some lemon notes in the flavor. It often came across as a light pale ale. The malts are discernible but don't really aggressively assert themselves. The medium body gives this beer an easy drinking quality.
The beer comes in at 5.5% abv so it is slightly above average in strength. It is lower than many pale ales and IPAs so the experienced beer geek should not have problems with the alcohol level. I've also had this beer on a regular tap. It is a bit less nuanced when not cask conditioned. It would make for a fine session beer. You can drink this easily and it is quenching.
Over all, this is a solid, above average beer. I would not suggest flying halfway across the country solely to try this beer but it is worth making some effort to find. It probably won't blow you away but it is a satisfying beer experience. There were several other beers from Texas that impressed me more but I would suggest this one as a starting off point.
Recommended:
Yes
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fuche_bu
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Member: George Schaefer
Location: West Bristol, PA
Reviews written: 1103
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Busy at work and missing a lot of epinions fun.
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