An Aggressively Hopped American IPA
HOUSTON, March 16, 2015 – If someone snaps your picture when you purchase Saint Arnold Icon Blue, the photographer might be brewer Casey Motes. Saint Arnold Brewing Co. (www.saintarnold.com), the oldest craft brewery in Texas, is rolling out Icon Blue – a Rye IPA that checks in at 75 IBUs (International Bitterness Units) – as supplies of Icon Red are depleted. Motes has been working on the recipe for Saint Arnold Icon Blue recipe for nearly a year.
“The last time one of my beers came out, the guy in front of me in the checkout line was buying a six-pack and I took a picture to send to my Mom,” said Motes, who has been a brewer with Saint Arnold for three years. “This is something I’ve been working on for nearly a year, so I get a big kick out of seeing people’s reaction and explaining all that goes into the beer.”
A lot goes into Saint Arnold Icon Blue, which has characteristics similar to an American IPA, but it includes Rye instead of a traditional malt bill. Icon Blue features six different hop varieties, including Columbus Chinook, Centennial, Cascade, Simcoe and Mosaic hops. To balance the hop bitter, Saint Arnold uses Rye and Cara (Crystal) Rye, which add some sweetness and spice. The result is a fruity, piney bouquet of flavors. Two Mosaic dry hop additions enhance the aroma as well.
“Rye adds a complex layer of earthy spiciness that you can’t get from anything else,” said Motes. “Compare white or wheat bread to rye bread. That’s the kind of difference that malt can make with beer, too. That herbal, earthy spice is very distinct and if that’s balanced with the right hops you can create some pretty amazing flavors.”
Specifications for Saint Arnold Icon Blue:
Original Gravity: 1.067 Final Gravity: 1.012 Alcohol: 7.8% ABV Bitterness: 75 IBU
Saint Arnold Icon is a line of rotating beers that complement the brewery’s year-round and seasonal offerings. A new Saint Arnold Icon beer is released every three months or so, depending on how quickly supplies are exhausted. This beer is referred to as Saint Arnold Icon Blue because of its striking metallic blue and black label. Saint Arnold Icon Blue is beginning to show up in 4-packs of 12 ounce bottles and on tap in pubs and restaurants throughout Texas and Louisiana.
Twitter: @saintarnold Facebook: www.facebook.com/saintarnold Instagram: @saintarnoldbrewing
About Saint Arnold Brewing Company Saint Arnold Brewing’s 16 brews are made and sold by the company’s staff of 74 dedicated employees. Ranked 48th on the Brewers Association list of top craft breweries, Saint Arnold was listed by USA Today as one of the “10 great places to see what’s brewing in beer,” and Smart Meetings magazine named it among the “Top 5 breweries to host an event.” Saint Arnold is located at 2000 Lyons Avenue and its brewery tour and tasting is offered every weekday at 3:00 P.M. and Saturdays starting at 11 A.M. For more information on Saint Arnold’s eight year-round and five seasonal beers as well as root beer, log on to www.saintarnold.com.
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