Award-winning homebrew recipe inspired latest offering in Saint Arnold Icon line of beers
HOUSTON, March 7, 2013 – When Pete Garza began home brewing a couple years ago, he used a seven-gallon pot and a 10-gallon cooler. That simple setup was good enough to brew the winning recipe in the 2012 Big Batch Brew Bash homebrew competition that served as the inspiration for Saint Arnold Icon Cascadian Dark Ale. Saint Arnold Brewing Co. (www.saintarnold.com), the oldest craft brewery in Texas, will gradually release the blue label Saint Arnold Icon Cascadian Dark Ale in the coming week as supplies of the red label Saint Arnold Icon Belgian-Style Pale Ale run out.
Introduced in December and featuring a different style three months or so, Saint Arnold ICON is a line of beers that complements the Houston brewery’s year-round and seasonal offerings. Saint Arnold Icon Cascadian Dark Ale will be available in 4-packs of 12 ounce bottles and on tap in bars and restaurants throughout Texas and Louisiana beginning this week.
As winner of the Big Batch Brew Bash, Garza joined Saint Arnold as brewer for a day, during which he helped brewer Claire Winder to brew a significantly scaled up version of his homebrew recipe.
“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Garza. “Claire told us what to do and we did it all from measuring out and adding the hops to connecting the hoses to the fermenters.”
Garza said he learned a few things during the brewing process. For starters, Saint Arnold’s first wort hopping process for the Cascadian Dark Ale was able to achieve complex bitterness and smooth Cascadian hop aroma without harsh bitterness.
Upcoming beers in the Saint Arnold Icon line include Amarillo Hefe, which is due around June, and Bohemian Pils, scheduled for release around September. It is too soon to tell if Saint Arnold Cascadian Dark Ale will be a one-off or will be a recurring player in the Saint Arnold Icon line. Some Saint Arnold Icon styles are expected to return from one year to the next and other styles will be replaced as the brewery continues to experiment.
Editors: Download the label art for Cascadian Dark Ale at: http://www.saintarnold.com/images/icon_cascadian_dark_ale_art.jpg or download a bottle shot at: http://www.saintarnold.com/images/icon_cascadian_dark_ale_bottle_art.jpg.
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About Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Saint Arnold Brewing’s 16 brews are made and sold by the company’s staff of 47 dedicated employees. Ranked 43rd 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 five year-round and five seasonal beers as well as root beer, log on to www.saintarnold.com.
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