A Special Food & Drink Report from The Leader. sponsored by Saint Arnold Brewing Co. Saturday, October 17, 2015 • Page 1B
Texas’ oldest craft brewery shares development, then and now By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
I’ve got a better argument By Christina Martinez christina@theleadernews.com I moved to Houston a year and a half ago, from San Antonio. When I first moved to the city, I rented a house in Garden Oaks, and days after my arrival, my great uncle called with his neighborhood recommendations. He gave me everything from grandma Tex-Mex restaurants, to where to get my oil changed. The one that stuck out the most was the Garden Oaks icehouse. My forgetful uncle couldn’t remember the name of the place, but claimed it to be one of Houston’s best. Those words stuck with me. For the next couple weeks I walked the neighborhood in eager search for this holy land. Finally, after an evening run, I stumbled upon the mecca – Petrol Station. It was everything my uncle said it would be and everything I wanted it to be. Within our Big Beer issue, you can find evidence on these pages that show how much Houston has taken off in the beer industry, leading Texas in production numbers. Even with just a walk into your local icehouse, you can see proof with Houston taps dominating the tap wall, even inching out big name domestics. Something I find interesting is the culture that has developed with this beer boom, specifically brand loyalty. My story is testament to that brand loyalty. My uncle recommended Petrol Station, and the Garden Oaks beer bar turned into a favorite that was walking disSee Arguement, P. 2B
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Saint Arnold Town In City Karbach Beer Market Co. Crisp Pedal Party Premium Draught TapHunter Farmboy Brew Shop Cavatore Cafe Brussels
Brock Wagner likes to say that what he did in 1994 turned out to be brilliant in 2006. And just what was that? Well, if you’re at all into craft beer you know that Wagner, along with former partner Kevin Bartol, founded Saint Arnold Brewing Company, originally located at 290 and 34th Street. As with any startup, Wagner was a jack of all trades. “It was me and a partner and one other employee,” Wagner said. “I brewed, I cleaned the floor, you name it, I did it.” When Saint Arnold opened, Wagner thought they’d be the only brewery in town for about five years. It turned out to be fifteen. Craft beer didn’t have the following then as it does now and Wagner describes some of the
early years as “brutal.” But he persevered, brewing high quality beer and then educating the public about it through tours and tastings. Over time, the public’s view of beer evolved. They outgrew their space in Northwest Houston and in 2010 moved into a three story, 104,000-square-foot building just north of downtown that can be easily seen from the highway. Today, there are 80 full time employees and “an army” of part time people. According to marketing director Lennie Ambrose, last year they brewed around 63,000 barrels of beer. There are two meeting rooms for receptions, meetings and other events – one that seats 300 and one that holds 100. And for the past two and a half years, there has been a restaurant too, which serves lunch Monday through See Saint Arnold, P. 4B
Contributed photo
Saint Arnold Executive Chef, Ryan Savoie.
Local residents tap into home brewing, growing By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com Brewing beer is not just a commercial enterprise in The Leader area. Increasingly, more people are brewing beer as a hobby, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t serious about it. Farmboy Brew Shop, 3814 North Shepherd Drive, just celebrated its year anniversary. The shop offers classes, equipment, hops and other ingredients as well as hands on help and tutorials to those looking to brew beer. “It’s a good milestone to have,” said Natalie Weiershausen who works a day job as a civil engineer while helping her husband Landon out with the shop on weekends. Weiershausen said that they started a local group, Brewers of the Hood, a couple of months before the store opened. About six months ago, the group, with about 25 active members, became an official club under seperate leadership although they are still affiliated with Farmboy. Vice-president Sean McClure said the group holds events each month, such as bottle shares and style meetings where they talk about what goes into making a particular style of beer. They also have three to four beer competitions each year where professional brewers evaluate the entries. While it might seem daunting to the uninitiated, Weiershausen says that anyone can brew their own beer. “It’s as easy as you want it to be,” she said. With an extract, the process takes half the time, but for those who really want to get into it – they can go “all grain.” All-grain brewing is the process in which the brewers create
By Jonathan Garris jgarris@theleadernews.com Johnny Orr, proprietor of Premium Draught on Studewood Street, said he’s been running into the best problem to have as a business owner and craft beer establishment. Three years ago, Orr said he was fighting with breweries and retailers alike over limited supplies for craft brews. These days, the market has pulled a one-eighty. “I call it a first-world beer problem,” Orr said with a laugh. “I was doing ordering and I couldn’t pick which beers to order because there are so many good ones. I was so overwhelmed and I didn’t know what to bring in to satisfy my customers.” In just those three short years much has changed, on both a local level here in the Heights area and statewide in terms of legislation making it easier for craft brews to share their creations with specialty stores like Premium Draught. Karbach, Town in City, Brash Brewery and others here in the Leader area have been big pieces of the ever-changing and diverse Houston beer scene. With 117 craft breweries statewide, up from about 60 in 2011, the rising number of craft brewers contributes an estimated $3.8 billion to the Texas economy, according to the Brewers Association. That $3.8 billion places Texas at third place behind Pennslyvania and California, second and first respectively, and the state ranks eighth in the total number of breweries and seventh in barrels of craft beer produced per year at over 982,000. It’s an exciting time to be a brewer in Houston as well, as multiple brewpubs and startups set their sights on getting a piece of an estimated nationSee Development P. 3B
Inside this Edition Two yoga instructors have created the magic recipe, combining exercise and beer for their yoga class on Sundays.
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Per-city beer production puts Houston at the Top Houston 104,306
See Hops, P. 5B
Austin 70,881
Dallas 26,378 San Antonio 23,478
Contributed photo An inside shot of home brewer Paul Phillips’ home grown hops in Leader country.
Source Brewer’s Association Statistics exclude suburban areas (e.g. Dallas doesn’t include Arlington, etc.). Volumes are in barrels (1 bbl = 31 gallons).
Learn to brew beer from an award winning home brew recipe from a Leader resident.
Explore bar history and the meaning of Icehouse at the Heights’ oldest bar.
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