Saint Arnold Brewing Company Purchases Historic Building for New Brewery
HOUSTON – Saint Arnold Brewing Company, the oldest craft brewery in Texas, today launched a significant expansion into a new facility. The company, which has experienced rapid growth, today completed the purchase of a three story brick building originally constructed in 1914. The building at 2000 Lyons Avenue will be transformed into a craft brewery that will attract tens of thousands of visitors each year from around the world. The redevelopment effort is expected to take a year to complete and cost a total of almost $6 million.
Established in 1994, Saint Arnold Brewing Company has outgrown its original location in a warehouse district in Northwest Houston. The company recently added three 120-barrel fermenters, which brought the facility to 100 percent capacity.
“Our current location has served us well and has helped us accomplish a lot by making great beer, but we have run out of space,” said Brock Wagner, founder and brewer of Saint Arnold Brewing Company. “Since our first day, our mission has been to brew the best beer in Texas and create an institution that makes Houston proud. That will be the focus of the redevelopment of our new brewery.”
Saint Arnold’s new brewery will feature a brewhouse (beer-making equipment) purchased from a closed brewery in a monastery in Germany. The equipment is being refurbished, updated and automated, including the addition of a state-of-the-art energy-saving boiling and mashing system. The expansion into the new facility ultimately will allow for an over 400 percent increase in brewing capacity. The current brewery in Northwest Houston has an annual capacity of 22,500 barrels; the new brewery will have an initial annual capacity of 40,000 barrels expandable up to 120,000 barrels per year.
Saint Arnold is a beloved brand in Houston and throughout Texas. Approximately 50,000 people visit the brewery each year. With a location that is close to downtown and easily accessible from I-10, U.S.59 and I-45, the new brewery is expected to attract twice that many. In addition to the weekly Saturday afternoon tours that have become a Houston tradition, Saint Arnold Brewing plans to offer weekday tours. Additionally, the new facility will be climate controlled, allowing year-round comfort for visitors and employees.
According to Nielsen data, the brewery’s seasonal line is the top selling craft beer package sold in grocery stores in Houston. Statewide, both the seasonal line and Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower Beer are among the top 10 craft beer packages sold in grocery stores. The brewery’s production has grown an average of 24 percent each year from 2002 through 2007 — more than double the growth of craft beer nationally during that period.
The goal is to open the new brewery in time for the Company’s 15th anniversary in June 2009.
About Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Saint Arnold Brewing’s ten brews are made and sold by the company’s staff of 21 dedicated employees. The brewery was listed by USA Today as one of the “10 great places to see what’s brewing in beer.” It is located at 2522 Fairway Park Drive and its brewery tour and tasting is offered every Saturday at 1:00 P.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.
