St. Arnold Sailing SantaThis is the first beer I've had from this brewery out of Houston, Texas which pays tribute to the patron saint of brewing, St. Arnold. I acquired this beer from a trade as they do not distribute up this way. This seasonal beer is an interesting one though. They blended two of their beers into this 22 oz bomber: their Elissa IPA, a dry-hopped beer, with their Christmas Ale, a malty, spicy award-winning beer. Hopheads often have to hibernate in the winter when malts and spices come forward more in seasonal beers, so it's refreshing to see a beer targeted at this beer drinker demographic. However, although the hops are definitely present on the aroma, it seems like they're overpowered by the ingredients from the Christmas Ale as they come to the forefront. Still there...just not strong. I'm not sure if this was a 50/50 blend or what, but it'd be interesting to see some more experimental blends. Regardless, this is a good beer with an original concept. I'd also like to try the Elissa and Christmas ales respectively to get a better feel for the blend (so for any Texan beer traders out there, halleluia holla back).
Overall Rating: B- (7 Swans-a-swimming)
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