Weedwacker Returns Today

Press release from Saint Arnold:

Saint Arnold Weedwacker Returns to Taps Today, in Bottles in June

HOUSTON, May 9, 2011 – Saint Arnold Brewing Company (www.saintarnold.com), the oldest craft brewery in Texas, today announced the return of Saint Arnold Weedwacker. A cousin of the brewery’s top-selling Fancy Lawnmower Beer, Saint Arnold Weedwacker debuted in August 2010 as the inaugural brew in Saint Arnold’s Movable Yeast series. The limited supply of Weedwacker was greeted with strong demand and quickly sold out.

While Weedwacker features Bavarian hefeweizen yeast, it is not a classic hefeweizen. It is exactly the same recipe as Fancy Lawnmower Beer, a Kölsch, except for the yeast. Both are brewed with pale malted barley and a dash of malted wheat. The brewery uses imported pils and wheat malts to create the light yet rich malt body followed by four separate additions of Hallertauer Hersbrucker hops. Weedwacker is Saint Arnold’s first unfiltered year-round beer, pouring a hazy blonde. The Bavarian hefeweizen yeast gives the beer a pleasant clove spiciness and a hint of banana.

Saint Arnold Weedwacker will be available on tap (starting today) and in 12-ounce bottles (in early June) sold in six-packs and cases throughout Texas.

The introduction of Saint Arnold Weedwacker to the brewery’s lineup of year-round beers will coincide with the retirement of Saint Arnold Texas Wheat, supplies of which are expected to be available through May. Originally known as Saint Arnold Kristall Weizen, Saint Arnold Texas Wheat has been part of the brewery’s core beer lineup since shortly after opening in 1994. The recipe was tweaked and the beer renamed in 2005, but has remained a small part of the brewery’s overall product mix.

“While we would love to just keep adding beers, we also considered the production logistical issues, limited shelf space as well as how to ensure that all of our beers in the market are fresh.,” said Saint Arnold Founder/Brewer Brock Wagner. “Our conclusion was it would be best to stop Texas Wheat production. We understand that we have disappointed some fans of this beer, but we hope that having Weedwacker will more than make up for that.”

Saint Arnold Weedwacker joins top-selling Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower Beer, Saint Arnold Elissa IPA, Saint Arnold Amber Ale and Saint Arnold Brown Ale in the brewery’s core year-round beer lineup. The brewery also has five seasonal beers, periodically releases single-batch offerings of its Saint Arnold Divine Reserve series and tweaks its existing beer recipes with different yeast to create new beers as part of its Moveable Yeast series.