Saint Arnold Icon Releases

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Belgian Pale Ale, the 1st Icon Release,

Coming December 10

It's been about a month since we've come out with something new, and we didn't want you to think we were resting on our laurels. Please welcome the Icon series of beers.

Here is what it is:
•A beer series that we have been planning since at least 2006, and maybe earlier.
•As originally conceived, these beers would be iconic of their styles. That concept has morphed greatly over the past six or seven years. Now Icon releases may, or may not, be iconic of their styles.
•Each release will be available for about three months. You should not have to take off work to get these beers. But feel free to.
•We may rerelease the same Icon again in the future. Or maybe we won't.
•We will be releasing Icon in four packs of 12 oz bottles. The four pack carriers will be color coordinated with the bottle labels, but the carriers will not have the beer style printed on them. The bottles will include the beer style on the label and a little description on the back of the bottle.
•The four pack carriers are recyclable with us just like the six pack carriers. They count the same value as a six pack since the carriers cost us the same.
•There will be four color combinations used in the Icon series packaging: Red/Black, Blue/Black, Gold/Black, Green/Black.
•Icon will also be released on draft.
•Most of the Icon releases will be from recipes conceived and refined by our brewers. Occasionally, a recipe inspired by a winning entry from the Big Batch Brew Bash will be released in this series.
•Icon releases will probably be in the 4% to 8% ABV range.
•Stronger special releases will be reserved for the Divine Reserve series.

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The first Icon will be a Belgian Pale Ale. Here is brewer Sam's description:


"I was going for an approachable Belgian beer that people could drink more than one of. I wanted to use a simple malt bill with British crystal malts to provide a nice sweetness that doesn't get muddled with the yeast character and the hops. To add an American element, Chinook hops were used for bittering, which adds a piney flavor. Saaz hops were added for aroma that blends well with the yeast. I selected a yeast that adds Belgian yeast character without going overboard with phenols. I wanted to make a beer that used ingredients from disparate brewing traditions that worked well together."

The Belgian Pale Ale will be packaged in the red/black labels and carriers.

"When and where can I find the Belgian Pale Ale?" you may now be asking. Here are the details:

Monday, December 10: It will be available in package and on draft in the Houston area only. While available at some grocery and liquor stores, initially it will not be available at two of our biggest retailers, Kroger and HEB, as we did not get the paperwork approved in time (our bad!) but hopefully it will be appearing in these stores about a week later. We'll let you know when this happens.

Monday, December 17: Non-Houston markets will receive their first shipments of Belgian Pale Ale kegs but not bottles.

Late January 2013: It will be available in package and draft everywhere.

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