Saint Arnold Brewing Company invites you to have fun

I love Saint Arnold's Brewing Company (the oldest brewery in Texas). The funny thing is... I've never actually had any of their beer. So what is it that I love about them?

Aside from having a super cool mascot (in Saint Arnold, Patron Saint of Brewers) and a kick ass logo (see it on the right), they always have something crazy going on.

If you live in the Houston area and have a penchant for growing facial hair - Grow A Donegal & Win A Blu-Ray Player! And what the hell is a "donegal" exactly? According to the website: "A beard that goes from one sideburn along the jawline to the other sideburn without a mustache, leprechaun and Abe Lincoln style."

Sweet.

To compete you must check in with the brewery (clean-shaven) sometime between Saturday, December 27 and Saturday, January 3. If you're lazy, you can send them a picture of yourself with the day's newspaper. So what does "clean-shaven" mean exactly? Zero facial hair and those Elvis sideburns must be cut at least halfway up the ear. Judging will occur at their St. Patrick's Day Party.

Too much work? How does hopping onto a ship full of Saint Arnold brew and cruising around the Caribbean sound to you? Ya, that's what I thought. In November 2009 they'll be loading up a cruise ship full of brew and hitting Jamaica (where Fran and I have been a few times now), Grand Cayman and Cozumel. They dont' have a lot of info up for the '09 cruise, but click here to check out the 411 from last year's cruise.

Is cooking more your thang? Saint Arnold invites all you chefs out there to face off at their second annual One Pot Showdown. This big Texas throwdown is slated for Sunday, January 25. Thirty teams will have up to four hours to knockout on some knockout food. Judges will award prizes to the top three recipes based on creativity, use and distinction of the Saint Arnold beer in the recipe and overall taste. A portion of each ticket sold will benefit the Houston Food Bank, which feeds 80,000 different people each week and nearly a half million people each year. Last year's event raised $1,800 for charity. Tickets will be available through the brewery. Be sure to check the website for all the rules. Last years winners whipped up a finger food that the brewery renamed "Saint Arnold Fried Beer," using Saint Arnold Winter Stout as an ingredient. Feel free to download the recipe from the Saint Arnold Brewhouse Blog.

Obviously this brewery has a zest for life (who else sponsors a PGA golfer?). They also care about their patrons, community, and their beer. 2009 will be big for the Saint. A move to a "new" (for them, the building was first built in 1914) and massive (I do mean massive) building is planned. Check out this link for info and a slew of pictures on the undertaking.

Oh, and according to the list of awards ole Arney has collected, this Saint makes some damn fine beer. Now all I need to do is have some! Can someone help me out with that? Please? ;)