Saint Arnold growth fuels brewhouse expansion

Saint Arnold Brewing Co. recently completed the expansion of its brewhouse with the installation of a fourth vessel – the latest project to add capacity as the company works to keep up with demand. The additional brewhouse vessel, a dedicated brew kettle, allows the brewery to increase production to six brews from three brews every 24 hours.

The new brew kettle follows Saint Arnold’s installation of a new malt mill that can crush up to 8,000 pounds per hour – approximately four times what the brewery’s previous mill could handle. Considering that Saint Arnold’s average grain bill for a 120 barrel batch is 6,000 to 7,000 pounds – and some special beers, such as Pumpkinator, require more than 18,000 pounds – the new mill plays an important role in increasing Saint Arnold’s brewing capacity.

“This project is a key part of our future growth,” said Saint Arnold Founder/Brewer Brock Wagner. “We needed to add the kettle before we filled up the building with fermenters, at which point the brewhouse would not be accessible for expansion. When we moved here in 2010, we thought it would take 15 to 20 years to fill this place – we are now about to move the final three tanks into place this month.”

The brewery has secured the lot across the street to the east of brewery for future expansion.

Through the first six months of 2014, Saint Arnold, which recently celebrated its 20 year anniversary, produced 31,960 barrels of flavorful beer. This represented an 18 percent increase in production over the same period in 2013.

Despite the rapid pace of growth during the past decade, Saint Arnold is forecasting continued strong demand from craft beer fans in the Gulf Coast states of Texas, Louisiana and Florida where its beers are available.