15 May Saint Arnold Pub Crawl Pale Ale by Tony

Saint Arnold Pub Crawl Pale Ale

Saint Arnold Brewing

Houston

Pale Ale

ABV: 4.7%

IBUs: 48

Packaging: Draft, 12 oz cans

This Spring, Saint Arnold added a new beer to their year-round offerings, and I’m hopping on the bandwagon. I recently read a comment where somebody said they’re not too impressed with the Saint’s year-round stuff, and I have to disagree. Pub Crawl Pale Ale is almost the perfect beer in my opinion, and it’s quickly becoming my go-to.

Pub Crawl Pale Ale’s can is a bright yellow with mostly blue text/art that features the patron saint extending his arm out towards the Texas sun, amidst a silhouette-crowd of people. Outside of the staple Saint, there are little blue shoe prints in a wandering path as well as a checklist of Houston-area bars.

Pub Crawl Pale Ale smells of very, very vibrant floral and citrus. The can reads “bright and sessionable,” and it couldn’t be more true. The flavor of Pub Crawl Pale Ale starts off crisp as can be, and it’s followed by a bright, floral, hoppy finish with citrus notes of lemon and orange. It’s as refreshing as any Pale Ale I’ve ever had.

This Pub Crawl Pale Ale pours a crystal clear, straw yellow with a very lively, foamy head that melts down slowly. The carbonation is lively and refreshing and balanced well with the medium-light mouthfeel. There’s a little bit of lace crawling it’s way down the walls of the glass as each sip passes.

This would be a good intro to hoppy flavors and bitter finishes, if you’ve got a macro-drinking friend you’ve been working on for a while. Especially those drinkers of pilsners – this has a similar crisp-bitter finish. I’m tempted to compare this to 11 Below’s Lame Duck, and we’ll get a review of that on the site one of these days, but this is just a notch behind Lame Duck in my taste.

It’s not quite as dank as Brash’s EZ7, nor is it as piney and bitter as Southern Star’s Pine Belt, but it has the distinct hop flavors.

I always expect great beer from Saint Arnold, and they never disappoint. Not yet, anyhow. I’m giving this one a 4.5 because it’s everything I want from a Pale Ale.

Since Pub Crawl Pale Ale is one of their new year-rounds, expect to see it in cans everywhere in Houston that good beer is sold. You can also find it on tap all over town.

Pub Crawl Pale Ale is terrific; it’s almost perfect to me. Is there anybody else that’s ready to go on a trek to find some Pub Crawl like me, or is it one of those paths less traveled? Let us know below! Beers to you, Houston.