10 Dec Saint Arnold Cut with Bread Pudding

Saint Arnold Cut with Bread Pudding

Saint Arnold Brewing Company

Houston (EaDo)

Christmas Ale

ABV: 7.5%

IBUs: 24

Packaging: Draft, 32 oz Bomber

Ho! Ho! Hold up.

Is it just me or is this time of the year really unnecessarily stressful? Between holiday office gatherings, finding the *perfect* presents for my in-laws, and perpetually never ending freeway construction, something’s got to give (and I highly doubt 45 North gives one damn about me).

Frustrated, worn down, and down right thirsty, I feel fairly confident I’ve found a temporary solution: Saint Arnold Cut with Bread Pudding. After an extraordinarily brain numbing day at the office, I decided to drop by the Spec’s on Montrose before venturing back to my side of town. South side represent.

At around $6 per 22 ounce bomber, I said the heckz with it and purchased three. One of which I unlawfully cracked open in the parking lot (oh, don’t act like you’ve never done it before), one of which I consumed for the sake of these festive photos, and the third awaits its turn.

Pro tip: Bring Saint Arnold Cut with Bread Pudding to your family’s obligatory Christmas gathering for an array of benefits. 1) After a bomber’s worth of the malty, sweet goodness, you may be able to tolerate your Uncle Kevin’s racist undertones, and 2) You might be able to convert your big beer-drinking cousins into craft fans. Worth a shot, right?

Either way, Cut with Bread Pudding is Saint Arnold’s winter seasonal ale that begs to be poured while decorating a Christmas tree, listening to holiday jazz, or better yet, while having a good old fashioned Houston snow ball fight! This year’s limited release takes the place of their Christmas Ale, but lucky for us, Cut with Bread Pudding is Christmas Ale with added cinnamon and vanilla.

But doesn’t it have bread in it? Or at least pudding?

I hate to disappoint, but Cut with Bread Pudding’s ingredients do not include either. According to myth, disgruntled beer consumers took to the dark underbelly of the Internet, AKA Reddit, to express their unfounded qualms with certain Saint Arnold beers. The rabble rousers claimed Saint Arnold cut their beer with adjunct ingredients (additives meant to replace the main grain and often associated with cutting costs and lower quality) such as bread. Hence, why Saint Arnold chose to confront the h8ers and release an incredibly good holiday brew.

Cut with Bread Pudding smells sweet, malty, and heavily spiced with holiday favorites like nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. It pours a beautiful dark copper, amber color with a medium, off-white head with good retention.

With a light mouthfeel and high carbonation, it’s a clear, brilliant beer that goes down smooth. My only issue with Cut with Bread Pudding is in it’s body. I wished for a thicker, more chewy mouthfeel, but hey, this is Texas so it really makes sense.

However, the taste mimics and improves upon the aroma in that you get more vanilla, toasted malt, and graham cracker. The spices leave a slight bitterness on the finish, and the mild alcohol burn blends well. I’d recommend you drink this closer to room temperature rather than straight from the fridge. As the beer warms, many of the flavors become more apparent and complex.

You may have to trek over the river and through the woods to find Saint Arnold Cut with Bread Pudding. It is a limited, seasonal release that won’t last long and has already vanished off many shelves.