Saint Arnold's Amber

If you're in Texas, you'd be heard pressed to find a better regular go-to beer than this one.

Saint Arnold's Amber pours a clear and fairly light amber. Nothing that looks substantial, but it's not trying to be on the extreme end of the style, it just wants to reach a broader market than many small brewers so it's bigger and better than the usual macro lagers while not being too heavy for most beer drinkers. It just so happened to be my gateway beer, too. Good, light tan head that slowly recedes with moderate carbonation.

Good bready smell. Slightly grainy, with a moderate hops smell for an amber. Again, it's not intended to be big, just bigger.

Moderate bitterness hits right up front. It's lighter bodied than many ambers, but because it's also moderately hopped it's well balanced. No specific hops bitterness, it's not grassy or piney, it's just bitter.

All in all his is not a big sexy amber, but many ambers in the craft beer market are really closer to pales anyway, so I'd say this was more on style than those. This is just a well-balanced light amber that is good for any time of year. Hoppy enough for colder weather, light enough for a lawnmower beer--if you're used to drinking impy stouts, anyway. Good beer, and a local, so it's always in the fridge.