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Growth drivers for Houston-based Saint Arnold aren't "sexy or innovative," founder Brock Wagner told Craft Brew News. And it's "not any one thing," either. "Overall, we feel like we're firing on all cylinders," he said. Co posted solid 2% growth by dollars and volume in NIQ off-prem scans last yr, which "basically reflects our performance" in all, Brock shared. Suggests co continued to build on the over 65K bbls it reported to the Brewers Assn for 2024. These days, Art Car IPA drives the bus for Saint Arnold. It was just over 1/3 of co's total beer sales in scans last yr and up just a skosh slower than the total biz, again roughly in line with all outlet trends. Co launched Art Car in 2015 and the beer's "never had a down year," Brock reported. After posting another small gain amidst tough trends for beer and craft last yr, the brand's "off to a great start in 2026," too. It doesn't get a lot of mktg dollars on its own, Brock said, as co focuses mostly on selling the Saint Arnold brand as a whole. So as the co attracts more folks overall, Art Car grows in line with the brewery and holds onto a large chunk of co's biz mostly because IPA is a large chunk of craft, Brock figures. And co's not eager to mess with the brand's mojo.Built Rep as Brewery Brand; Houston Still ~70% of Biz Founded in 1994, Saint Arnold went thru a period when it struggled against perceptions of being "the old guys" as a tide of new breweries rose around it, Brock said, echoing tales of many other first or second wave craft brewers. But it's been growing solidly for a few yrs running now. And in his view, it's "just a devotion to quality in everything that we do," core to co's "culture" and its reputation overall.Its large beer garden venue on its brewery site is "probably our #1 marketing tool" still, Brock acknowledged. And co's built a lot of depth. "Houston is far and away the majority of our business," around 70%, he estimated. And he still thinks "we have a lot of opportunity." Houston's the 4th largest US city, behind only NYC, LA and Chicago. And the brand still doesn't sell much outside its core mkt and only sells beer in one other state, Louisiana, since New Orleans is closer than big North TX mkts, Brock reminded.Strong Innovation Gains with Slew of New IPAs, Lighter Offerings Saint Arnold has also had "a lot of success with innovation," Brock reported, as co is "adding a lot more volume with" a group of relatively new brands as some other offerings fade into the background. Co got a large boost of incremental sales last yr from new Tropic Boom and Citrus Boom imperial IPAs, plus a new Cold IPA, scan data suggests. Its Banger IPA also grew solidly. Co's Fancy Lawnmower Kolsch "used to be our biggest beer," Brock said, but it faded well behind Art Car at this point. Still, it's "up so far this year." And Grand Prize lager debuted a couple yrs ago and had "another solid year" in 2025, Brock reported, as did co's shandy. New releases for 2026 are in similar veins: Juice Train IPA and a Hefeweizen launched early this yr and Brock's getting "really positive" responses so far. Co's cooking up another release for the fall, but it's still under wraps.Cider and NA Each 3-5% of Biz On Top of Beer Saint Arnold also sells a small number of hard ciders, somewhere around 5% of its biz and up strong, close to doubling in early 2026, Brock told us, "a nice piece of business for us." If Saint Arnold is serious about its beer, its takes on cider tilt toward the "silly," he said, citing its "gummy worms cider" as "our big hit." That portfolio stays pretty tight, with just a couple of offerings available per year. Co's NA offerings, including a couple of non-alc sodas and a hop water, are another 3% or so of revs and up to about 5% of volume, Brock shared, and also doing well lately.Not Selling "Best" and "Worst" Decision Reflecting on the last 30 yrs in biz and especially the last decade or so, Brock reports still being "very happy that I never sold to anybody." And he had the chance, he reminds. But unlike some other brewery founders, he never had to sell, either. When he was planning the brewery's first big expansion in the late 2000s, he was careful to structure it in a way that co could "stay flat and still pay for it," Brock told us. He "didn't want to bet on the come at all." Well the come came and went, as did the oppy to sell it all for a big number in the heyday of craft gains. Choosing not to sell was unquestionably the "worst financial decision" he's ever made, he knows. But "I love what I do. I'm having so much fun" still, so it was the "best personal decision" he's ever made, too.

Saint Arnold Bucked Tough Craft Trends Again, Got Solid Gain with Flagship Art Car, New IPAs

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