Beer Tours
We offer 1 tour Monday through Friday and have 5 options for tours on Saturday. All breweries are closed on Sundays. All of the tours are 5 hours. All but 1 tour includes St. Arnold's Brewing Company as it is the closest to downtown. The cost of the tour includes all admission fees, tours, and tastings. Each brewery (except Southern Star which only has 3 samples) offers 4 samples in 6 to 16 ounce souvenir glasses. Each brewery offers larger pints, mugs, and or steins to purchase to fill instead of the smaller souvenir glasses.
Hint: If you trade in the glass and buy a larger mug or stein, you will have more free beer to drink. This is better than going out to a pub or a tavern.
Tour A –Offered Monday through Saturday. This tour begins at 12:30 and ends at 5:30 PM. See how beer is made and fermented.
On Monday through Friday, St. Arnold's is our last stop; on Saturdays, it is our first stop. We also stop at 3 other sites. These normally include:
- A German restaurant and bar for lunch that has over 200 beers, more than any other location in Houston.
- The oldest bar in Houston, in a building dating to at least 1860. It was originally the Kennedy Bakery. The bar has been operating since 1957. It is said to be haunted.
- A former brewery and speakeasy during the era of Prohibition. It was built in 1911 at the Magnolia Cafe Building. It is said to be haunted.
Tour B – Offered only on Saturday from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. This tour includes 2 breweries, the St. Arnold's Brewing Company for about 1 hour 15 minutes and Karbach Brewing Company for 1 hour, as well as stopping at the restaurant/bar that has the most beers in Houston for 1 hour and the oldest bar in Houston for 30 minutes.
Tour C – Offered only on Saturday from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. This tour includes 2 breweries, the St. Arnold's Brewing Company for about 1 hour 15 minutes and Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company for 1 hour, as well as stopping at the restaurant/bar that has the most beers in Houston for 1 hour and one of the oldest bars in Houston for 40 minutes.
Tour D – Offered only on Saturday from 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM, but not on the first Saturday of the month. This tour includes 2 breweries, the Karbach Brewing Company for 1 hour and No Label Brewing Company in Katy for 1 hour. Food is available at each brewery. It also goes to La Carafe for 30 minutes. Katy is 29 miles/46.7 kilometers from Houston. Allow 35 minutes to get there.
Tour E – Offered only on Saturday from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. This tour includes 2 breweries, the St. Arnold's Brewing Company for 1 hour 10 minutes and Southern Star Brewing Company in Conroe, where lunch is also available, for 1 hour. We include a 16-ounce souvenir glass at Southern Star. It also goes to The Brewery Tap for 25 minutes. Conroe is 40.6 miles/65.3 kilometers from Houston. Allow 50 minutes to get there.
Tour F – Offered only on Saturday from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. This tour includes 3 breweries: St. Arnold's Brewing Company for 1 hour 10 minutes, Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company for 1 hour 10 minutes, and Karbach Brewing Company for 1 hour, and one historic bar for 35 minutes. Because all of the breweries have basically the same hours for tours and/or when their taps are open, 12:00 – 3:00 PM, this tour may appear to be rushed and we may join a tour that has already begun at the third stop.
On hot days, cool yourself in fresh cold beer. You drink; we drive.
Tours begin at the Visitors Center located on the first floor of City Hall located at 901 Bagby Street, Houston, Texas 77002. The main entrance is on Walker Street. Underground parking beneath Tranquility Park is available at approximately 525 Rusk Street, Houston, Texas 77002 for $12.00 on Monday through Friday and for $7.00 on Saturday. Metered parking on the street is also available.
One must be at least 21 years of age, or be with their parent or spouse with the same address and have a valid driver's license, passport, or legitimate photo identification card. For safety reasons, St. Arnold's Brewing Company requires that all people wear closed toe shoes if they desire to go on the tank farm portion of the tour while the brewery is in production.
Bring cash for lunch, and if you so choose to purchase additional beers, mugs in which you can fill more beer, shirts, and souvenirs, not necessarily in that order.