Grand Prize

Malted Barley:
Pilsner, Flaked Corn, Acidulated Malt

Hops:
Perle

Yeast:
Augustiner Lager

Debuted January 2024.

It was 1933 when Gulf Brewing Company brewed its first batch of beer in Houston’s East End. The post-prohibition brewery was a collaboration between two of the city’s most well-known figures: celebrated brewmaster Frantz H. Brogniez and the famed Howard Hughes, whose Hughes Tool Company owned and operated the facility.

The beer they brewed used Brogniez family recipe – the same formula that in 1913 bested over 4,000 others to win the grand prix at the world’s preeminent beer competition in Belgium.

Fittingly, they called their new beer Grand Prize.

Over the course of next three decades, Grand Prize was enjoyed by beer lovers in Houston and by Texans far and wide. For years, it was the best-selling beer in Texas. When the brewery was eventually sold in 1963, a classic was lost to history.

As we learned the story of Grand Prize and looked back at nearly 30 years of our own history, we found similarities between Saint Arnold and the brewers of this historic brand. Like us, they were committed to quality in everything they did. Like us, their free brewery tours made them a fixture of the Houston community early on. Like us, they took pride in being Texas owned and Texas operated.

We decided to pay homage to this rich bit of Texas beer history by resurrecting the Grand Prize name with our own version. We set out to create a beer that fit a tagline used by the original brand: Light! Bright! Just Right!

The blue and white can design was inspired by a striking iteration used in the original beer’s later years. The Patron Saint of Brewers extending his arm in front of the timeless shape of the Grand Prize portal marries two classic visuals of Texas beer.

Available: Year Round
Formats: Draft | 12 oz Cans