St. Arnold’s Brewery has shipped a special batch of Christmas Ale, to help you get in the holiday spirit a wee bit early.

It’s certainly one of my favorite brews, and according to their Web site has many other fans as well:

Christmas Ale, with its 8% alcohol, has interesting effects on people. Many of these people have been compelled to share these exploits with us. Why? We’re not really sure. Several have involved public nudity. One of the best was a voicemail left the evening after a tour that included Christmas Ale. The lady called to say, “I don’t know what you put in your Christmas Ale, but after the tour, my husband and I went home and made love all afternoon long.”

UPDATE from St. Arnold’s!! :

Dear St. Arnold’s Army:

A few establishments in Houston will be celebrating Christmas in July over the next week, so dress in your best Santa outfit (actually, that could cause heat stroke, so maybe not) and go out and enjoy the one keg of Christmas Ale each place received. Of course, we can’t tell you where these will be, but some hints now follow:

Wednesday (7/18): Look for ducks on Norfolk.
Thursday (7/19): Hang with PhD’s and feast with Odin at Rice.
Tuesday (7/24): Christmas Ale downtown with aliens.
Wednesday (7/25): Rice Village at a really old pub (well, 22 is old in Houston)

At unspecified times, Christmas Ale can also be found in the Shepherd Plaza area (perhaps as soon as today) and in the Bissonnet/Morningside region, an area not otherwise known for volcanic activity.

There are still a few cases of our Christmas Ale out in the market. Those of you in Garden Oaks will feel like a 5 year old on Christmas morning if you go by 43rd and Ella.