Saint Arnold + Trentino Gelato: A Fall Treat for the Warm Weather

A sign of quality...even in gelato!

But what if some genius soul turned that beer into a frozen dessert? Artisanal gelato master Marcelo Kreindel is that genius. The man behind Houston's own Trentino Gelato -- the place that supplies gelato and sorbets to many of Houston's best coffee shops and restaurants -- routinely collaborates with the folks at Saint Arnold to create sorbets from the Bayou City brewer.

This fall, you should see pints of Trentino's latest creation on Spec's freezer shelves: Saint Arnold Oktoberfest sorbet made with the beer itself.

Inside the simple, white cardboard container with only a small Oktoberfest label to identify it, the sorbet is a very light amber color and thicker than you'd expect. I could certainly taste the Oktoberfest brew in the scoop I made for myself: caramel, sweet malt and warm spices. But there was also a slight and unexpected lemony flavor as well. I've had Oktoberfest several dozen times and it never tasted lemony before. Was my palate deceiving me? Was I having a weird stroke, like how people smell eggs right before they have an epileptic seizure?

Turning the top of the carton over to read the [blissfully sparse] list of ingredients, I saw it: lemon juice. Refreshed in the knowledge that I wasn't losing my mind, I polished off my scoop with satisfaction. Satisfaction for a still-functioning palate and satisfaction for a sweet and fitting means of enjoying a spicy fall brew in muggy, non-fall weather.