I write this on the 13th of September, 2011. This beer was bottled two years before I could legally drink, and a little more than a year before I would try my first beer. Now, I have only had a pair of barley wines in my past, so I really don’t have a lot to compare this brew too. The only other barley wine that I have had was a 2010 Sisyphus, which I found to be excellent. This 2007 vintage however, is just plain phenomenal. This is a beer that definitely ages well. It poured a deep carmel color, similar to that of an Irish red. There was only a little head on the pour, but the lacing is excellent. The taste is very intriguing. It has an almost bitter quality to it. The first flavor that I noticed was an almost caramelized banana, almost as if if was prepared in a vintage brandy. You can also taste slight traces of plums, and spice. For a beer that is 11.5% ABV, it doesn’t hit you like a cinderblock. I have found several higher ABV brews to be too sweet, similar to drinking syrup, however this is not the case with this example. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am going to go enjoy the rest of this wonderful brew, knowing full well that I may never come across another of this vintage.

Prosit!

Howdy, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, I know that I did. I watched my team beat up on the Colts (34-7). I watched my brothers team lose in the final seconds to New York (27-24). I drank some good beer, and toured two breweries. So, on that note, lets get started.

Friday, I made the trek down to Blanco, Texas to tour Real Ale. Now I have toured Real Ale before, so I intended to get there for the tasting hours because I heard via their facebook page that they would have their W3TF?! ale as the Mysterium Verum (Real Mystery) this week. They also had their classic Firemans #4, Russian Imperial Stout (Also know as their 15th Anniversary Ale), Real Heavy (A Scotch ale aged in whisky barrels) and my favorite, their Oktoberfest. Now, as a general rule, I am a HUGE fan of any beers that are allowed to age in whisky barrels. Especially when those whisky barrels are bourbon barrels, and even moreso when they come from my favorite distillery in Kentucky (Makers Mark). However, I found Real Heavy to be a little too sweet for my tastes on Friday, a good ale, a strong ale (it weighs in at over 9% ABV) and yes, I will buy a six pack or two of it, but it just didn’t hit the spot on Friday. Their W3TF?! was also tasty, a 100% fermented beer with a single strain of yeast from my understanding. However, being the Mysterium Verum it is not one that I expect to see out on the shelves anytime soon, if ever. One of the great things about Real Ale, is that they like to experiment, and they let their consumers enjoy their experiments. The casks are limited release (if there is a release) and usually just available at the brewery during tasting hours, or if you are REAL lucky, you can find them at local drinking holes from time to time.

Now, the tour itself was very informative, and I highly recommend that if you have a free Friday afternoon to check them out. They have tours at 3pm and 4pm every Friday. I’ve had two different tour guides, and each tour was different, with new information, and a different take on the brewing process. After the tour, I went around and found a little liquor store out in BFE, off of a gravel road, and it barely constituted a shanty with a screen door, but it was there. Now in this store, I found what I believe to have been reminiscent of Mecca for Real Ale. A few lone four packs of the discontinued 15th Anniversary Ale, a few bottles of Sisyphus 2010, 2009, AND 2007. Now, Sisyphus is pretty cool. I love the naming that goes on at Real Ale. Sisyphus is an ancient Greek myth, and being the purveyor of history that I am, I am enthralled by all things Greek and Roman revolving around the mythologies. Sisyphus was a human, who stood up to the gods and as a result was condemned to pushing a large boulder up a hill, and then watching it roll into the depths of hades, then repeating…. for all eternity. Now, some say that this is the ultimate triumph over the gods as Sisyphus is able to revel in watching the boulder crash into hades for all eternity, and that the view from atop the mountain is one that overlooks all society. The theorem is that in that moment, where he is free from all bounds and above all, that ultimate freedom and being is epiphanized. (Yes, that IS a Blake-word). Anyways, I digress. I had not ever seen the Sisyphus 2009, much less the 2007 (I was not legally able to drink in 2007) so I had to buy them regardless of cost. So I will write reviews on those when I indulge later this week hopefully.

I also visited Jester King this weekend, however I will detail my adventures there later this afternoon or this evening. Suffice to say, I have a lot of good things to note about the guys (and gal) out there.

I am going to take a moment here, and in the spirit of Wednesday, discuss one of my favorite breweries and my impressions of their beer. Real Ale Brewing. Real Ale, located outside of the town of Blanco, Texas is a relatively new brewery to the scene. By new, I mean this is their fifteenth year of brewing. A small company that began in the cellar of an antique shop back in 1996. I have had a number of their brews over the past three years and have been met with mixed emotions.

My first impression of Real Ale came with a sampler six pack that my father and I purchased in a Brookshire Brothers in Wimberley, Texas. A mere twenty or so miles from Blanco. This sampler consisted of their Full Moon Rye Ale, Brewhouse Brown, and Rio Blanco Pale Ales. Neither Dad, nor myself were impressed. I was tempted to swear off the brewery. I mean, if they don’t make a standard beer that I like, why would I ever contemplate their seasonal brews? However, I was not that easily dissuaded. One night, shortly after its debut in College Station, I sat down at the Dixie Chicken and had a draft of Firemans 4. I was hooked.

This Blonde ale, literally rocked my world. Such flavor, such smooth characteristics, such an amazingly well put together beer. I had to have more. I overlooked my opinions of their sampler pack and decided that maybe their bread and butter was specialty beer. Allow me for a second to head down a rabbit trail. I am sure that the sampler pack that they offer are all wonderful beers, but for my brown, pale, and rye ales, I look elsewhere. Anyways, I digress. I then bought a six pack of their “Devils Backbone” a Belgian tripel ale. Honestly, I bought it because I live not far from the Devils Backbone, and the label is pretty awesome. When I tried the beer I was amazed. It was instantly one of my favorite beers, sweet, not overly induced with hops, and very smooth.

So, after this, with two solid beers from Real Ale sitting in my “have tried, really enjoyed” column, I decided that I would just stick to their seasonal and specialty brews. Last fall, I found their Marzen to be the best one of the season. A self proclaimed Shiner fanboy, who found a Texas Oktoberfest beer better than his beloved Shiner? Yeah, that was me. Not even St. Arnolds Oktoberfest last year held a candle to the Real Ale twist. In fact, I tried seven, eight, a bakers dozen different Marzens in an attempt to find one that was on the same tier as Real Ales, and I just couldn’t. It was THAT good. So Real Ale had won me over. What newest offerings would they provide that I would find enjoyable? I found my answer in their Coffee Porter, a wonderful culmination of porter sweetness, with Katz coffee added in? Sign me up Scotty! It was so good, I refused to share it, even with my closest friends.

The next offering of theirs that I partook in was the Phoenixx ESB, I had never ventured into a Extra Special Bitter brew before so I felt the need to divulge. For the specialty hops used, and the type of beer that it is, I found it rather enjoyable. Not a beer that I would drink every day, but a welcome change to my usual palate. Their Alamo brew is an excellent beer to just keep in the fridge for a daily drinking beer. A smooth golden ale with a clean finish. Not overpowering, and it has the characteristics that some breweries like to call “drinkability” which is never to be confused with flavor. Fortunately, the Alamo has excellent flavor, and in the truest sense, a solid drinkability factor.

Now, having moved from College Station to the Hill Country, I am within reach of Real Ales distribution arms and am now able to get some of their more “select” beers for lack of a better term. One Friday afternoon I made the 25 minute trek to their brewery for their weekly tour. While waiting I indulged in some of their draft beers. Including, but not limited to a Russian Imperial Stout which was phenomenal, and that I still need to get a bottle of. Their “Mysterium Verum”, or “Real Mystery” ale as well. At the time it was a brew that they named “Morgul” a porter that instead of being melded with the Katz Coffee, was aged in previously used bourbon barrels. Now. I have had some beers before that were aged in bourbon barrels (Winters Cask Ale from Michelob being the most widely distributed) but that didn’t even hold a candle to this Morgul. Smooth, (considering a ABV of nigh on 11% if memory serves) but you could taste the bourbon through the process. The smell of American oak barrels, bite of whiskey, and the smooth sweet taste of bourbon rounding it out on the finish. Sadly however there were only six casks sent out for distribution. In a recent trek to the Flying Saucer with my friend Sarah, I was informed that they had a cask condition 15th anniversary ale from Real Ale, it turns out this was the Russian Imperial stout (9.8% ABV), so naturally, I just had to have it, and it just blew me away. It came in a twelve ounce pour opposed to the usual sixteen due to the ABV content and heaviness of the beer, but it was well worth the price.

So in conclusion, my take on Real Ale? A wonderful brewery located in the heart of the Texas Hill country that has a knack for creating great beers. Prosit!